Constructing American Identity Exhibit at the Montclair Museum
Identity is how we make sense of ourselves. We construct our own identities through experiences, emotions, connections, and rejections. An identity can be fluid, constantly changing, shifting, and becoming. Everyone’s goal is to be able to find themselves and we work through rejections to find an identity that matches ourselves. Identity can also be constructed by identifying against others. Race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, and power can play a significant role in determining how we identify.
Race is a categorization of humans based on skin color and other physical characteristics. Racial categories can also be social and political constructions because they are based on ideas that some biological differences are more important than others. Gender is classified as either a male or female division of a species, especially as differentiated by social and cultural roles and behavior. Nowadays, there is a more complex definition of gender and many more ways to identify your gender. Gender tends to denote the social and cultural role of each sex within a given society. Rather than being purely assigned by genetics, as sex differences generally are, people often develop their gender roles in response to their environment, including family interactions, the media, peers, and education.
When we think about identity, we may focus on cultural indicators (things like clothing) or biological and physical characteristics (things like skin color); however, it’s also important to understand that our identities are comprised of shared ideas, ideologies, biases and ways of seeing the world around us. We are also able to identify one another based on power. Power can play a part in constructing identity by the influence it has on others. In America, power is displayed through social hierarchy. Social hierarchy in America consists of capitalist class, upper middle class, middle class, working class, and under(lower) class.
In the Montclair Art Museum, we are introduced to an exhibition named Constructing identity in America. (1766- 2017) This collection show of more than 80 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper will address a variety of characteristics that contribute to one’s sense of self, including civic, cultural, artistic, religious, professional, and sociopolitical identities, sense of place and personal space, and non-conformity. Some elements that were depicted by each artist that conveys identity in each artwork would be the facial expressions, cultural references, and their hidden meanings.
One piece that I believe was interesting was Family Totem by Tom Nussbaum (2003-04). By the first look, it was clear to see 5 individuals stacked on top of one another. These individuals have very calm face expressions which tell us it is very easy to support one another. This relates to a group and community identity. Nussbaum recalls when he was working on this piece “I was thinking about how members of families (and by extension, communities) support and rely upon each other.” 
The second piece that I have found interesting was Misty and Joey at Hornstrasse by Nan Goldin (1992). This photograph instantly grabbed my attention because it was a man dressed up as a woman wearing a black spaghetti strapped dress, studded gloves, sparkly pink shirt underneath with a blue wig and big earrings. Come to know this man was a drag queen. These photographs captured the everyday life of Goldin’s friends and lovers navigating relationships, sexual identity, drug use, and AIDS. Sexual identity is one of the topics Judith Howard touched upon in Social Psychology of Identities. Howard informs us that “Sexual identity differs from racial identity in that awareness of one’s self as a sexual being, and especially awareness of one’s possible deviation from sexual norms, typically occurs later in one’s life than awareness of one’s race or ethnicity.”
The third piece in the museum that stood out was Bernabe Mendez (Spiderman) by Dulce Pinzon 1974. The physical piece itself caught my eye before I read the heartwarming story that came with it. It is not unlikely that a Spiderman washing a window of a tall building wouldn’t catch your attention. This piece was created with the intent of highlighting the heroic, often invisible, lengths that immigrants go to survive in this country. Pinzon features members of the Latino immigrant community going about their daily lives and doing necessary, important jobs that often go unnoticed. This was by far the best piece in this section of the Museum because it captures Ethnic Identities. Judith Howard also informed us in her writing about Ethnic Identities, Howard states that “Phinney considers the major theoretical frameworks of ethnic identity formation (social identity, acculturation, and developmental theories), key components of ethnic identity (ethnic self-identification, a sense of belonging, attitudes toward one’s own ethnic group, social participation and cultural practices), and empirical findings on self-esteem, self-concept, psychological adjustment, ethnic identity in relation to the majority culture, changes related to generation of immigration, ethnic identity and gender, and contextual factors.”
Another piece that showed Ethnic and cultural identity was Matar Mbaye by Kehindle Wiley 2007. This work was part of Wiley’s personal exploration of his own ancestral roots. This work was a portrait of a young African man, the birds, and vines plus colorful elements from African fabrics in the background are associated with a complex colonial past.
The last piece that caught my eye was a photograph of the New York City Fire Department in 1979 captured by Neal Salvin. Professional identity is not the first thing that comes to mind when we think about how we construct our identity. However, it does play an important role when we talk about power. Power plays a part in constructing identity because it defines us from others. Our occupations are all different and require different skills. Neal Salvin asks his subjects in this case the FDNY firefighters to arrange themselves in front of the camera allowing natural hierarchies, group dynamics, and indicators of status to emerge.
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Constructing an identity can be done in a variety of ways. Identifying ourselves can either benefit us or make people look down on us. We can establish our own identities referring to our sexual identity, ethnic identity, professional identity and many more depending on the way you view life. In my opinion, any way you identify should always be treated equal and with respect.
References
Judith Howard Social Psychology of Identities
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