Self-Portrait Series Illuminates Artist’s Search for Self

Kansas City, MO -- A unique and compelling body of work by photographer Melissa Shook opens March 9 at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. In a series of approximately 200 self-portraits, made between December 1972 and August 1973, Shook explored her identity on both sides of the camera as a woman, a mother, and an artist. The exhibition ‘To Prove that I Exist: Melissa Shook’s Daily Self-Portraits, 1972-1973’ marks the first museum exhibition of this full series, which the Nelson-Atkins acquired as a unique set in 2015 as a gift of the Hall Family Foundation. The show runs through Aug. 4.

“Today, the act of taking selfies is commonplace,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of the Nelson-Atkins. “Melissa Shook was making daily self-portraits well before the invention of camera phones or social media. Her powerful images invite us to consider serial self-portraiture more deeply, as a conceptual and philosophical practice.”

Though artists such as Eleanor Antin, Cindy Sherman, Francesca Woodman, and Hannah Wilke gained renown for their investigations of self-portraiture during the mid to late 1970s, Shook remains underrecognized for her important and timely project.

“Shook began this series as a personal artistic challenge,” notes April M. Watson, Senior Curator of Photography at the Nelson-Atkins. “Struggling with an unreliable memory after the traumatic death of her mother, who died when she was twelve, Shook wanted to see if she could remember to take pictures every day. The days she failed to take a photo became just as important as the days she succeeded.”

Watson adds: “When seen collectively, Shook’s remarkable body of work reveals an intimate, nuanced exploration of selfhood that we now see as prescient for its time.”

Shook staged all her photographs in her spare, New York City apartment, using a medium-format camera, a tripod, and a self-timer. As both photographer and subject, Shook investigated the dynamic possibilities of self-portraiture. Engaging new ideas from month to month, she assumed playful postures and seductive poses.  She often appeared alone, nude and clothed, though several images feature friends, neighbors, and most notably, her daughter Krissy.

Shook’s search for self-identity, though rooted in the personal, resonated with the experiences of others who came of age during the women’s liberation movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. As many women sought to redefine themselves while challenging gender-biased laws and social limitations, Shook searched for her own answers to these personal and political questions. As she wrote: “I think the issue of identity often lies in a profound and unnoticed dissociation from oneself…the strength of the serial portrait is in just this distance, this alienation.” Shook’s project aimed to affirm her presence in the world, and in her words, “to prove that I exist.”

The following program is associated with this exhibition:

The Life and Work of Photographer Melissa Shook  

Saturday, May 4, 2024
2-3:30 p.m.
Lens 2 and Gallery L11 

Join art historian Sally Stein and Kristina Shook, Melissa Shook’s daughter and occasional subject, for a conversation with Senior Curator of Photography April Watson in conjunction with the exhibition “To Prove that I Exist”: Melissa Shook’s Daily Self-Portraits, 1972-1973.  Immediately following the presentation and discussion, we invite you to join our guests in the gallery for continued conversation.

Exhibition Dates: March 9 - August 4, 2024

Museum Hours:

Sat, Sun & Mon -- 10am – 5pm
Thur & Fri -- 10am – 9pm

Location: Bloch Building, L11 at The Nelson-Atkins Museum Of Art, 4525 Oak Street, Kansas City, MO 64111

Admission: Free

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