Identity

In classed we looked at the theme of identity in art.  It is a popular theme, especially for contemporary artists.  Contemporary art relies less on historical subject matters, although it often references historical events and such.  Much of the current art is driven by a need to identify one’s individual or, perhaps, one’s collective identity.  I have noticed that even when the central theme of an artwork is something other than identity, the concept is still very present in the work.  For example, even if the theme of the work is consumerism, both the artist and viewers naturally begin to reflect on their relationship to consumerism or their role as a consumer.  Therefore, identity inherently becomes part of the theme.


Defining one’s identity can take many forms.  It is influenced by many variables such as gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, class, and age.  Sometimes people choose to associate themselves with one or some of the categories, and other times they avoid any sort of association.  In my opinion, artists have an incredible opportunity to confront the questions of identity and encourage people to see people and groups either with or without these associations.  Catherine Opie’s work, specifically her series of portraits of lesbians in drag entitled Being and Having, approaches identity in a new way that challenges viewers to think differently about the concept of identity.

Being and Having (set of 13), 1991
Catherine Opie
Color photographs, 6.6 x 8.6 in.


The text Themes of Contemporary Art by Jean Robertson and Craig McDaniel writes that identity art often addresses the following questions:

How does the world view you? 
How do you view yourself? 
How do you view others? 
What does it mean to be human? 
Who am I as an individual? 
Who are we as members of groups? 
How large a group do you identify with? 
Who is making visual and verbal claims on behalf of your group?

My art is about expression in the sense that through my art I am able to share my thoughts and opinions, work through concepts that I am struggling with, and as a result, learn more about myself, the world around me, and the relationship between us.  My most recent work is inspired by questions that I have of society, even though I may not be able to answer them myself.  I challenge social and cultural norms with these questions and the resulting art.  The creation process becomes an experimental, problem-solving process with the hopes of learning how I feel or what I believe about that question.  More than my own identity, however, my work challenges viewers to evaluate the identity of the society they belong to as well as their individual character.

Lastly, one of the reasons that I love working with the theme of identity (in all of its different forms) is that it is ever-changing.  Identity can be forever constructed and reconstructed.  No matter how many different artists work with the concept, it can be different.  And no matter how many times a single artist comments on identity, it can produce new work and original concepts.   

Artist Statement

Maya McFaddin

Fall 2011

An older gentleman on the bus sits down next to me noticing my Portland Trail Blazers t-shirt and offers his insight on the upcoming basketball season.  The kids on the playground welcome newcomers to their bilingual duck-duck-goose game and teach them the new words.  The commuter pulled over to help fix a flat tire for a fellow bicyclist on his morning ride to work. 

Inspiration for my art comes from the expansive collection of new perspectives, conversations, and relationships between people.

I see art as language; an interdisciplinary language that communicates new ideas and concepts and a language that is understood by all.  I believe in art’s power to create awareness and social change.  For these reasons, I use art as a means of expressing perspectives on political, social, and cultural issues.  I create art that depicts a current issue that is important to me.  During the creation period I can reflect on the issue and offer a new perspective through my art.  Most importantly, my work is about humanity and compassion for all.  Recently I have focused on immigration debates, resource depletion, communication norms, and tolerance and acceptance of diversity.  My art aims to raise questions and challenge comfortable thinking.

My work focuses on color and often includes recognizable symbols or objects, giving it a graphic quality.  I am fascinated with the possibilities of incorporating text into my drawings and paintings.  Like art, words are universal, and I am interested in exploring the combination to reach a larger audience and further the meaning and impact of the work.

"United"

United

2010

Site-specific project, three-paneled mural located in Willamette's athletic building

Kerry James Marshall

Kerry James Marshall was born during the early years of the African-American civil rights movement in Birmingham, Alabama.  To this day, this movement greatly influences his art.  The majority of his work has themes rooted in his African-American culture and upbringing, as well as highlight African-American pop culture.  Marshall works with a variety of mediums including painting, installations, and public projects and most of them make a social statement regarding ethnicity and culture, specifically in the United States.  Marshall also incorporates numerous references to art history, famous people, and historical events into his art

A unique characteristic of Marshall’s work is the pure black color of the skin tones of the figures in his paintings.  Though somewhat unrealistic, the color choice highlights the figures and their ethnicity as an important component of the painting.  Marshall definitely considers the social connotations of blackness and uses the color to comment on these issues.

Personally, I really enjoy Marshall’s work and how he uses his art as a means of communication.  Although I also appreciate the aesthetics of his pieces, I truly admire the concepts driving his production and his approach to art.  When asked if beauty is important to him as an artist, part of Marshall’s response was,

“You know, you see a picture of a giraffe next to a picture of a locomotive - that's an amazing juxtaposition of things. And so what I try to do with my work is create that same sense of amazement, that same sense of wonder, that same sense of authority, that same kind of presence - so that things seem at once familiar and indecipherable at the same time. And that familiarity and indecipherability can be called beauty,” (Art 21, http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/marshall/clip2.html).

Watts 1963, 1995
acrylic/collage on canvas
114 x 135 inches

Jani Leinonen

Jani Leinonen is a contemporary Finnish artist born in 1978.  His work is often a social commentary as he works with themes of class, race, gender, consumerism, food, and more.  Leiononen was traditionally trained as a painter, but his portfolio offers more than the common painting.  He uses found objects, ready-made objects, recycled materials, and other objects as his canvas. 

One of his most famous works involves the painting of cereal boxes.  He collected various cereal boxes from across the world and painted other text or images on them to emphasize a specific message.  I find his use of a cheap, common commodity as a canvas intriguing.  He has expanded the possibilities for mediums in a meaningful manner, because his choice of cereal boxes rather than other packages is deliberate.

Jani Leinonen
2010
Acrylic on product package

 

His work is quite unique in its materials and the risks he takes by painting images of dark humor, racism, and pornography.  However, he strives for art that is accessible to all…he even created an art supermarket in 2006! (Leinonen's art supermarket)

Lastly, here is one of my favorite quotes from Leinonen, "I want to make an artwork that will be stolen from a museum, to make an artwork that will end up pirate production in Shanghai…"

John Baldessari

Born in 1930 in California, John Baldessari has become a recognized contemporary artist of the 20^th and 21^st century art world.  He has exhibited work throughout the United States and Europe and has participated in 1,200 exhibitions, both individually and with others.  As an artist, he works with a variety of mediums including photography, video, digital art, painting, books, billboards, and public works.  The concepts in his work often comment on art itself.  He deals with themes of perspective, the relationship between art and its viewers, beauty, minor details, negative space, and language or text. 

I find his work to be clever and thought-provoking.  One of my favorite pieces of Baldessari’s is his piece entitled Solving Each Problem as it Arises (1967).  This work was part of a series of text and phototext paintings on canvas.  Baldessari confronts the art process head-on in this work and he uses the power of bold, graphic language to convey a message.  I appreciate its simplicity and careful choices of text. This was part of his exhibition entitled “Pure Beauty”.

John Baldessari
Solving Each Problem As It Arises, 1967
Acrylic on canvas, 67 3/4 x 56 1/2 in. (172.1 x 143.5 cm)

Also, check out this new special project that Baldessari completed just last year in 2010.  It’s interactive and actually quite addicting.
John Baldessari's "In Still Life"