To construct identity is to create and build up a sense of person or identification. Constructing an identity depends on a variety of things, a person could seek to construct their own identity in numerous manners. One could focus on who they are now, what their interests are, what were they born as, where were they born, examples of identities are all over us. Someone who came from New Jersey could have a strong sense of pride from being from New Jersey and could use that as part of their identity, things like diet come into someone’s identity as well, being vegan could be a point of identity someone could use to identify themselves. This concept relates to our class discussions because we discussed numerous people who come from very different backgrounds and have numerous points of identities such as RuPaul who is a drag queen and more such as an entrepreneur. Things such as race, gender, and power also play into one's identity, a lot of things included such as religion, political beliefs, and sexual orientation.
The first artwork I chose was Kehinde Wiley’s “Matar Mbaye”. From what I know about Kehinde Wiley is that he uses old famous paintings and recreates the paintings but replaces the figures with black men. He uses a lot of floral backgrounds for his paintings and creations as well, by this, one is left to assume that Kehinde Wiley’s race is prominent to his identity and so he wants to showcase it. I also remember reading that Kehinde Wiley’s work also uses flowers because it gives the feeling of weakness and femininity that all men should embrace, men should embrace their soft side is what I believe Kehinde is trying to say. Being a man who embraces his soft side and feelings could also be important to Kehinde’s identity. Looking over the description of the painting and it states how Kehinde traveled to West Africa and how he was researching his ancestry. His ancestry and origin is clearly an important part to Kehinde’s identity.
The second artwork is Liz Kuny’s “Troublemaker”. Liz Kuny seems to have used some sort of fabric to create her art, Liz Kuny also showcases a 3D looking ribbon on her fabric, it looks like it’s popping out of the fabric at first glance. It seems that Kuny has an interest in perspective and fabric. This relates to Kuny’s identity as they are clearly a fabric artist and are interested in illusions.
The third artwork is by Larry Silver which is “Man Being Balanced, Muscle Beach, 1954”. This photograph was taken at Muscle Beach, the birthplace of a huge rise in physical fitness. This showcases the artist's identity with showcasing that they were there when Muscle Beach was formed. It relates to the artist's identity as well as you can see that they are a photographer and probably an avid beach goer.
The fourth artwork is by Jack Whitten and it is titled “Bessamer Boogie”. From first glance, this art looks very abstract and seems like it was made out of titles, very collage-like work. This relates to the artist's identity because they could identify themselves as an abstract artist who uses collage methods and tiles in their work. upon reading the description of the work, it seems that the artist has a great interest in his African traditions and tries to allude to it through his work. The artists use gestural and geometric forms to create a sense of movement, it seems the artists also relates his work with minimalism. The artist could identify as a minimalist which is considered a part of identity.
The fifth piece is by Carrie Mae Weem’s, it is titled “Framed by Modernism”. This piece showcases the photography of Carrie and one would assume that being a photographer is part of Carrie’s identity. Carrie seems to call upon the dynamic between artist and muse as well as talking about the relationship between men and women in terms of power. Carrie seems to destroy this notion of women being powerless as she showcases her modeling and makes the artist visibly uncomfortable, Carrie is showing her power. Carrie takes on the position of model and artist as she takes control of the dynamic between her and the artist she was photographing for. This reflects as part of Carrie's identity as it is clear that Carrie is a photographer but also a person who is concerned with the status of women and men and how women are seen as lesser than men. What also relates to Carrie’s identity is her visible interest in models having more power and not idly standing by and doing as the artist says. Carrie also showcases her identity with being a model as well as an advocate for art and expression.
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