Carolee Schneemann:
Within and Beyond the Limits

Exhibition Fact Sheet

Checklist (click for images)

A multidisciplinary artist, Carolee Schneemann transformed the definition of contemporary art, steering it toward a discourse on the body, sexuality, and gender. Schneemann initially examined these issues through the medium of painting, but in the early 1960s she began employing other media—notably, performance and installation art, and documentary photography—to explore suppressive taboos and the relationship between the individual human body and the social body.

In the 1960s Schneemann became part of the "experimental avant-garde" that included Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, Allan Kaprow, Jim Dine, and other artists interested in moving beyond Abstract Expressionism. She collaborated with Trisha Brown, Yvonne Rainer, Steve Paxton, and others to develop the Judson Dance Theater and created performance productions involving multiple participants that she called "kinetic theater." From the mid-sixties to the present, Schneemann pursued film as a mixed-media form, and on occasion, within the context of performance. The results placed her at the forefront of experimental film's investigation of materiality and abstraction, as well as feminist content. Work of the late sixties and early eighties included protest work related to Vietnam and atrocities in Beirut.

This retrospective exhibition presents Schneemann's career from her earliest work to her most recent investigations, ultimately revealing the artist's thought process. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, photography, installation work, video projections, and writings. Schneemann is a MFA graduate from the School of Art + Design, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Organizer: 

Carolee Schneemann: Within and Beyond the Premises, curated by Brian Wallace, was first organized by and presented at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, State University of New York at New Paltz from February–July 2010. This presentation of the exhibition has been organized by Krannert Art Museum in partnership with The Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington.

Curators:

Elizabeth Brown (Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington) and Kathleen Harleman (KAM)

Contents:

Approximately 75 works including paintings, drawings, photography, installations, video projections, and writings

Space requirements:

Approximately 5,000 square feet

Publication:

A fully illustrated brochure

Accompanying materials:

Wall text and select extended labels will be provided electronically. 100 brochures are included in the fee.

Costs:

Loan fee of $15,000 for a 10-week booking, plus pro-rated shipping.

Schedule:

Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
September 24, 2012 to December 30, 2011

Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion
January 27 to April 1, 2012

Available for travel thereafter

Contact:

Kathleen Harleman, Director
harleman(at)illinois.edu

Click Checklist for images online.