Carlee Fernández (born 1973)[1] is a sculptor and photographer known for her investigations of identity and power through self-portraits and altered taxidermies.[2][3][4]
Carlee Fernández | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973 |
| Occupation(s) | Sculptor and photographer |
| Children | Two |
Biography
editCarlee Fernández was born in Santa Ana, California in 1973.[1] Being half-Mexican and half-European,[3][5] she has described having unstable cultural experiences.[3] She was also raised in Europe.[3] Now, Fernández has a husband and two children whom are referenced in several of her works.[6]
Art
editBear Studies (2004)
editBear Study (2004)
editCarlee Fernández believes all animals, including humans, hold great power and elegance.[5] In this respect, her taxidermy efforts are meant as homages to the animals.[5] In many of her works, she honors the bear as an emblem of self-empowerment and unbridled masculinity.[7] For Bear Study (2004),[8] she fully suits up inside of a taxidermied bear.[5]
Bear Hair Study (2004)
editIn this piece, Carlee Fernández takes a self-portrait wearing a “mustache” achieved by placing tufts of bear fur into her nostrils.[9] Bear Hair Study (2004) was collected by the National Portrait Gallery and featured in their traveling exhibition, Portraiture Now: Staging the Self.[7][9]
Domestic Odyssey (2004)
editHer series entitled Friends is a body of taxidermy works from which the San Jose Museum of Art selected for their exhibit.[4] She was featured in Domestic Odyssey (2004) under one of its six subdivisions, Desperately Seeking Something [4]. The show took place from March 6 to July 3.[4] Carlee Fernández shapes animals into everyday objects such as furniture and utility objects. Her sculpture Lola Isern (2001) melds a goat with a shopping basket.[4] According to the exhibition catalogue, this practice visualizes the totality of consumerism over nature.[4] Lola Isern is also used for the front cover of the catalogue.[4]
Man (2006)
editSelf Portrait: Portrait of my Father as Manuel Fernández (2006)
editCarlee Fernández's art explores masculinity through works wherein she casts herself as male subjects.[5][9][10] In her series Man (2006), she embodies masculine figures in various modes. Self Portrait: Portrait of my Father, Manuel Fernández [1] is currently in the possession of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) which has included her works in several exhibitions.[1][11][12] This piece was featured in Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement.[2][1] Pictured are two gelatin silver prints of a photo of her father and a self-portrait as her father.[1] Fernández describes her strive for a replica, having to paint the stripes onto her shirt.[13][7] She leaves out his mustache to show the critical role of facial hair in machismo symbology.[13][1] She sought out her father in a time of irresolution, wanting to manifest his fortitude.[5][7]
Self Portrait as Franz West (2006)
editIn Self Portrait as Franz West (2006), Carlee Fernández takes on the face of the sculptor whom, like her father, she considers a compelling entity.[9][3][2] This work was also featured in LACMA’s Phantom Sightings exhibit.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Self Portrait: Portrait of My Father, Manuel Fernández | LACMA Collections". collections.lacma.org. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
- ^ a b c d Gonzalez, Rita; Noriega, Chon A. 92008). “The Orphans of Modernism”. Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520255630.
- ^ a b c d e Carolina, Miranda A. (September 1, 2010). "How Chicano is it?". ARTnews.
- ^ a b c d e f g Northrup, JoAnne (2004). Domestic Odyssey. San Jose Museum of Art: 1, 6, 8, 18. ISBN 9780938175292.
- ^ a b c d e f Carlee Fernandez, 14 April 2008, retrieved 2022-11-06
- ^ Mizota, Sharon, (March 6, 2014). “Review: Carlee Fernández at Acme”. Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b c d Artist Carlee Fernandez in "Staging the Self" - National Portrait Gallery, 18 December 2014, retrieved 2022-11-06
- ^ "Carlee Fernandez, Bear Study, 2004". Inman Gallery. Retrieved 2022-11-06.
- ^ a b c d Miranda, Carolina (2014). "What Does Latino Look Like?". ARTnews. 113 (7) – via EBSCOhost.
- ^ Mizota, Sharon (2008). "Phantom Sightings". ARTnews. 107 (10): 174. ISSN 0004-3273.
- ^ "A Universal History of Infamy: Those of This America". LACMA. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
- ^ "Catch it While You Still Can: Human Nature". LACMA Unframed. 2011-06-21. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
- ^ a b Carlee Fernandez - Self Portrait: Portrait of my Father, Manuel Fernandez, 20 June 2011, retrieved 2022-11-06