Myths, Home and Self-Portraiture

     Visiting Wendy Red-Star’s exhibition at the Newark Museum was a very eye opening experience for me. Upon walking in, one can immediately feel the nurturing presence of “home” that she is trying to portray. We were surrounded by various pictures of her native heritage, something which I noticed carried a similar feel to how a typical home would have pictures on their wall. When someone hangs pictures on the wall, it is usually to give their home an identity in the sense that one is showcasing their family if it’s a family photo or give their home some sort of color and decoration to it so any potential guest could enjoy. Red-Star’s “family photos” showcase to us her culture and the pride she has. 

       

Her Four Seasons piece was something that I really enjoyed from my visit. I liked it so much because it showcases the four seasons as her Crow Indian people lived it and saw it. I thought this was important because in the aperture.org article, the author mentions how whites have only documented and portrayed Native Americans the way whites wanted to see and remember them. Red-Star’s goal is to reshape and redefine the narrative of Native Americans through the eyes of Native Americans themselves, and I think her piece at the exhibit titled Let Them Have Their Peace really embellishes that goal because she turned photographs of Native Americans taken by a white photographer into anonymous silhouettes. 

       Kambui Olujimi’s planetarium show was a bit more of a challenge to focus on at the museum, but after further thinking and analyzation, I was able to understand his motives behind his experimental piece. He utilized old roman mythology as well as the mythologies of the skies such as constellations and associated it with his own accounts. He is investigating ones personality and grasping the adventure of self-revelation. Although the seats were uncomfortable I think it was important that this was shown in a planetarium because Olujimi’s piece compares so much to astrology and the stars in space. A lot of us were left wondering what we saw when we concluded his video, but that compares so much to astrology because there is still a lot unknown about space but we are always wondering what the unknown is.

     In comparison to what I saw at the Newark Museum, my self-portrait project deals with me still wondering what my identity is. My mother’s family is of Mayan decent and I have always wanted to showcase that part of my life but I struggle with it because I don’t know whether my intentions for showing them are good or not. I want to because Mayan culture and mythology is a very cool concept to me and I find it fun that I have ties to it. But I also feel conflicted showcasing that side of me because my knowledge of Mayan mythology is poor, and I feel like I am also only doing it because its artistic and helps me fit in.