Tracie Morris es coordinadora de programa de MFA de performance y estudios performáticos del Pratt Institute. Morris es poeta, trabaja como académica, escritora, vocalista, líder de banda, y performista. Sus instalaciones de sonido se han presentado en el Museo de Artes Modernas, The Kitchen, Whitney, Drawing Center, Galería Ronald Feldman, Museo de Filadelfia, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning y el monumento de Thomas Hirschhorn ha estado en Dia Art Foundation . Se ha adjudicado becas, premios, y subvenciones por su poesía y performance del NYFA, Consulado Cultural Asiático, Franklin Furnace, y Creative Capital. Sus publicaciones incluyen Intermission (Soft Skull Press, 1998); Rhyme Scheme (Zasterle Press, 2012); handholding: 5 kinds (Kore Press 2016); y Best American Experimental Writing (co-editado con Charles Bernstein, Wesleyan University Press, 2017). Morris tiene un grado de MFA en Poesía del Hunter College y un doctorado en Estudios Performáticos de la Universidad de Nueva York. www.traciemorris.com

Tracie Morris é coordenadora do programa de mestrado em Performance e Estudos da Performance do Pratt Institute. Morris é uma poeta que também trabalha como acadêmica, escritora, vocalista, líder de banda e performer. Suas instalações sonoras já foram apresentadas no Museum of Modern Art, The Kitchen, Whitney Museum of American Art, Drawing Center, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts Gallery, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning e Thomas Hirschhorn’s Gramsci Monument, apresentado pela Dia Art Foundation. Morris já recebeu prêmios, bolsas e subsídios por sua poesia e performance da NYFA, Asian Cultural Council, Franklin Furnace e Creative Capital. Suas publicações incluem Intervalo / Intermission (Soft Skull Press, 1998); Esquema de rima / Rhyme Scheme (Zasterle Press, 2012); Dar as mãos: 5 tipos / handholding: 5 kinds (Kore Press, 2016); e A melhor redação experimental americana / Best American Experimental Writing (coeditado com Charles Bernstein, Wesleyan University Press, 2017). Morris tem um mestrado em Poesia do Hunter College e um Ph.D. em Estudos da Performance da New York University. www.traciemorris.com

Slide courtesy of Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc.
Photo: Marty Heitner

Afrofem (1995)

Tracie Morris’s Afrofem (1995) critiques stereotypical representations of black women in the media. In this work-in-progress performance, Morris portrays the multifaceted character Deetra, who embodies different black women archetypes—the gangsta bitch, the little hottie, the creole mama, the mammy, and the welfare queen. She performs spoken word poetry to jazz-funk music and forms a bond of sisterhood with the character played by Suzanne Y. Jones. Throughout, Morris draws from elements of B-girl culture and Blaxploitation film—a genre that emerged in the early 1970s starring black male and female characters, which was later criticized for portraying black people in negative stereotypical ways. She attempts to reverse such representations of black women by refusing to conform to respectability politics. In doing so, Morris becomes emblematic of black female empowerment while shattering racist stereotypes perpetuated by white supremacy in America.

TRACIE MORRIS is Coordinator of the Performance and Performance Studies MFA program at Pratt Institute. Morris is a poet who also works as a scholar, writer, vocalist, bandleader, and performer. Her sound installations have been presented at the Museum of Modern Art, The Kitchen, Whitney Museum of American Art, Drawing Center, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, and Dia Art Foundation. Morris has received grants, awards, and fellowships for poetry and performance from the New York Foundation for the Arts, Asian Cultural Council, Franklin Furnace, and Creative Capital. Her publications include Intermission (1998), Rhyme Scheme (2012), handholding: 5 kinds (2016), and Best American Experimental Writing (2017). Morris holds a MFA in Poetry from Hunter College and a PhD in Performance Studies from New York University. www.traciemorris.com