Saturday, April 6, 2019

Myths, Home & Self - Portraiture

The works of Wendy Red Star and Kambui Olujimi are about the everyday life that one lives. Both used their homes, clothing, location, their life narratives and mythology to express identity.



Wendy Red Star uses her Native American culture as the core premises of her inspiration. Above is an example of the Sweet Lodge, were made of willow sapplings and covered with hide. They call attention to contemporary life through these structures. When you go inside the dome, you get a sense of what the culture views on a typical day, ranging from the closed off area of boulders, to a winters day in the field.

Kambui Olujimi takes a different approach, and allows you to find yourself within the work. By using the night sky Olujimi wants you to take a journey through the cosmos, and find yourself. This can be hard to understand, because the trail can seem far fetched, but it shows how complex the human lifestyle can be. With its ups and downs, these factors contribute to what the individual would become.

Both artist demonstrate a sense of well being, and how well they represent their culture. Red Star works are in part a response to a problem of authenticity that she faces as a Native American, while outsiders seem to pressure her authenticity. She exclaims how the most authentic Indians were those of her father's generation, who had complex traits of both Native and popular cultures, without any pressures to conform. Olujimi wanted you to find yourself. More of a difficult trail, but well worth it.
Identity within my culture stems from the family, and what one allows to influence an encourage. With my family, we all have similar and different personalities, beliefs, ideologies, religions. But we all have great respect and value one another's opinions and choices in life. We tell life stories, give each other advice if one is doing right or wrong, but we all come together as one, especially during thanksgiving.

For my identity piece I will create a musical composition. Something of a musical compilation of sounds and melodies ive created, so that you can understand what moves and mesmerizes me, and hopefully you can understand. 




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