“To participate in society we cultivate a public persona, a manner of being in the world that works to sustain our engagements with others.” (Finkelstein).
I once knew a kid named Bri. She was the first friend I made in highschool. We shared a scary number of things in common; we were both shy and silly, we both were obsessed with The Vampire Diaries and scary movies/games, and we were both poor. We were the lowkey girls that were extremely goofy and positive during school hours. But also we were the angsty girls with shared trauma, who spent after hours dreaming of a better life. We were also vastly different; she was laid back, almost lazy, and didn’t take school seriously while I was angry, driven, and excelled in school. At the time, I believed all the changes I made within myself was a step to becoming a better me and consequently having a better life. These changes made me lose Bri, because while I was different, she stayed the same. During our last year of highschool we were barely friends; she said she couldn’t recognize me. Two weeks ago, I bumped into her for the first time in two years and we briefly spoke...and I couldn’t recognize her. To construct an identity means to decide who you are. People choose who they want to be and live with that choice.
The construction of identities is explored thoroughly through art but has also been tied to “the spectacle.” The spectacle is something we see everyday: lining the walls of our public buses and subway walls, on social media, on our television sets, in magazines, etc. According to Guy Debord, the spectacle = the power of the market economy. We live in a world where money means everything so product is priority. “In societies where modern conditions of production prevail, all of life presents itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles. Everything that has directly lived has moved away into representation.” (Debord) Debord suggests that people have also become products, thus explaining how identity plays a role in the spectacle; identities are greatly influenced by the spectacle.
HOLLYWOOD INDIAN BY F SCHOLDER 1990
This piece challenges issues with identity and the spectacle alike. It does so in a humorous manner. Fritz Scholder pokes fun at America and Americans alike have themselves greatly misconstrued the Native American identity by depicting a Native as the spectacle (Hollywood Indian). He notes how Native American culture is extremely idealized and how most Native Americans do not identify with the image of the Hollywood Indian. Through this piece, Scholder is able to convey that the spectacle of the Native American identity is hilariously incorrect.
MATAR MBAYE BY K WILEY 2007
This piece challenges issues with race and manners. Kehinde Wiley is greatly known for using African American/African males as his subjects. He paints them eloquently, a stark contrast from how black men are represented in the media. His subject, Matar MBaye, is featured holding his head high whilst being surrounded by nature. He depicts black as beautiful, regardless of how the media depicts us. He gives power to the people by painting them and presenting them in museums where black isn’t traditionally viewed as art, thus giving African Americans/Africans opportunity in the art world. Wiley recognizes and challenges the lack of Black! Matar’s mannerism in the piece presents him as a figure of royalty. Wiley employs and challenges mannerisms/posing to emphasize the beauty and power of Matar.
MODEL BY L FINK 1957
This piece challenges looking/gaze. Larry Fink is mostly concerned with the humanity and exploring what it means to be alive through his photographs. While this piece features a seemingly sad individual, Fink finds there is human companionship in isolation. Her gaze is cast slightly downward and she looks a little absent in the photo. However this does not harm her presence and while she looks to be in complete isolation and disarray, viewers can connect with/relate to that far-away look in her eyes.
SMOKEY BY D BEY 2001
This piece challenges issues with class and power, or lack thereof. Dawoud Bey photographs Urban youth to make a rich and complex description of them. Based off this photo, Smokey seems like a haunted, free-spirited individual who does as he pleases and carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He seems like he hasn’t the care in the world about what anyone thinks of him. “A man’s presence is dependent upon the promise of the power which he embodies...The promised power may be moral, physical, temperamental, economic, social, sexual…” (Berger, 45). Smokey’s class is made apparent in this photo; he’s apart of the Urban youth which means he’s a minority in the inner-city. Like most minorities in the inner city, he’s likely poor and definitely marginalized. Bey gives the marginalized youth an outlet by photographing them. The grave way in which he looks into the camera lense in addition to his relaxed (too relaxed) posture depict him as an individual with little social power.
SEEING THROUGH YOU BY B KRUEGER 2004-05
This piece challenges issues with looking/gaze, patriarchy and power. Barbara Krueger is known for her feminist messages. In this piece, she sheds light on the inequality of women and the lack of power they have in a man’s world. Krueger notes that the act of seeing is one imbued with power. Are we seeing through the woman (is society seeing through women) or is she seeing through us? Is she both seeing and being seen through. If looks = power then the act of her seeing would mean she’s powerful however the act of her being seen through (by society) means she is not, thus her power is cancelled out. The message isn’t 100% clear but Krueger is definitely challenging a women’s lack of power by employing the “the gaze.”
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