In the exhibition in the Montclair Museum called Constructing American Identity, artists create works that explore the different aspects of identity and what it means to “construct” an identity. What it means to construct an identity is best described by Joanne Finklestein who states in her book is to “...use physical appearance and material possessions to express identity; we accept a complementary connection between inner character and our material circumstances, yet, at the same time, we like to think there are more permanent qualities that define us.” Identity is something that is made through time and expression. It takes time to figure out who a person wants to identify as and time to learn how to fully express their identity or to show the world who they are with confidence. Expression can be through the type of car a person drives to how they dress. Identity is a journey of figuring out who you are and shaping yourself into who you want to become.
The spectacle is an ideal that everyone wants to achieve but they can’t obtain such as perfection or absolute wealth. The spectacle is the product of capitalism since we are always consuming new products and striving for the latest trends. In the article called “ An Illustrated Guide to Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle” states, “We no longer live. We aspire. We work to get richer. Paradoxically, we find ourselves working in order to have a “vacation.” We can’t seem to actually live without working. Capitalism has thus completely occupied social life. Our lives are now organized and dominated by the needs of the ruling economy.” What this article is saying is that the spectacle is something that everyone is chasing to achieve but never obtain because of capitalism. The spectacle plays a part of identity by having people feed into consumerism in order to construct their identity.
The idea of construction of gender and gender issues is explored in several works in the Montclair exhibition. This theme is presented through photography, painting, and other media. These artists use art to give us their own perspective on these issues as well as exposing these issues to create a conversation or for use to reflect on society.
This is a photograph that was made by Martha Rosler in 1966. Her piece is called Vanity Eye (Bathroom Surveillance) and reflects how women are always being judged/watched. In this piece an eye is watching the bathroom, the bathroom is supposed to represent a woman’s vanity a place where they put their appearance together to fit the norms of society. Rosier combines a place that is meant to be private with an eye that is invading that space. The eye according to the description of this work is meant to represent culture or society. What Rosler is trying to say is how many women feel as though they are being watched or judged by society even when they are alone.
This is a painting by Alice Neel called Isabel Bishop and was painted in 1974. This painting is a portrait of an elderly woman. Neel paints Isabel in an honest way rather than painting an idealized version of her. She decides to emphasize the wrinkles in her hands and eyes to show her age. Neel chooses not to hide her subject’s features such as her age and by doing so she is rejecting beauty standards that society pushes on women.
This is a color photograph made by Barbara Kruger called Untitled (Seeing through you) and it was made in 2004. In this piece she takes a photograph of a woman from a magazine and places text over her that says “Seeing through you”. She also changes the photograph by adding small circles that are focused around her eyes and lips. Although the meaning of this piece is ambiguous I interpreted it as how women are seen because of their outward appearance but sometimes are ignored or being ”[seen] through” by society because their beauty fades. I interpreted the small holes as imperfections or flaws that distort the woman’s face.
This is a photograph by Nan Goldin called Misty and Joey at Hornstrasse, Berlin and it was photographed in 1992. This is a photograph of one of Goldin’s friends dressed in drag and during the time this was taken drag was underground since it was not part of the norm. By creating artwork of people who push gender norms Goldin is normalizing those people and giving them representation so that they don’t have to hide who they are/force themselves to fit within societal norms.
No comments:
Post a Comment