Rock.Well Radiant, Pop ,Champ(2010)
The first artist that captivated my eye was Fahamu Pecou. The painting is entitled “Rock. Well: Radiant, Pop, Champ”. He created a self-portrait based on how he perceives himself as an artist. The portrait is inspired by Norman Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portrait. His painting includes him sitting on the stool, looking in the mirror while he sketches a picture of himself on a canvas. On the righthand side is a sketch of a gold belt which resembles a wrestling belt. On the left-hand side, there are a few pictures of his idols which are Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol , and Muhammad Ali. In his description of the portrait it states,” The idea being that by challenging the understanding and appreciation of the referenced artworks, and juxtaposing my own ideas within the context of the dialogue of the original source material, I hope to build upon the ideas of these artists and create a brand of new dialogue”. I think this means that he saw himself within the original artwork that Rockwell made and that is why he made the self-portrait. In the article it states, "Self-schemas include organized knowledge about one’s self, the cognitive response to the question of identity: Who am I? These include the characteristics, preferences, goals, and behavior patterns we associate with ourselves”. I believe the painting reflects on the Self-schema ideology. For example, the idols on his painting has characteristics of who he wants to be in the future. Another example, gold belt represents his goal to succeed in life and advance in his artist career.
Carrie Mae Weems
Framed By Modernism (1997)
Another artist that reflected on art identity is Carrie Mae Weems through the art of
photography. The photo was taken in 1997.The photograph is called “Framed by Modernism”. While viewing the photograph, there is a man standing beside an object in the series of three pictures. In the first picture, he stands by a writing board looking frustrated with his hand on his head. The second picture, he stands upright facing the photographer. Finally, the third picture mirrors the first picture of him looking frustrated. In the background of the photo, there are nude women figures behind him. On the bottom of the photograph it states “Seduced by one another, yet bounded by certain conventions. You framed the likes of me and I framed you, but we were both framed by modernism and even though we knew better, we continued that time-honored tradition of the artist and his model”. This statement is about the relationship between the artist and her muse. Although they both play a part in creating the powerful image, they are viewed in different ways. I think this statement also adds onto the interpretation on how other people view your identity by observing or interacting with you. The article “Social Psychology of Identities” states, “The basic premise of symbolic interaction is that people attach symbolic meaning to objects, behaviors, themselves, and other people, and they develop and transmit these meanings through interaction. People behave toward objects on the basis not of their concrete properties, but of the meanings these objects have for them. Because meanings develop through interaction, language plays a central part”. The artist constructs the identity of how the model is being viewed to the public from her lens. While the model is giving her his perspective of how he portrays his identity by posing the way he wants to perceived by the world.
George Vranesh
Beachcombing (1965)
On the other hand, George Vranesh uses his art to express identity as a sense of space. In his painting “Beachcombing”, he uses colors and symbols to display nature. The painting was created in 1965.His inspiration comes from going on trips to different places. As stated in the description, he finds beauty and comfort in nature.“admiring the way Indian artist reduced nature to flat linear symbols and created interlocking images in which it was difficult to distinguish forms from surrounding space- as exemplified by these two works on paper created during his travels to Alaska”. In the excerpt on the text it states that a place can be a sense of home which associates with what you prefer to be surrounded by. In this painting, he associates his identity to being one with nature and surrounded by different cultures.
Dan Lomahaftewa
Kiva Dreams (1996)
Similarly, Dan Lomahaftewa uses symbolism in his painting “Kiva Dreams” to show cultural and ethnic identity. It was created in 1996. His painting consists of two people who are wearing traditional garments. In the background, the colors blue, red, and white highlights the painting. The artist was inspired by his heritage.“Surrounded by colorful baskets, pottery, Katsina doll carvings, and ceremonial regalia throughout his life, he draws inspiration from the traditions of Native American artistic expression and what he calls “the inseparable interweaving of the lifeway of Indian and their spirituality”. In the painting, she gives an image of her culture and ethnicity. This refers to the idea of identity being associated to what we experience in life. “...human cognitive capacities are limited; that, therefore, we process information as cognitive misers... following from this need for cognitive efficiency, we categorize information about people, objects, and situations before we engage memory or inferential processes”. Furthermore, in her description, she emphasis on the meaning of the painting. She expresses that the setting of the picture is Kiva which are champers used for rituals and ceremonies.
Deborah Roberts
We heard thunder , no.5 (2017)
In addition, Deborah Roberts uses ethnic and identity in her photograph “We heard the thunder, no.5”. The artwork was made in 2017. The photograph has mixed images of different people and different body parts that collide together. The overall image is a young African
American female. Based on the description, the photo is connected to a police brutality incident. “The fractured forms evoke black pain and the cut-out arms and legs suggest violence of this situation, as does the reference to thunder/shots in the title”. She used the photos to display how African Americans are treated in society. This connects to the identity associated with ethnicity. The “Social Psychology Identity” article emphasis on this concept, “Phinney (1990) reviews more than 70 studies of ethnic identity. The great majority of these articles assume that identity development is particularly complicated for those belonging to ethnic and racial minority groups, owing to negative societal stereotypes and discrimination”. In society, African Americans are seen as a threat because of the color of their skin and their appearance. The artist describes that the young girl eyes represent the power of vision and how we are seen. Also, it emphasis on the idea of power structure in society on if we could ever be seen as human. In conclusion, identity can be constructed in many ways. Not only is identity associated with race, gender and age, it can be a combination of things all at once. Each artist conveyed the way they think of identity in a unique way.
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