Constructing Identity

One can be the only constructor of his/her own identity. What someone identifies as is the most important aspect of that person’s being. Self-actuality is something that each person should have. It should not be influenced by anyone or anything else. Race, gender, and power is based upon identity. What one identifies him or herself as, is what defines that person. Yet people usually identify and judge others based off of societal norms. For example, it is socially normal for young boys to play with trucks and wear blue. Whereas, girls are said to wear pink and play with dolls. Following those norms eliminate any possibility for a child to be an individual. These societal norms based off of how society says it should be.

            One of the greatest examples of individuality is art. Art is a revenue that people use for expression. Art depicts the inner thoughts, identity and feelings of the artist. It is interesting to view art and try to unpack the feelings and identity of the artist.  To define art, one’s perspective has to be taken into account. While one person may not consider a specific piece to be art, another would think that It is a great work of art. For this reason, I feel art and identity goes hand and hand. Just like art, one’s identity is based off of their own personal feelings and perspective. No one else can tell you what you identify yourself as; just like no one can tell you how to express yourself through art.

            At the Montclair museum, there was a section that exhibited many paintings and creations that encompassed the idea of constructing identity. These artists used their own perspectives, culture, and ideas to create and exemplify their identity. Some of them contradicted social norms, while others used their creations to expose societal norms.

 Ben Jones

Juxtapositions #11, 1989

      This work of art depicts the struggle that each individual faces while choosing to maintain identity based on societal norms and acceptance, or deciding to maintain self-influenced identity. Ben Jones is an activist who uses his art to convey the plight of humanity. In Juxtapositions, Jones used his face as the center of the piece. Each side represents the struggle that humans face deciding which side to choose. One side appears to be strict, geometrical, and somewhat formal. While the other side seems to follow no particular rule and appears to come from a place of expression. To me, that side represents individuality. The other, more formal side represents societal views. This piece conveys the struggle that humans face when trying to construct their own individuality while trying not to be influenced by society. The panel on the far left says, “You need power? What kind?” At the bottom of the panel there a group terms suggesting where each individual receives power from. “Spiritual,” “Political,” “Economic,” “Sexual,” “Physical,” “Mental Health,” “Peace,” etc. Being able to construct your own identity with the influence of others is a powerful thing.

                                                            

Fahamu Pecou

Rock.Well: Radiant, Pop, Champ 2010

            Fahamu Pecou is a scholar and interdisciplinary artist. He uses fine art, hip-hop and popular culture to influence his work. In this painting, Pecou demonstrates himself making a self-portrait. While looking in the mirror at himself, he is painting the three people that influence him. His three heroes Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, And Muhammed Ali. This depicts how the artist constructs his own identity. He connects his very own life with the lives of his heroes. Although in the self-portrait he is not painting himself, when he looks in the mirror he sees the face of his heroes. This is how he views himself.

                                                       

Nick Cave.

 Soundsuit,2015.

           This piece corresponds with the construction of identity because there are so many parts of it that make up its identity. It is very colorful and contains many different pieces. To me, the many colors signify child-like influences. Up towards the figure’s head there are a variety of toys and globes. What I get from this is that the construction of identity is based upon their influences from childhood and the world around them. Many of us base our identity on things that we were taught as children.

                                   

                                                         

   

Helen R. Kaar

Eternity is in Love with the Productions of Time, 2016

            I thought this quilt was shockingly beautiful and interesting. Each part of the knitted quilt is different. No Two parts are the same. Yet, they all come join together to create a beautiful image. The quilt encompasses the body of a woman. Individuality is what makes up this beautiful creation. Had every part of the quilt been the same, the image would have been unclear. To me, this shows the beauty in the complex physical make- up of the woman. Being different is a major aspect in constructing identity.

Constructing An Identity

The notion of constructing an identity is based on a multitude of factors. Judith Howard explains this phenomenon in her essay, “Social Psychology of Identities.” “In current times…the concept of identity carries the full weight of the need for a sense of who one is, together with an often overwhelming pace of change in surrounding social contexts—changes in the groups and networks in which people and their identities are embedded and in the societal structures and practices in which those networks are themselves embedded.” (367). Her analysis of the conception of identity coincides with some pieces of art from the exhibit at the Montclair Museum:

The first work of art I chose from the exhibit is a photograph of a drag queen. In the Guardian article “RuPaul: ‘Drag is a big f-you to male-dominated culture’”, RuPaul discusses how those that participate in the art of drag are rejecting this preconceived notion of what identity should be: “It’s a totem, a constant touchstone to say, ‘Don’t take any of this shit seriously.’ It’s a big f-you. So the idea of sticking to one identity – it’s like I don’t care, I’m a shapeshifter, I’m going to fly around and use all the colours, and not brand myself with just one colour” (Aitkenhead). Drag queens, like Misty, use nonconformity as a sense of their identity.

IDENTITY AND NONCONFORMITY

Nan Goldin

Misty and Joey at Hornstrasse, Berlin, 1992

I chose another photograph that illustrates nonconformity as a sense of identity. “Jo’s tattooed arms and short hair, aspects of a counter-culture lifestyle as a professional piercer and acupuncturist, are subsumed with her almost regal pose and thoughtful demeanor.” The fact that Jo is not stereotypically female yet posed in a thoughtful way shows that identity is not concretely based on societal norms. Identity is made up of many aspects. This photograph breaks the stereotypes surrounding Jo’s identity.

IDENTITY AND NONCONFORMITY

Catherine Opie

Jo, 1993

I chose another photograph, but this one highlights how societal stereotypes affect identity: “Bey wishes to explore “how young people see themselves through the lens of race, gender, class, and culture” because “a continuing set of social clichés and stereotypes cling to this population. Rather than viewing them through a lens of social problematics that generalizes the individual, which is often the case, I intend to make a rich and complex description of these subjects.”” Smokey, like Jo, illustrates the importance of identity in relation to the majority culture. One can feel inferior if their identity is seen as something that generalizes them as problematic or not like the majority culture.

ETHNIC AND CULTURAL IDENTITY

Dawoud Bey

Smokey, 2001

“Kruger’s work questions the viewer about feminism, classicism, consumerism, desire, and individual autonomy, contrasting with the black-and-white images she culls from mainstream magazines that monetize these very ideas.” These questions that Kruger’s work asks have can an effect on one’s identity because of how society pushes them. Therefore, it’s important to have a discussion about these topics that are deeply imbedded in society and culture. “The act of seeing is one imbued with power, and Kruger’s ultimate goal is to intercept the stereotype, code, or convention by which power is arbitrarily imposed.” In a patriarchal society, the male gaze is a powerful component and Kruger’s photo challenges this.

ETHNIC AND CULTURAL IDENTITY

Barbara Kruger

Untitled (Seeing through you), 2004-05

The last photo I chose was about space because of the importance it has on identity. The photograph shows a bathroom and an eye where the mirror should be. “She emphasizes the particular scrutiny women endure with the superimposed image of an eye, or “the internalized eye of CULTURE looking at every woman, even in the privacy of her own ‘sacred space,’ the American bathroom.”” Howard discusses the importance of “place identities” and how it affects a person’s identity (382). The way society sees a woman can affect them even in their most private places, which can have a negative affect on their identity because they are always trying to achieve the identity that society wants.

IDENTITY AND PERSONAL SPACES

Martha Rosler

Vanity Eye (Bathroom Surveillance) from Beauty Knows No Pain, or Body Beautiful, 1966-72

 

In a literal sense, one’s identity is mainly made of one’s gender, race, social class and power. However, following our tour around the Montclair Art Museum and looking through the pictures I’ve taken, I found that artists have their own unique way of constructing identity in their artwork.

 For example, Charles Willson Peale’s portrait of president George Washington was placed right next to a portrait of Cindy Sherman. Even though the two portraits were done centuries apart from each other, they both represent a form of patriotism to the United States. George Washington being the first president and Cindy Sherman photographed in red white and blue outfit with stars. Additionally, Cindy Sherman ties into our class discussion when we analyzed Bell Hooks “Understanding Patriarchy” by challenging the idea of Patriarchy through Cindy Sherman’s outfit by being dressed in a suit traditionally worn by men, rather than a dress commonly worn by women.

Untitled #402 by Cindy Sherman and Portrait of President George Washington by Charles Wilson Peale

Following that, one of Nick Cave’s “Soundsuit” was on display. Nick Cave’s collection of soundsuit statues is created in response of different social issues. His first soundsuit was created in 1992 in response to the Rodney King incident and its connection to the LA riots that occurred in the 90’s. The one on display at the Montclair Art Museum shows an individual covered in colorful gems and fabrics, surrounded by an angel and countless toys. From my perspective, the angel and toys represent some form of armor or protection form the outside world. Just how toys tend to distract a child from any issue their family may be dealing with. (financial, Marriage, etc.)

SoundSuit By Nick Cave (2015) 

Next, Barbara Kruger’s Untitled “Seeing through you” is a large image of a woman behind a green film sprinkled with white dots and the green “Seeing though you” in Futura evenly spread across the large canvas and framed in a bright saturated red. According to the caption, her artwork is meant to “Question the viewer about Feminism, classicism, consumerism, desire, and individual autonomy.” Though the use of provocative images that were commonly found in Magazines of the time, Kruger shows the struggle women had with obtaining equal power. Just how we discussed in class when we analyzed Judith butler’s “Subject Sex Gender Desire” where we discussed the struggles that women still have about being treated equally in society.

Untitled “Seeing through you” by Barbara Kruger

After the tour, I found three mounted skateboard decks entitled “Apache Skateboards” by Douglas Miles. Each deck showed a different form of identity for the same person. From left to right, the first deck was an illustration of a Native American spirit dancer from the Apache Mountains. The second deck displays this Individual an Apache Warrior outfit. The last deck shows the individual in an American Army Uniform. This Artwork shows how the same individual can have multiple identities. In this case, this individual has multiple identities due to the changes of his environment and the different cultures that surrounded him. In a way, this ties into our class discussion when we talked about RuPaul and his transformations from a normal looking African American male to a full on drag queen.

Apache Skateboards by Douglas Miles