Constructing Identity

What does it mean to “construct” an identity?

Every human is different in very distinct ways based on each individual reality. Not everyone shares the same reality therefore identities are formed in different ways. Constructing reality involves our everyday interactions with others, as well as by our life experiences. Some theorists believe our identities are predetermined based on our parents but we aren’t conscious of it until we begin to develop a sense of self from actually existing in a social construct. With that being said, the ways we are raised and what we are raised to believe affect how we present ourselves, how we perceive others, and how others perceive us. It’s quite complicated because we all are different in race, class, gender, status, personality, religion, and the list goes on. All of these given factors shape our reality due to the ways these factors influence our perceptions of reality.  For example, if I’m in a situation where I’m trying to come to an agreement with a friend and I feel that my friend is having trouble seeing things eye to eye and I get frustrated at them for it, then it’s safe to say that our realities aren’t the same. We might be on the same sidewalk yet our perceptions are on different avenues.

In another sense, identity shapes how we decide to treat each other. A very good example of this is expressed in Bell Hooks, “Understanding Patriarchy” article. Hooks recollects back to when she was a child growing up with her brother, but the house was overruled by her father who possessed a patriarchal identity. She elaborated about the fact of how much it affected her brother. A friendly game of marbles turned into a patriarchal warzone as her brother was forced to take on the belief that “girls did not play with marbles,” that it was a boy’s game, and when she tried to disregard her brothers adopted attitude, her father intervened and beat her with the board they were playing on. Her father beat her because he wanted her to acknowledge that she understood what she had done and what not to do again. It is obvious that this way of being was derived from earlier practices of patriarchal belief by her father’s upbringing, which sheds light on how much of our family and surroundings potentially infect our beliefs and perceptions in ways we can’t explain because we’re too young to fully understand.

When analyzing a work of art, a formal analysis requires one to apply the elements and principles of art to analyze the work visually. In the “construction of identity” exhibition I was able to identify a few artists who utilized vibrant colors along with intricate line use that illustrated a specific mood that I felt the artist wanted viewers to interpret. Some artists created unique texture within their work, providing depth, which puts an emphasis on the given mood. Personally, when I see artwork that can provoke me in a way where I feel affected or influenced by it, then I know the artist truly invested his/her emotions, knowledge, experiences and culture into it. Walking through the exhibit enticed me over and over again. I’d look one way and there was so much sentiment hanging from wall to wall. Although, there was some pieces that I couldn’t truly understand and I would stare until my eyes watered and hoped I could capture what the artist was trying to express. Then, there were some I felt were more distinct in the ways they expressed themselves in which I could immediately identify the meaning of but, I believe I’m only saying this because my reality, personality, and perception helped me distinguish the meaning of certain pieces differently, as opposed to someone else who was to view the same pieces of art.

 

 One of the five examples that I’ve chosen to identify is a piece of art from Whitfield Lovell named “Trap” which was created in the year 2000. Immediately when I laid eyes upon this art I was drawn by the charcoal on wood portrait which represented so much from even the slightest glance at it. It feels so raw and uncut, as the portrait came to life the more I would stare into it. At the bottom, there are animal traps dangling that can be seen as poetic reminders of a shameful chapter in American history. Psychologically, this can be interpreted as a reflection of mental bonds and the tether of trauma.

Another piece that stood out is, Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of a young man named Matar Mbaye who he encountered on a trip to west Africa in 2007 in Dakar, Senegal, whom he engaged as a model as part of his street casting process. I could tell how much this trip inspired him to make this portrait just by how the birds and vines are weaving behind Mbaye, mixed with colorful elements from African motifs. A lot of Wiley’s identity is instilled within the portrait and he illustrates it proudly. The texture within Mbaye’s face made me feel as if he felt honored to be from Africa and fully accepted that he is a part of the culture.

                                    

Carrie Mae Weems caught my attention with her photographic style. There were a series of frames captured but there was one I identified with because it truly captivates one of the many social issues that divide us in today’s world. The piece is called, “Framed by modernism,” created in 1997. Painter Robert Colescott commissioned Weems to create this work to serve as an identifying portrait for the entrance to his solo show at the Venice Biennale in 1997, the first for an African American representing the United States. Weems began a series of photographic works interrogating the traditional relationship between artist and model. Colescott appears in the photograph, fully clothed and uncomfortably averting his gaze from the nude Weems behind him. As indicated by the text, both parties are complicit in the imbalance of power between men and women as well as artist and model. So, Weems simultaneously pushes against this convention by positioning herself as both muse and master. I appreciate this because she has a unique way of expressing why this social convention doesn’t affect her and that it shouldn’t affect others. She’s making this transition from model to artist or, artist to model possible, while ignoring the fact that society has assigned specific roles that “we must conform to.”

                                    

The second to last piece that I came across was Tom Nussbaum’s, “Family Totem,” made in 2003-04. These sculptures possess a powerful clarity of form. This piece really expresses so much of what the world lacks. Together we can create so much good yet we are conditioned to feel and be so divided by the invisible line of social circumstances that prevent us from achieving true equality. If you notice, there are 5 sculptures, one on top of the other’s shoulders. All have different color faces; clothes and it makes me realize that no matter who we are or where we come from, that should not complicate our everyday interaction with one another. We all should be able to support and rely upon each other. This identifies with the lack of group and community effort, due to the ways that we identify with one another. Society has made it hard to co-exist because we are unconsciously segregated. The socio-cultural differences between sexes has hindered our ability to act in unity, feel in unity, express in unity, and it is obvious.

                                               

The last piece is definitely one of my favorites. It’s Helen West Heller’s piece of art named “Alabama Biochemist,” featuring famed scientist George Washington’s Carver at work in his lab. I’m captivated by the plants and flowers sprouting as he is in the prime of his work, showing how occupied he is in his zone of essence. The patterns in the left corner display a sense of time that creates the notion that he never leaves his lab. It seems as if he’s connected to his work in ways that we cannot understand. The plants were once his subjects that have grown to be his companions. Heller successfully expresses her identity through a sense of someone else as she is also known as someone who was prolific in her own work, publishing two books of her woodcuts and poetry, holding an exhibition at the Smithsonian and reprinting many of her woodcuts in the New York times.

In conclusion our trip to the museum has made me realize how much of art reflects on the world, and the many realities that are expressed between each artist. Each piece of art is unique in its own way and that’s what I think about when I try to define human identity. We are all a magical mixture of mindset, values, behavior, skills, attitude all influenced by family, personal experiences and social backgrounds. Artists explore these characteristics that determine our personal and social identity. They construct a sense of who we are as individuals, as a society, or as a nation. In many of the pieces I observed, artists challenged stereotypes and conventions, while exploring attributes such as gender, sexuality, race, nationality and heritage. In other words, it is artistic communication, vocalizing sociopolitical issues through the lens of a person who sees the world in a different light.