Valuing the Undervalued and Invisible
In Celebration of Art Activism and the Substance of Faith
I believe that visionary art that adds value in some form should be celebrated and revered, especially art that encourages and empowers people to improve societal norms. For over four decades Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ visionary work amplified the content and form of contemporary art and activism from a place of piety and positive intention. And yet, outside of art circles interested in feminism, performance art or institutional critique, her name is hardly recognized. Until recently, Ukeles’s work has not received much attention, let alone the praise it deserves.

Kudos to Queens Museum!
Finally, in 2017 Larissa Harris, curator of Queens Museum, together with Patricia Cl Phillips, Dean of Moore College of Art, organized ‘Mierle Laderman Ukeles: Maintenance Art’ at the museum. It was about time that this ground-breaking artist received a well-deserved space in the contemporary art spotlight. The exhibition not only documented her work in a highly engaging manner but also unveils the power and sophistication of her art like never before.

The overwhelming connection between motherhood and art
The body of work was inspired by the mundane. As both a new mother and artist, Ukeles was overwhelmed with the sheer amount of repetitive work involved with motherhood. She was also demoralized to be seen as a mother who makes art, instead of an artist who is also a mother. This compelled Ukeles to turn the monotonous everyday activities involved with caring for an infant into her art. She penned the ‘Manifesto for Maintenance Art 1969’ in a single sitting. The line, “The sourball of every revolution: after the revolution, who’s going to pick up the garbage on Monday morning?” was a memorable inclusion. Ukeles began her art by her noting down her daily household activities. This was merely the start, and soon her work evolved outside the confines of her home space.
The Evolution of Maintenance Art
Ukeles contacted several museums offering to do ‘Maintenance Art’ and had a stamp made to certify her activities as art. Six museums responded positively hailing the start of her career that eventually entailed several large-scale, collaborative works. The Whitney Museum invited Ukeles to exhibit, and she devised a co-operative project that included over 300 employees responsible for the maintenance of the office building where the Whitney was located. A much larger project followed. ‘Touch Sanitation Performance’ involved Ukeles shaking the hands of the 8,500 sanitation workers performing tasks across New York City. Despite her success, the artist was not paid for this.

Built on the foundation of a taboo
Although she was not always paid for art, Ukeles perhaps received compensation of a different kind for her efforts. Part of her intention with her service-oriented artwork was to bring awareness to the low cultural status held by maintenance workers who generally earn minimum wage and housewives who do not earn anything. It was brought to the world from the foundation of the often unspoken taboo of contemporary art: religion. As an Orthodox Jew, Ukeles made reference to her religion in two projects, where it became part of the subject. One work involved the ‘mikvah’ a Jewish ritual bath, and the other was a project based on ‘Tikkun Olam’, the reparation of the world. Additionally, the artist’s work clearly reflects the Jewish concept that religion is involved in every action taken. Ukeles’s career is indeed a stellar example of an extraordinary career and life built on personal truth.
