Construction of Identity

The construction of one’s identity is the gathering of all the different attributes and qualities that make up an individual in their entirety. Whether it be their ethnic background, their year of birth, or even their shoe size; all of these aspects come together to form a person’s identity. Though society does have its place in the constructing some of a society’s identity, it is up to the individual to discover who they are and what they choose to identify with. This alludes to the great strides being made to combat’s society’s grip on gender identity. According to Judith Howard, these gender norms we typically associate as biological are actually, learned through early socialization and enacted and reinforced throughout the lifespan.” This change in approach of how we perceive gender is liberating to many who are a part of the gender non-conformist communities. This concept of the individual determining how they construct their own identity as opposed to society is focused under a finer lens and is personified through the Montclair Art Museum’s exhibition “Constructing American Identity.” Where five pieces will be discussed to further demonstrate idea of identity.

Bernabe Mendez, Spiderman, 2007.

                Interestingly enough, the realm of identity is not limited to the confines of reality in some cases. Take for example Mendez’s “Spiderman.” In this piece, he chooses to depict someone as a fictional character, in this case its Spiderman, which to some may seem like a rather childish concept, but personally, I feel that it is empowering and has an impactful message tied to it. This may be a tad biased, considering I re-watched the new Spiderman movie for the eighth time last night, but the message Mendez is conveying here seems so clear, (I may never know because the image I took of the abstract was too blurry to read.) From what I can remember, getting this image took a lot of effort, and to go through all that struggle just to get this image of Spiderman cleaning a building window means a lot to me. As for the message, it depicts someone wearing the Spiderman costume doing a particularly menial task, but a rather dangerous one. It shows that this person can be anyone who is brave enough to do the job, no matter who or what their true identity may be. That to me is a powerful interpretation of what identity can mean to an individual.

Faharru Pecou Rockwell Radiant, Pop Champ, 2010. 

The work of is a very meta interpretation of the ideas presented in this exhibition discussing identity. This homage to an earlier work by artist, Norman Rockwell, encapsulates the essence if the construction of one’s identity in terms of being an artist. Pulling from influences and inspirations to literally construct a representation of yourself is what Pecou is presenting to the observer in this piece. Both him and Rockwell have images of people they admire or aspire to as reference in their self portrait which is an aspect of their identity as creatives. The people they look up to are a part of their identity, which are literally being interpreted in their works/ This connection to identity is self-aware and adds a new layer of meaning to the term “self-portrait.” The way he sees himself is also alluded to in this image because of the literal distortion of himself in the mirror and in the projected reality being shown in the image. All these layers of interpretation add to the construction of an individual’s identity, in this case it’s the way the creative perceives his own identity.

Dawoud Bey Smokey, 2001.

This piece commented on the shaping of an individual’s ethnic and cultural identity. It is a photograph of a Chicago resident known as Smokey that depicts him in his as he is, or rather, as he sees himself. He dresses for the occasion in the outfit that represents himself as an individual the best. The urban streetwear he chose to wear demonstrates the kind of person that he identifies as in terms of his ethnic background. He identifies with the community he is accustomed to and it is accentuated by the masterful photography of Dawoud. Smokey sees himself as a part of the urban community he is surrounded by and chooses to represent that as a large part of who he is, which is a powerful story of someone constructing their own cultural identity.

Sandy Skoglund, A Breeze at Work, 1987.

In this work, Skoglund personifies the animation and motion of unseen wind in the workplace depicted in this piece. To identify based on an individual’s current profession is also a factor in the many things that make up someone’s identity. Some people value their occupation and perceive it as a part of their identity more so than others, but the fact that it is a large part of what people during the day, makes it a larger part of someone’s identity than they may think. Skoglund depicts the invisible energy within the workplace that exists which alludes to how the individual perceives their place of work. In this case a mundane office environment is interpreted in an entirely different way, which gives insight to how someone who identifies more with their work can interpret their workspace. That interpretation is a fairly powerful way to describe one’s professional identity.

Allan Rohan Crite, Read in the Gospel of Matthew, 1942.

Crites works advocate for ethnic inclusivity within religious identity. In his work, he chooses to depict the characters in the Biblical stories as African in order to personify this idea having a non-Eurocentric, Christian telling of the stories, so that more people can identify with the religion presented. This speaks to the formation of identity both in terms of ethnicity and religion that for one to identify with both, some changes are to be made as our society becomes increasingly diverse.

To conclude, identity is an amalgamation of many different aspects of an individual’s life and the exhibition presents this in a very interesting manor. All the different formations of identity explored throughout the exhibition further exemplifies the idea that the individual is a complex coming together of all types of experiences and attributes that make up their identity.

Here's a picture I took on the way to the museum cause idk.