art history formal essay

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CHAPTER TWO

identity

B eginning art students often fervently believe that they want to f nd our who they i ore as unique rndividuals and convey this 1n their art. In our own teaching. we {rnd

that many students admire the stance (1f not alw•ys the art) of the "heroJC" genem,on of abstraa exprcsston1st painters. actl\·c after World War II, who strove to e,press their personal feelings and their sense of their own radical ind1v1dual11y. The posrw,r gen eration asked questions that philosophers hove been asking since ancient tunes: What is the true nature of the self? Whot does n mean to be human? l'ornsomc of these a r t ists, including Jockson Pollock and Mark Rothko. the true self was a sdf-dir«tcd, free 1nd1v1dual. lnnuen«d by Jungian psychology and exmennalist philosophy, they held up the ideal of an integrated, stable, unique self who acrs independnently wnh mcarung ful intentions and a coherent inner psychology. According to Claire Papczkowsk a , rhe belief in a true inner self is '1libl!ral humanism," where "answers to the quest on of i what it is 10 be human (are) phrased in terms of philosophical concepts such os 'self. knowledge,' 'ronsc,ousness,' and 'thought.' which emphasize the sign1f1cann, of self rather than rhe s ·1ignificance of d1vas1on.

In contrast, artists who wont to express who they are someumes identify chem• selves in rcrins of a communol os well as an individual sense of self. James Luno's per formance The Artifact Piece (1987) [2·1] provides an example. Luna, born in California ,n 1950, strongly identifies w11h being Luiseno and h a s lived o n the La Jolla Indian Reservation since 1975. In Tl,e Arll/act Pttu, Luna turned himself JRto a humon arti fact JR an anthropology museum by laying clod only in o breechdoth on o d,splay ease in the San Diego Museum of Man, in a secuon devoted to the Kumeyony Indians, who once inhabited San Diego County. Labels beside h,s body explained his physical sc,rs (caused by drunkenness and fights) and hiddnen emononal sc,rs (coused by !tfe experiences); personal objects. such as favonte books. mus,c a»ettes, and family p h o tographs, were d,splayed nearby According to writer Lindo WeJRtroub, "The gallery was otherwise given over 10 relic, and diornmos honoring the revered aspects of Native Amer,con life. No part of its permanent display addressed 1he real problems ,hat beset the hving represen1a11ves of these people. Ra1hor. the museu1n placed Indian life JR the same cotegory as dJRosaur skoletons and plant fossils. Luna shauered rhe impression that Indians arc extinct by presenting himself as o breathing anifac1."'Throughout his

s ing car r, L h tin d to k a t he ma e rt at n ea e a u t o o n

n u e e u n a as co n ue i terw v s bi graphy, i d

s a t a t e ig

an u e o radit oenous u tura istor s d L is ii t n nd h xpo s West erniz d ster e c l l h e ,

s e e

i otyp ees bout Native a

i Am rican .

is when identity, dL tured i h mid-19S0 , e n e n ter s

as an art t n t e suna ma fi d i m of

o u ar t e e n r c arcom nuna i o s as i g a p p l h m i Cr iti Lucy R. Lipp!,., a t. d comm l affil ati n , w

rote an innuentiol 1990 b ook, Mixed Blessings: New Al'I i,i a Multicul tural America, w

in c s e rou t s pwhi h h b gh a t i n to the vitality of contempora art t

re t ent o ry i s who were

resenting th emselves of in com un rom al term s. Lipp:,rd arg ued st ngly in support the

artists' desire co ronnect with their culmre-s, stating that "an individual 'identity' h rel ti yon or anythi ng else hardly det out a on ro an e ser rvfo ged wi es the name "' Sh. e

maintained that identity is relation l and d fin d by our sirnibrities and diffea e e renc es wi h e se e r s rou nam na ectt others Lipp.1rd advocated embradng coll iv lf, xp es ed th gh i g . on eself as a meml,.,r of various cultural groups and representing oncsdf ve rbally and visually in ms f shar d d itie . Th a ists Lippard championed cnme of ater o e i ent s e rt ge dur ing the feminist and ci\•il rights movements of the 1960s and l970s. They were pro ud f h i oot> d fEili ti n and adily

r a eo t e r r an a a o s re named themselves members o f idc n ti y-b s d groups rwomen artists," "black artists/' "'Chicano artists," "Askm Amc-r c;in an sts .... ). They created arrworks rh at represe e t e u e t e a

i i nt d h r comm nal id n iti , nd often at the

S3m(' t m e i

i advanced social :.lgcndas.

In this chapter, we provide so 1 o

n e . an

. en o t e

h o nce

isronca l ts a

context ou

about identity as a theme in an d ,h l k a

v . er

I vmg co p b t1 'd ent s t t o n n

ny· overdh =s hirty y ' rs ' di cussingSh·f 1 n· t

g e

t t t

m ea s

h a n e

g i a d ou 1 0f fa v I tor . .

or . A tho u . enn. r i ,h c

a reat·

a n t a 1on i ter eta n

gh 1d ty is lw ys a implici f c- an d n pr no of ar, 1 e use o

. . en t ar m

" h . art JS

f • d ennty as a high Iy heor zed d oft pol t

i ,-II '" · y c h g ed t h e . c m recent ' d evisrs are selr.conse:iou. 8 e

i I opme ntd. Contemporary art·

eor es

> bo . . d

a ut , ennty to O The th

e r a .

e . i id e

eas tern s

num � 1

rous , s

' d g ec , t h at was r r 1n pr viou pen ·ods .

e a

an d . . ave e

d e fi nnmns su rroun d' mg t h e I arge topic of id ntity nd arc

e a

h ue e

be n e

orp_ h· mg co ,h v l of mpha �

nstantly in the period that t s n en as ene uc

his book covizi g e rs, and

t t11y h g rated m h debate.

La 2-2 Pep6n Osorio I B,c,cleta, t98S um appro.JJmatety 42 x 60 x 24 inches Miked med s , i

CREOU' Co9,-n11ht f'u,on OSouo , COl#tes, Rona d Fddman fl.ne At�. New Yo r\

1 l

a w ld f id tity re Th is s wh ks b di cussed under the heading o e n acou e se rt t ose or e v Ev ry kind of r t n-1edium is involved, every scalee a , ev ery rype num rous and di erse.

of forum and venue, and many purposes and ideas. The anworks we shO\V in this chap e a oe o a r t s e ro t e r r var e ut on hint ar rhe rang f wh t a i ts hav p duc d. M ny f tha c i d b ly e

images s ho w the human f gure (and thus relare to t he t heme of chaprer 3, "The Body ").

Cer ta i

inly the body carries many signs of id en tity (hair, skin color, gestures, posture,

c o n o on by l thi g, and s ) , b iden i ea s u t t ty is expressed by other m n as well, including

words, symbol s, o n with bj , and tings. These may be used alone or in conjunctioects set figurarive imagery . Fo u n ir example, Pep6n Oso r o's La Bicicleta [2-2J is a fo d b cycle i

a c s o s u ure e t st st ea et ar t e r e ellish d wi h pla ic r m rs nd knickkna k . Osori ' sc l prh h a tist mb

i b h a t ib t r e o n ar

to the vernacular c ultu e a e uer o ics ot r u e of his n tiv P t R o , wher rdi y

h d g of Os ibj c c oft x b rantly d o d (al ho gh r rely to t e e ree or o irate t u ao e ts ar e n e u e ec 's b cy

cle), and an expl oration of hi s heigh,ened awareness of cultural ide ntity after he moved

to New Yo rk City as an adult .

Identity in Art History genres and W thin t h W stern tradition, two with endu ing hiscories, the portrait

the i

re e

><!IE-po trait, di ectly li k d to he a tistic explo ration of the t e e en t t in

are r n e t rr h m of id i y

n t o e esa a a o rc a art a e ran o casso, nd Frid K hl a mo g h s wh

o inv ted tod y . R mb d� Pabl Pi

I I

A pleth ora of exhibitions in th s c nd h lf f the 1980s and the first half of th e e e o a o !990s turn ed• s pot light on idenury ddinod collectively, especia lI ' idcnrity de) fined m ter�s 0£ race, ethnicity, gend er, or sexuality; thl! exhibitions simulwneously set off a firestorm of debate on the value , ethics, a nd meaning of art and exhibi tions thar_engage issues of identity. Two high-profile exhibitions were par ticular ly con tennous: Magiciens de la Te rre (1989) at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the 1993 Whiiney Bien nial (sometimes nicknamed "1hc Id entity Biennidal").' The former showed cont emporary artists from previo usly colonized culture s in Africa, Oceani a , and_cls�whdere nc�t -to artist s fr om the Wes t. trying to rr eat all a rtists as equa ls. The cxhibano� was criticized for romanticizing

N art

e e ists from cultures outside the West and turning_t h m 1nio e e ma a , , xouc "'Oth rs in comparison to suppos dl " instre m

Wesrern amsrs and for not re co ·, y

· · . e

gmzmg d· lversny · among artists · fro m 1he same loca- tlOn. Th . 1993 Whitne en a

y Bi en

ni l was l'I k . s rie a

cw1· e c r· . o

tt1c1z· · e d f or creating overl simp1·1- f, d ' .d nty catego

y s nd f r c u r• ..t o n·a I se I ecuons · o[ artworks th at wer e s ee

i n as

d. ,dame, . h. ghly political in t e

o ne a s a e

, an d Iacki ng m · . aest hen c . appeal. Both exhibito ions

I h d r e

h u d fen o

ders o a , r 1• . o amp wen. n ' wh s \ , ,h, cir . mu I ncu · I tu a l worldv1ew· as val d t1ng · nd g for ar11sts fro m et h me, · ra

t C'la· , I n d gene I r groups wh were und rr pre-

sen c d m t h e mam. a e o e e

stream art world.s

significant energy in recording their own likenesses. Indeed, populiar myth.s that r�man ticizc artists as a special category of p eople are fed by such re prese nt ations; ,h� nk ofthe dr amatic self-portrait s of Vin<:ent van Gogh. Closer i n �imie to ourselves, arusit_s of note after World War 11, inclu ding ,he British painter Francis Bacon and theAmerican pop artistAndy Warhol, produeed influential bodies of work that fe amrcd •. rang e o f portraits an d se ll-portraitis. Each artist o f talent who took up these ge nres d,d i n a� way that revirnlized the traditio ns. Bacon, for ins tance, revealed a sronhng capac,ry for _rernining an identifiiable likeness of a specific person while forcing th e p ainted rcpresen• cation to under o eg xpressive <01\tortions. Warhol thriough a pristine, almc>st niechani.. cal, application of color, created m ass media icons of reco gnizably famous persons.

ln th e contemporary period, a number of artists have continued to creat<' in,ages and o bjects th at are anchore d in the familiar tra diti ons of po r traiture a n d s elf pomaiture. Americans Chu ck Close and A lex Katz; British artist Lucian Freud; lrnJ,ian artist Froncisco Clemente; an d Chinese artist Zhang Xiaogang , for instance, have each demo nstrated how representations of human likenes s are m anifcs1ied throug h ,he prism of art istic style. Americans Elizabeth Peyton and Richard Phillips have updated Wa,hol with painti ngs of pop celebr ties from the 1990s ai nd 2000s.

A deep, implicit connec1iion between art and human idcnuty has existed thr ough out art history. How 1he world views you, how ou view yours ey l(. how you view oth ers -these fundam ental dimensions of human identity have inAuenced amst s' ,deas, emotions, and creative expressions in classical Cl'�e, in eighteenth-century sub SaharanAfrica, ond during the Tang Dynasty in China. An artwork's subject miat ter, irs forma l properties, and the very mat erials it is crea ted from reflect the identity character is tics, on the individual and broader c ultu ral level, of both the artist and the intended audience.

While a connecnon between an and iden tity has existed throughout histio ry, the ways in which humans understand themselves, or conceive of their identity, fire con St antly changing. Iin some periods and in some societ ies (such as the dynastic period of Egypt's Old Kingdom), these changes seem almost g acial in their slowness and subltlety. In other period s, changes have occurre d at a cataclysmk pa«!. Fo r ex ample , the Enlightienmel\t i n Europe and North America was marked by profound social, politi co!, and scientific changes that alt ered how humans understood thems el ves . Startiing with the Am erican Revolution in 1776, a seri es of conflicts over 1 he righ, of sel f determmataon produced a new democratic order, in whjch the individual came to be seen as the agent of his own free will, rather than part of a rig d i soci al str u ctur e.

ln our own contemporary periiod , many i nterweaving forC(>S and events have resh aped co ncepts of id nrity on a worldw de b sis.Among ,h h be rapid tc h� i a em ave en cnolo g1cal change, rhe d1smantling or 1hc Soviet Union, increme ntal vict0ries fo r fl!mi• nist and civil rights c auses, the rising world influence of societies beyond Europe and.the Unned Staies, the ever-mcreasmg speed of informati on tr an sfer, the globalizing of e onom1c systems, and th� e mAuence of feminist,. postmodern, and pos tcolo nial theories on a range of intellecrua] and culrural arenas . Such change s have nm rake n place everywhere or equally, of course, but they have occurred in a wide r an ge of soci eties ov r. the p� ast three decades. Think of th e expanding economies of the Pac ific Rim, the u,uf,cauon of much of Europe within one monetary syste m , •"nd th, c d · 1Smant 1· mg o f a a o t

.p rt h c, · d m · S u h Africa. Such changes in the fabric of who le soci eties, even when

nsfo m ti n has b en. fol.low d by a period f retr chme t r r vct al, inevitably�ra r a o e e o en n o e s 1nfluenc-e art:Jsts. A new 11ucrnational awareness,. a new vision of possibility, produces new u de :tand.in s of what it eans r b human; th s e unders andings, i n urn, ari� ' � m o e e t t e e mbodied m artistic p ortrayals of human identity ,hat look un.like the art of the past.

The curr em interest in diversie identities is a rediscovery and reinterpretation of .their �elevance. Thr ough trade and coloniznuo n, Europeans m thie nineteenth and early rwent1erh centunes, for example, were well aware that cultural Others existed elise.. where in the world. Recem and ongoing changes i n concepts of idenritv mirror rhe dra1�1a1ic and decisive inte racrions in other per ods ( e .g .. 1hc deep inOuen�e of coloniali Spa111 on the an and identity of 1he Native peoples of Mexic o during the sixteenth. century) Nevertheless, cont(·mpornry arrisrs offer a new spin on the �1ucstion What docs it mean to be hu man?

Identity Is Communal or Relational Identity was a key r h m e in artistic product on; i in 1he Unittd States and Euriope right ft r Worl� Wa [I. for the unmediate p s war g nerati{)n oi nrtists, identity meant� � � o t e.ind1v1dual 1denl1ty. Later in th� e twenricrh century, thiis belief in o consistent , unique • ne s lf and the indiividua l's nbility miacr independently of soc e y wa severely q cs-� r e i t s u11oned. The challenges rame from philo::iophers, social ac11vis1s, artists, psycholo gists,.

and o,h ers who doubte d all claims 10 ulumoto truth Roland Barthies's iormulation of the "death of the author" is a famous example of the challenge m individual self.deter�1inarion and self�exprcssion.li Jn Barthes 's vie\� there is no single, unchanging meamng for an y text ("text" would encompass both written and verbal communica tion , indudin� thos e w e make as individuals in our efforts co express g our personality.i and 1dcnt1ty). The or gii n ator of the text is not rhc ultimate authority fo r its meanin g . Eac� readeri (r eceiver) of rhe text formulates his or her o w n interprernrion, b ased on_the 11np1·css10n that the lan ua s a cs g ge make on him or her. For many re sons, Barrh and other critical thinkers grew skeptical of the en-,phasis on singular idientity and unique• ne ss and inste ad focused on how p eople are powierfully i nfl uenced by forC1's ou tside .themselves (in addition to whatever unconsdous m ot vations pri opel behavior)

I n contra st to the existentiial focus on indepe nden t md,vidual di entity, coday when Western artists and writers on arr us e the te nn identity, they are usually referring .i 10social and cultural identit . A co ntemporary artis t y who 1s inrcrc-stcd in the theme of ident y i s asking not only, Who am [ as an individual? but Wh ore we 1-lS rn<'11,beit , o rs of groups? An example or an artist working with multifaceted communal 1denrmes is provided by Carrie Mae Weems in her Kitchen Table Series, a seriies of twenty u nti· tied phot o g raphs, one of which is presented here J2·3J. Thie same w om an protagonist (W eem s usi ng herself as th e model) appears in all ,he photogr aphs, sometim es alone and sometimes with various other people, and she is alway s at the sam e kit chen table but with different priops around her .A ny of the photographs viewed singly migh1 be in1staken for a simple portrait. B ut viewl.11g the entire seriies, we realize thnt the wom· an's ident ity is shaped by many variabl es, incl uding her gender, her statu s a, a workmg dass black Americian, her relatiionships with other people, and her soci al history. Thi s last varia ble is represented by the photograph of the civil r ghts lead lcolm i er Ma X on the back wall Jl Figi ure 2-3.

2•3 Gela11n Carrie Mae Weems CR(OfT_

si Cou

lver rtesy

pnn1, o the

28 1rt

1/4 $ ,nol 1 I

• 28 1/4 tnches I "Untitled,· from the Kitchen Table Series ' 1990 atk Shl,nflWI Gallery J

Although collective id nt n s co ce v bly . . cussione. s in the West in the e

19SOs i e

and n could b b d on m1 990

i a e ase

f a i , ny traits,. m .-irt d ·1s-

JI n . h . s, gend tto r e categories of c . he tran were most a

s that of rcn mph ized ries of group 'I d enrrty . me .

e a s

I udcons e r. ·

. . cla er �i:: �: m r e pro. nounc ss

race, e

ec hnu:ity, an d sexual o r Oth s ess o

' entation. r lig ca1ego· i , nat1ona · 1ity, · ian d ag . In EtLrope ar where class are p an t d: t' "' on

orks that refl ct class e a

val e

p e

a e

n t th tn h e

e Uen d sR · ,re e

ch l Whir . tares · Fo r r ues

ad ass

, ga xamp ,ned entit ,

gr ar n nrron by y

n gative ca ting e J e, ,n . •s one

• , or cl id

a e s e

1993 a Bnnsh .. s

sculpror, pace of i

a buildin h n e

d o

l e d f or d emolt'.10. '" . mono ' thfilling the 1.nh,c sculpture e

nified s as n a e

c n trh ee entire nt rior London'v:i::: E t E d. M d b y working-class idenr � h o w rh co re , ir y or"t�;·� c �hlt rcad' House nh �� r � s i g -• •tanrs of th,s ryp,cally conscrict

ed space.

Whitc e a s a s an e e s nt e o a a

from an

>'e e

d's House n

i n

l o exampl of how th me of ide ity, m m ry, nd pl ce int rhe

rsect. I additio on

, by a

filling i th n gativ p ce Wh ter ad switched th focuarchite<tural o a so

c t i r (the n materie e l fabric e s of a i e e s

the psychol gic l, cial, and ne

p litical zont-s a

thar th r e u ne

a,·1work becam n impe etr ble o h b ckling) to in r spaces

n a monolith, metaphorically e e a e

e a

occupants se

onc inh bit d. Thaling in the p atterns of e

living that once occurred wit·hin. e

Most of en

th an tha w illu tra e i hi chapt r mbedd d i conc pt of thnicity, g d e

r, a d t

x e ality, sr flect t n

ng t

the s promine e is e

ce of th e n e s a e

"id ntity rr" ef the n

1980s se u

and e co c r i

1990 . In i chapter 3, w c o

i die s e cu nio e of ns e a o s

r c e

ity a d gend r within ur xplorattos of rh rhcme e

of th nt nue

bod a

and s in ss rh

ch n

dis<'uss n

religious e

xu lpt r e9, awe identities. o c

n e e , a ey

Identity Politics When artists began

to m them elves a par f a gro p, th y at firs used g n r l s

terms s

uch as women, African na e

Amerknr,s, s s and t Asian o Americnus. u e Thi t mnd politicale e aen e: however simplistic e

with u

respect ro th framework of mtellecrnal s

id as c (peopl

in e

practice o

really n

b long e

to m ltip e

le cohort e

s), ,h e e

th arr w rld ns i the r st of th world, people have e srra retgy n was f unee s cr onally s vvy. In t e e

of e b n t rei typed and d crimina ed

against 01, th basis or their perc ived gender or ethnic e

identity o a

or cl is

.Di crimina ion includes unequal occ-e-ss to opponunities for making money in ass

harts and little- or no represenra,ion . in art 1txhibitions, gal1ery shows and sales, art his· t e

rory texts and teaching, art cri icism, or any other kind of ar discussion and anal i .Economic and institutional discrimination t

used to be rampant t

and still occurs. It ys is s one reason y

wh s

feminists, a

among others. e t

got so angry about th "white l'nal patriarchy.'' Peopl ob erved n e

th t s

a high perc t

n e e of exhibi ions

age of ch g in Western arr world i t rm nd l e arti t� who wer succeedi

w rs whit and e mal . They

t c to que tio why, nce h y could S<.>e for ath

mselv e s e e

rh r ,he r rc many e

exc s a

1h s n si r e e es a e e a e

rred llent women artists and artists of color.7

46 47

Arti n

t re po d d to the xclusio ary poliric of rh art world i many way ,includi g s s

picks i n

g . ed mon tr eti g, sp naking ou s i public e forums, and n working f s

equaJ et n e s a n

s t

opportunitie o a

for all s

artis s ro participate e

in t

art n

institutions and the public inter· or

art.

pr tation fThe Gue rr. Some r al s

o made arr w i h a politic l g nda, som tim s call d a

rrilla Gi e

l , for inst nc , a t f mi is group a a e w o ki g ea onymously e e nctivist a e e n t r n n ( ince

1985), prim rily in N w York City, battl d th p tr rch l power structur of rh s rt

world on b half of wom n d th r underr e

pr e

s a ia

e e an o e e e ented arris a

rs. a e

Srill ctiv e

s provoca e a

teurs for soc:ial change, none of e a

wi ho t doubt ch i lso doi ua ut

of tth ucoll ctivea p p s rs a

i p n

the e

Guerri11a i o

Girls n

is ever nam a

d as an en

individ e

l, b e

g f m nist w rk i other renas. Wh any m mber cosrume

bLlc as a Gu rrill Girl, h w rs gorilla m sk and s

tha e

coe c a

als eap rt n of the u tor o . O e e

of rh a

group's s e ea a t n e a s n e favorite strategies i s a

to e adverti

e so

ing a

forms, i s

ch as bumper stickers, po ters, and ads in magazines, to rommuni us

ca, un

ci s

lly s

act vi u s

k , "Docs t vibl tly a a wom sual m

n ess have

ag roe es. An be e

t e t

a na

xampk e 10 e

is heir 1989 post t

r with an

a lCXt se

h e u e

k d en

g t s

into s

rhc u

Me ropolit Mu um at

of e of Arr?" T h implication, s

co rs , is that wom arti t are nderrepresented, whil rhsexualized e s

female a

form, a

ignified s

as e

models in male artists' wor� remainin th s ubiq i ous e

di p l y of the rt hi torical r cord. u t

Identity politics s a te s e

e c s s m

i an

rm u ed to r fer o h bclids a d a ivities of th who targ n m

t c

ra a

i m, sex , d other forms e e i

em a n r

of pr judice t t e

a d w rk n

for ct

soda l ng ose

ln o i p rity. Th p h sis on a d ecognition o f

cultu o

d c o n l diff renc i also

s n e

e e s s

a c alled

ad 11111/ticulturnl

t cultural ism. (The

diff r e term has

l cy es as d

ess sa en

voca e

li e e

of multiculniralis sirable

today.) Propo t a d good, r th r

nen

tha s

as s me hi m

fe ed a d p ed. A u tic lt ralist n

y admira a

h e

Europ n

n cul o

ural t

ar n re ress m

s n e e ate at

tradition ng to �

l but doe ot l v th tradition

u u

above all m a

others. e t e e a t

art

Identity e

polia e e

ics in h art wodd was a Gercc ar a i ,h L980s a d 1990s. Activi t

t ner

on th an

th e

m n

of e

ida t

nti e

y co tinua s to have som e n

powerful n e

co n

e ntemporary s

io s d d fe d e t n e practi

Joseph Mar i z, W

t ne

rs a

, indudingaAdria llia

nPip<?r, Barbara Kruge m e c v r

r, David I l,1nrn10ns, Dan s e m

iel

e e e i

m e

Pop .I., and Ha n

hi e

i Edga Heap a e

of Bird n

. Al ,h same ti e,

oth r p ma

opl , both fro ,h arr o

world t

a d th f an a As

world n e

at l er

rg , e

remai o

s1c,1dfo,tl y crincal

s e a

dC' w a

ith an oven o e

p li ical ou

agend c r

. i arli e

p ri ess

d$. th san tioned p u r po s o f

n ot y 1t

n e

re hotl c nt sted in r s

u nm1 n a

age. Ncv o n

nhd s s

, ca n cs

b d l!d that fro

1h recent s

era e

of social activi m o w rd, w me aru r , LGBT (l b e

�m, cni

, bisexunl.

nd tran r

gcnd r) nrusts., a d nrtisr o( col c.'O ti lly uI fo a v i 1

rh ay

m tter in the a t wor d. n s or n nua s cl' s o ces ac

l 4 8

The focus on issu es of ide society nt arge. S ch

conc rn n in m r enc o (' o c t e

l gmv up i the People's

Republi e s

tity art i

i rors 1hc ore no1 lim ted ro 1hc

influa e

e f th �(' t pi s in h

n c n n

W t

st, of cour�c. A h X . \vh

e nt n nanmen re n 1989,

of Chi a o d immigra e eas

ed to Austr inese

;,lia e n

f ve s i Tia

o ll ian

owing ,h o

ow rnl t!ral d1Spla n

?f whi n

h t

,s p es ted c e

Squa e

i has explor d id of C h id my a d his

c r en

m e

nt. Hi Cl1i110 nc,; of porcd m b d •·ca t b t , one

h re an

[2-41, s

comb Cluna

ines a Wes, se

rn sculptural a

p<> o

t an 1radi1io s us s)

e r r n dat ing

b a d dec

k to �naent Rom busts with ,radmonal Chi ceramic lcth ,. gl zl.'S,

orauve surf�re e

desig s . �any o( Ah Xi ' motif nese m ues aq

! d landscape� d n':'e fro n

de ,g s u ed m he a n

M i s s n u owers ra onsg

Chm s n ss, th intricata m

d s

signs n s

over t

, i cl ding tl , d ,

houlda ng and Qin g dynastie

r s mbl s . Sig ifying

and h d d n

tattoos, as ,f o

say e e

h t o e

' c u l rura e

I 'd e

enuty · c

·as per s

t t a ne s I ma n o

n nt ers

e no m:.111.er e a

wh an

ot e

her e

pl e

nd influences . o e ad pts.11

at a c e s a

Essential ism

ln th e 1970saand e arlyl9S0s, art·i sts w ho Idcn ' m ns m n r

n f ' pl d. 1 ed with a group tt;'nd ed to d,st' . cuo. a own y

n a o g g

oup m i h f b Id · on. A rusts · w h o, 'd nufy .

em ers n interest o ui in t emse

b t e g h l as � g,.

a large , cohe sive coali•

art rh a, '" oes node

�r m· on . ves I on ng a

to s

grou p h ave so metim es

h r · Th us an o Id e e e

Sch a e

n , and M r

genl"ra i

11.ze n

d traits ' or e xpcn ce tI lat m m b e r s o f th group

neeman generat- .. o of fo 1 · n ,· i art15t· , me" I d i g Judy Chicago, Carolee

ut omest c

onica 5jOO m d e m

•aon s

• bo t pregnancy, s n

b' 1rt h , n d n'lcnstru tio and abo d i t

a a u a a n

ing . Rachel R mh a s 101 1 a en a s e c e n

o mythi al h os,,

roin a

k s a

tl ' are e

I arge e

y e n

rned n

ou e

t b Y wom , sue t

h s hou l a • l, M r y B th "Ed l s� , a d oth rs looked back o histo y fo eal s ,h ou Id 'd nfy w11h d i c

r r r

Af r c

i A ican e e

rtists� e c

r can mer a rpo 1ed h m subj cts.

n e an e e s

h as R ay en

� d Saund an

rs n o

nd Jacob ra

Lawr t e as

fou d m n e a ch , lik

wis e

ro(,s d rol m;d tb Y resea hmg h; tory d S tat es, as well rc s an

a n eg t an e curren eve t

· r e

I w Un1teo e

· , e

s gazi . n

ov r h c occanatA f n. caI d x .

r e g e . aminm . g

spect n s in

Some o f m d an th � c p h a. siz s a s h red ' a s

o f prescnt·d h or f s I av ry d cons

t h err . A f. nc i usne

an a

racism. a e at m e a is t y O e an c o s s

2-4 Ah Xian I China China - Bust 63, 2002 Poree lam. tar stained w th rebef an<l$Cape de$1£n i l h40:w.w39.5 :c d29.5cm

Co�1 111'lOAh�ni t Conec .on ot ttwOueemiand Art GaU!fY!'Ci,a i@lyOII M00t:1n A f t , 8n1t1ane, Q1 d . Auwatll l l

Kerry a

Jnm<>s M r h ll i A ica p in who ha mad the p es -d y cul u nd a a

ctivities of African a s a

Americans s an mer

hi pri n a

r y ter

ubject s

att r . e r ent a t re

n rr tiv a d ymb lic p imings [6-3] s

e n s o a

H retH c plic:a,cd

s n o t r e et o t s one

in whi ma s m e e c es om

ki . Thr ugh h e p ition f hi int ch vir

t tually all n , Marshall

the figures h v dark, i eem to

d e ky

n ify th n

i t blackna

ess (as a color and as a conce s e

pt s e

) i fund ense

m o

mal e

o what it s

me s

n s o e

b t

Africa a

Arnerica.1,. MarshaJ)' t lized xagg ratio s

of a

skin e

to t

fu cti a

mbiguousl t e n

min : nt

imum, ce

rhc r pres ntati y

n of blackl'l(.'SS n

imult'aneousl n e n ons a a y

"darkfo e e o s y r

re res nta o e on

egisters e

as a echo f 1h

" t

p an

e a

tions e

o f n

p p n

cultur , a cclcbn1ti n e

of th o

color blo n

k' di o

i e

fonnal ba u y, d for grou di g of 1he c s st nct

"black"Am rica. M rsh ll's rt app ars to c t

mpl y i g th e

t rm a a

to a

refer

to e

sig ificanc

e a y Afric re a n

of ,he s ciological oncep o f

e o n e black n

ify an

( d th by critiqu ) the practice f Am

ere e o

e rican of any skin coloration. e

Although e e

such e

genaral statem ents can e e en

be p<>w h ds,

t can

rful e

d u ifying, in awkward

g t

n raliz d int a

rpr tations of n

group id e

t i o

y a

b c h an n

for a ar ist claiming communal ide tit ar : H w l rge a group a lleng d ea ily. Two is u

do e

you s

ide tify s

ith e s

n wy ?

b l cl im n b h l f y gr up? By th lan d Wh o · ma ki g i u l and v a s o e . a f o u r \ o . o . e er a are s aIS n v

si d d ims th o 1ded tOO sweeping. I ttn 'b u tmg certam qua sre a at s ure 1 N

1· JtJes . 1 980 s, peop J c · . . . term 1·or pomts o f view · t "' women Of or "'blacks seeme o d s1mp . 11stu:. Tl ,e esserJ11a ism .b g n to b e app I ,., eo to st t a e o er e n e e o sa emen s a aO e s e a t nd im • th t oonv ycd v I y g r a 1 · • rz d . r ter co n typed notions of id n e ent particular; a accus.auon o f esscntrn

· ity. In 1· 1sm 1s · o f te n�a. wh cl im b t gronp's id ntity c based on _,he not on thar h'., e s

d h'. aar uae s en a s a ou a

. red q l,ue e r e r o m s s u e o u t a e o a atural, or based n biology. If h o d f th g 1 nat ral, th n y h vre n an

insurmountable obstacle ro overcome if you are on a lower rung of the existing order. Th t a use ve o e re a a m a ae erm essentialist is usu lly d negati ly, ft n to sist d i!" de bout you by someone cl raiming to s e tspeak 011 you r behalf. Fo cxample, _ 'O t f minis s t. '.'. �ay would resist as essentialist any claim that women are naturnlly suited r o nurturing ol and th s h ld b ar o r en n e r es u s ou ear the major rcspons,biliry for child re ing t di g th sick

in society.

Lyle Ashton Harris is an American n,·tist who, over th past rwenry years, hself-p e a s

o used

rtrait phot0g rnphy to e i a e ot ns f e t e a

inv st g t n

n e

io o id nti y c o plic d by i s u s of race, sexua1 e

ori m s

nt ate

t e e ons

tion, a

and ge d s

r . e na

Harris uses cos u m t d c truct nd

e a

mak e e s

, p, gesture, and pose ma e omosexua

e e ua

mock a v

impl bi u

ry e

cod s: m l l ; h l e

v se

rsu fe v us h t rosex l; ers

bl ck tra e

�rs s u

whit . In i

som e a a

lf-por u

it ph ot0s, h fe i· mne ,dcnnn s, incl a en n

d o

ng e a s

ball rin nd s p 1

h t k n e e r

o t e e ea a a

rmod l, a

whil e or

cont adicting th ininity f h poses e fem 2

by r v ling of a

his n er e o

tomically m l e

t s e u

s o . llarri '(2002) 1 s Memoirs of Hatl in11 #26 e u r

·_5] is one s r

i s f tw lv a

uniq e rwemy-by-tw nty-fo -incl, P r

laroids. Th 11tle is oo e e

bor o a

owc<i ett r

from e

1951 n t

v e

l by M a g it Yth form f l er w itt r uer e

n by ourcenar, w hose text takes

cc osso_r Hadri m ean followi a s u s s s

h g the dr

aging R owH rns po

ni o

man E p ror M rcu 1\ureli to hi uc a ses a a re e

ng f his l ov r, A tino . In ight f th ph to-ch s, s . ba w' ""

e n e o e opnz· f · u s

•g h t r w armg · Ev I t b ing glov nd Du ke l'."k strap . ' e

. H m e

' e ocativ e

self-im er as ox es a a

a s s v 1g h

e a f

ge see o a s

s of s

nn va

iso ented tcr m t suggest both ated,

H rr'I ' o ie r u s e

pn· rm 1 " 'f c ted p blic id e e

l bl od d, m o

d, b i torm tt· n I ntity.

o Th

a se f a e s u a e u e e ser

I nd hi n d t d f en d h'1 ies m

s e e o ay also reference the historical role of boxing

51 50 Diversity

By th 1990s, writers, such as bell ho oks, Edward Said, Homi 13h ab ha , ae n d Gayat ri Chakrnvor ty Spivak, were discussing identity i n increas,ngly comp lex terms They were theorizing ,hat identities a no t fo rmc<i around and dominated o e

. re by n central

v:trinble such as race. lnscead, identity is formed wi1hin a complex matrix of manyvariables, including gender, sexuality cthn c-ity, class, religion, community, and nation. MorC'Ove

, ir, the members of a group arc not alike in every way; they have diversity within their own commona lity. Among the new c o ncepti on s t oday is that those who are interested in diversity r ec ognize internal differencc>s within the comcxr of rheir own communiry.

Awar eness of diversity contrasts st rongly with essen tialism. I n stead o f look ing for sa

· meness, one looks f or multi ple aff liati ons and character s s u t

exist, but they a i i tic . Cro ps s ill rc smaller , and an individual m ay identify with diffe rent gr o ups in diffe r ent situati ons . As Walter Tru ett Ande rson wr ote , "The postmodern per· son is a

a u

mul1i-conrrnm1;ty person, to

::ind his or her life as o social being is based on dJ sring shif11ng contexts and being true to divergent- and occasi o n ally ronflicung-commitrnents.'"'

Unique 2.s Lyle Ashton Harris I Memolfs of Hadrian lf26.

Po 2002

l a,ol d, 20,: 24 ,r.ehes CREOIT· COUft!Syol U e a,Ust �nd CRG � fl'r)'1 l

-� c (l)

:!2

in the construction of African America iden i y . Although an indi idu l spo , boxi g provides a culturally constructed im ag

o f African t t

A ri an m v

hood, a

a di rt

e me c an splay n

of athle tic prowess, fighting at the r isk of injury befor e a voyeuristic cro ud.

The cultural theorist bell ho oks embraces the con cept o f diversity lib r a d p

as e ating

Sp n litically

ki o desirable for people who have been stereotyped by essentialist thinking .

ea ng o f African Am ericans, sh us to ffi mulripl bl k d i es,

e observed, "Such a critiqu fof s nti l i m] ll ied bl ck expe i ce. I

e es e a s a ows

imp ri a

lis rm

parad g e

of ac

bl i ent

k d ti

ntity var

hi h a r e n t also cha llenges colonia l

i e

y a

rhar t

for i ms

and ac

u t i e

whi w

p c represen t bl ackness one-dimensiona lJy

and n wa

is against s rein y." Al hough hooks alu di si y

simplistic c e

generalizing, s s ain

she te s u

argues remac

that it still t

makes sense v

ro talk es

nbout ver t

a communal black identity rhat is culrural and forme d by sharing a majo r m of hi to

r st ea ry with other African Americans . She a dvocates 1har people should pay attentio to

"rhe specific history and experienc of Africa -A h u ique nsibiliti n

and cuhure 1har arise Crom rhot experience." e n mer ns a t e n se es

ica nd

Hybridity

One concept about identity that gained currency in rh d-1990s i which i

e mi s l,ybridity,

cretism s

i r elat us d

ed ro the notions of multiculr ur mo or l s y o y ly ith

alis m a d di s i y . (Th m sy11- s e re e hyb

s s n n mous w ridi ver

ty.)" A t

w rking e ter

d fi i io pro id d by R hi

o e n t n

rr. v

v d e

a hrough o ni Malik and Gavin Jantj es defin es l ybridity as "a state of b e, ing,

a i e h in ov v ixi g d b i g of id m d s f

prac t

."" t

Th e n

tudy ati

f e

hybridi m n

y an

fo orrow

o n d

o h b l nding e as, la ng u ages an

f d,ff e o tice e s o d y th i

o ere nr cultures that come int o co c t

with cuses

on n t

oth e

. e

Thi u l a n s

l n

bl es

d s

ing , o y cr i m, ca be olu t i• d nta

s t

ml s o c e an

b t h e r s c tura e n

cul u r s

f n

h, et s

h _ n

h forc v n

d i ar

po an

i io e a

of es

cul r an e

o e o utcome of a painf ul

colo111zat,011, t re c s suc as t e e m s to

o h a h p p i when inhabitants from one country

n one

move ture

int n

o and an t

d er

inate s a

anoth ens n

peopl e's terri tory . Forc ed colonization h pp n d i n rh Ame i s, Afri o m

, A s lia, er

and other pans of the world wh en Europ a

n e

di e

pl c d e

r c r ca c a u tra

Of ou ,_ ea s s a e o onquered nati ve people s.

tu res c

con rse af r

unues even te th e colonial regi me i s dis mantled, th e mixt ure of diverse cul

. . I n �ddirion to colo iza io , a gre t d l of hyb idity all h w ld i rh ul

of imm,gration. Indeed, n t

n e arly n

all h a

p ea

pl l vi g r

h U it· d t

Star e o r

· i over

· s h s e res

tors t

w ho were voluntary or involunta ry t e

1rnm1grants · eo

· e i n

or n

ar t

1mm1grams e n e

themselves. e ave ances

Over t h c c n. s, peopl h v mo ed to rh U 1· d S at

. '" h entu

world. e

Hybridi e

y, a

• e

bl v

di g r fu e

i n te

of c t f r o l ru

es m v t e

· inually y t

oth en

r pl ce n o s on u ral in[luences � i

ever e

s endemic ro bei a

ng an American.

Hybr ' h o gomg.

idity is found in all cultu res wor Id w1 ·d e; no cu I ex ha ge a d ad p a ions

contact e n

h other c n

c l s n

· E a

en "' t t

ture h

cie· t at su

ev�r been immune to h re lt fr migration ' di pl c m ' a d

· . wit a d . I r d

p opl s su h s s

th a

A e

a ent

z.i li n

mg m cave d we u tures v an nt n

. a eISO e e

. c a

e re . s a

II n

ings in .

remo r e

a as o f enomenon

w h t o r

ow N t

w M' xico , d, d or e

I' , n sa

. m to v

al , ol uo ph

t e . Th

s f

ea h b idi

. Y h

b ee n

. m eIS

. ,6cd e

roday, how n ve t

of h rapid pr d of m f . as n tens r, b cause

mexcial forces. The nor· ormation _Y an d ideas ·

eve n er a na e ia

o o . through . , r n no· I m d . an d

coin• f h y b n duy, r y r n m, qu lifid i y, sugg sti g h�r :h r no no

nor s nc

ha e s

h a i

, . b es t

ent t e n t e e t w h e concept of gro p

ence bet se IS

. s . t ere e ve ee an a s t e ween n. e n b o I u

' Out d ·

n , ff e

- n

lf a ntam

d oth nat

rs e

As S h Afncan artist u Gavi co J ti· s i ys, "Th r r

o ed p riph

erie::. · ·

f ull o f aur h enncot . h ers."u an e sa e e are n

Nu me r ous artists have expresse d conce pts of hyb idi y in h ir works. O example is Hung Liu, who etnig rarcd to the Un it ed S a s

f om t

Chi t

a e

i l9S4, a t th n e

ag e o f 1hirry-six. H ng Liu builr rh composition f t

h te

r painti r

g Jud n

me11t n

of Paris e

12-6) und h u

ar o er own painted c pi e

o f hi o ic l o

im e

g f Chines n g

d E rop wo ncn. Th two Chinese figur

s, standing es st

in r

pink a

at a

1 e e ei1her es o

side, arc e an

painred u

from ean

vinrage nphotogrnphs of young Chinese prostitutes posed in clnborace Western set tings typical of r hc Vmo nan era ." Thes e c on>tructcd imag s, from ou d 1900, "h ad been made by Chrnese t

"I-+

photographers t o promo te he s e

vi of ar

uch n

wo n among their countrymen The two Chancse women fJank

a ces

central s

p:rnel wirh m e

Hung Liu' s paint ing of a lotc Q,ng-cra porce lain vase. The vase is decorate d w11h a paint ing of a European-style mythologic al scene that 1ndudcs rw godd s s b s exposed, ont? of 1hci-n a cla ic reclinin.g nude pose. Such

vase� were es e 1rl1

reast in ss inadc w

in cigh teenth-ce r Europe for sale.

n u r)' China to appe al to Wc51e rn ma le taste s an d were cxporred to J lung Liu includes references eiglutenth-, runcteenth-, and 1wcntierh-century cultur.il d.i::.hes and remixing in

work tho1 expresses a feminist p i f vi . Th Mllst 15 xpr s i g om thi g abo

1 hybridi th

o nt

person, o ew

wcH e

Hung e

Liu es

is bicultural n s e n

a minimum, u ,

fusing ty w ithin Hung Liu

China e dS a1 worldv1rws o f

and 1he United State�.

H Hung Li U I Judgment of Paris, 1992 0 on c.anvas w 11t lacquered wood, lf ptyth, 72 )( 96 x 4 3/4 Inches 1 1 l i CREDIT, CD1.11lesy<1I Bern e t SttMbl!Jffl GaUe,y. M.l 1lln'l i

Will Wilson, 3 photographer born in 1969 to a Navaio mo ther and whne father, mixes ethnic motifs, techniques, and conten t with idt:os nnd formal str.ltc�1c s learned £rom Western modern an d posunodcrn atl. His mulnmcdia in stallnlion Autowrmrmc Rrsponse (2005) ronS1Sts o f a lifc- s iu skel�a l mml ho ag n (a rrad111onal l\a, ·aio ho use) and ,..,,..,0 lar�-sale digitally manipulate d p ho tographs, one of wh,ch " illus trated [2•7]. The instollotion reveal s Wilson os a hybrid of arusuc and cult'.ir.,1 influences; for instance, one photogroph s hows ,he inter ior of an am1al hogan built wnh trJd111onal roor tlmbers1 wilh the artist inside surrounded by camcrns and computer� thnr pomt to his embrace 0£ new medio fo r making his art.

Wilson ,s deeply interes1ed m expressmg the rontmuong impa,t of rn loniz.at i on on the ,denmy of Nitive peoples He says tha1 he is 1n ter..,.,ed 1 n thl' 1mp.1't on 1'ame ide ntity of ·ho locaum. genocide ,, and architecture , of con finement 11rnng back t o boar 1ding school on the rez." 1 A11to,mm11ne Response subverts the rmn.1m1,, ,tssenrrnl· iting images of Nnuve Amel'icons mode for tou sts 1 hr i ,u show Nauvc� gnrbed rn exor1c costumes posed in n,nural landscap�>. as 1 f nature .rnd "p nnutives" \\�IC bonded and bot h were untouched by rime and hi;t0ry. In Figure 2-7 Wilson dep1<1, h1m,elf \\ea r ing a Wes1ern1Zed \\hue shin \\Uh hi< face p.,mted "1t h mud and h1, ha,r tll'<i Na,.110 style, breathing 1hrough a gas mask.nd � Jg,un,t • flooded. ra,,gcd looking land S<'ape. Although seemingly pompodyptic (Wilson as the last lnd1nn ,1Jnd1ng after o genocide), Autoitumwre Response Jlso refers to nn actuol cawo;;rrop w -1he 1979 l bur sting of o dam in Chu rch Rock, New MtxlCO, when radioacuvc liquid from ura ruum mining flooded Wilson's re,er\'3tJo n the po1,ono u, dfoo s on rc,1d; cnt, an d the em1ronmem conunue to this day. An historian Jrnnifor V1g1l anal} zcs A11tomumrnt" Rtsponst as an uonic commentary on ... ,he history of ron;.oous and unconscious germ w.ufarc agoinst Nat1ve people." s uch as the distnbunon of smallpox-1nf,..:1�d blank ets by white set1 ers." l

Hybridiiy can be e specially dramatic in 1he ort of rc.:cntly arr ved 11nmigran1 s or i th ose who live along borders or in places where mong ethnic encl»cs ex1St side by Side. Gmllermo Gomez-Pena u"" the term bordtr arl to describe his own and o ther anist>' \\orks 1hat blend ideas from culture s in dOSl' pr o"muy. Born m Me\lco m 1955,

2-7 Will Wilson I Autoimmune Response 115, 2005 o,,,tat lnkJe1 punt 44 1. 109 l nchn CR:EOIT O W Ill' • JlS

•.s Guillermo G6mez-Pei'la Border B,u1o. 1989

Gomez-reno came to the Unued States in 1978. In Ins i nstallo11ons and pe rformance• [2-8], th e artist asserts a proud hybr id idennry even as h e portrays the uproot1ngs and disjuncrures rhar are produch of colonialism I n h1!t 1rre\'erenr art"ork5. G6mez-Peiia exudes an aei;.1he11c se nsibility Jnd bravado known 1.1s Rasquadusma, a visua) and v1,.•r,. bal style asst1oated w1th the Ch,can o and Me xican wor king cla ss R«></linclusmo 1s a ddianr, ironic, excessive at."s1ht11c that a Hirn,$ Mc-..1cnn identity nnd n·�ists assitniladon imo dom1nunt culture, w11han 1h� United Suu et.; •· Although ronfront.-uionaJ, GOme,: .. Peiia's art r,•fl,,.,t s a roo1 op11m1•m- a foith thai dashes of culture, and ,de olo es mn g, fuel a creat ive sy nthesis that 1s ulumat ely ben ef1<1al to many.

Identity Is Constructed An impor tant conCl'pt that dis11nguishes art abou1 1dcn tiry in the cnn1cm op r ary period is the nonon tha t identity IS con>t ructed The murnl fom,ulanon of 1h1s roncep1 and its eventual widespread acceptance m the conte mporan• art world un be i raced back to the wriungs of mtellectuals and acad emicians who "ere active m t he 1960s and 1970s Among the most mfluenuol wos a group of �rcnch philosophers, semiotician s, and structur al anthropologists, indudmg Jacqu es D errida llnd Michel l'oucoul t . Their writ ings pro vided key pans of 1hc intellectual scaffolding u on which pos1modern thro rp y was built.

2.9 Catherine Opie I Chicken /from 8e1ng and Having). 1991 Ch,omogenK Pfi nt. 17 x 22 inches CREO T C Clithe, ne ()p � . l 99 J Courtesy Gorne.y 8rav n , I.ff, New Yo� .1nel Rfltn Pr� 'I . LM Angt ts, CA I i i 1 t l

The,e thinker s posited the idea that ide ntity re su lts from a n etwork of i111cr. depe ndent f oro:s ,hat defin e ro les, rewar d status, gov ern behavior, and or der �wer relationships for all members of a comm u n e r ue at

_ er t

_ity. Th y a g d th d,ff cn ,dcnt,ues are formed ma _

_ _inly through socia l inter actions and shared mrones; that IS, th e y l are learned wit hi n cer tain c u ltural and p olitical set tings, r ather than being s et at birth. While those i n scienc e, re ligion, and other fi elds still beli eved (and arg ued) that ke y aspect s of ident ity are biol o ical or spiritual in origin, t es n s e e e ng h e poi t of vi w w r ot considered p ertinent to the "rea ding" of most critically championed contempora ry art. For those who embrace th e conc�pt that identity is construcred, no one is born with a unifi ed, inevitable identity; rat her, a person's identity is a produ('t of. and in concert with1 human cul1ure, rhe colored water in the fishbowl m which e.1ch of us swin,s.

Otherness and Representation

In philosophy.an Oilier is someone singl ed ou, as differ ent . The body of cr iticism th at dev eloped around the construction of identity de lineated the e xtent to which mulri culcural awareness has been tainted by bina ry thinkmg tha t co nstructs th e i de ntity of an alleged Orhcr by simplistic co mparison of tw o supposedly mutu•lly e xclusive term,: male/f emale , black/white, heterosexual/homosexual, We stcr n/non-W eStcrn , and so on. Binary thmking maintains Euro-Am erican ce-ntralit : inevit ay bl ty h e iden tity of the Ocher is defined as a st ereotyped contrast 10 a \tVest ernized mainstream identity, thus hierarchrca ll y rei nforcing the l aner a s the nonn and the m ore impor tant and desirab e identity. Philosoph ers also use thl e term a lterity for this pr actice of cons truCling th e dcnticy of culi tu r al Oth ers through n egative com parison.

Gender and sexual identiti.s pro vide exampb of the construction of Otherness through binary tenns that are simplistic and hierarc hic al and that attempt ro leve l out diver sity wi thin identity cat e og ries . In mainstream We stern cu lture, "male" and "female" are understood as dear opposites, and het erosexuality is viewed as n ormal in opposition to homosexuality. But in peop e's actuo1 lives, as wcl1 nl s in the real ms of an and theory, gender and sexual identities are more complicated and diverse, mor e open 1 0 change and debate . Ph losopher Judith Butler's influential 1990 boi ok Cwder Trouble,'' along wi th the emergence of "queer theory" in the early L990s, helped make peopl� �w a e of the h� ete rosexual bias of previous art theory and praC1ice a nd broug ht .new v1S1b1lrty to the work of LCBT ar tists .

Artists counter biri:ary thinking by repr�nting their diverse identities from their own p�rsp�tive, seeking a voice and taking control of their O\\'n representotion. Wit h s xual �dent�l , f r examp�e, artists have increasingl ry epn-s: r � entcd the greot diversity of �xual 1de1\t me� 1 n our • rudsr r e

.' gistering desires that cross t he old boundaries of age, .

race, cl ass, d1s a . .

brl1ty, nat1onal11y, and ethnicity. Harm's Memoirs of Hndrian ff26 12·5] "one example . Anoth er example is provided by Catheri ne Opie's photograph Clrichn (1991) (2·9], from h er portraits of l esbians in drag in the serie s Being and Having (1990-91).

Deconstructing Difference

I� additio11 to raking control of rep resentin g their dvr w, ru t co · i enrity from th eir o wn e a s s un poinc ter f Oth oering by den,on stra1ing t · · h at a II "d I enuues arc constructed,

e ven supposedl "norm al" m ainsrrcay rn ide nt iti e s; no identit is natural an d esy sen tial. Kehinde Wil ey, an American p ainter w h o e nergcd in 1he tw enty-fi rs t cent ury, oppro pr iat es iconography that s erv ed to constr uet codes of mas cu linity in different periods an d cultures, renuxing elements from p ast and present. Prince Tommaso Frntrcesca of Snvoy-Carigtra na (2006) [color p late 2), based on an equ estrian por• trait of a s event een t h -ce nt ur y Italian prince, is from nn extensiv e series of l arge scal e p aintings in which Wile y recasts conte mporary Af rican American men as c haracters from Eu rop ean Old Ma ster porrr ai ts. Dres sed in a pu ffy ja cke t, baggy je ans, des igner sne akers, and a flashy chain brac e let and ring, the young man takes the p ose of conf den c m astery 011 a rearing hors e, which in the European grand tra· i dition indicated the pow er and contr ol of t he whit e aut h ori ty figl1re. The decorative fl eurs-dc-lis p ai nt ed in a p arrern across the sur face m ake a na, councerpoint to the p hot o-realistic ren dering of m an and hor se, enhancing the ov erall impression o f artificiality of style.

Wil ey's insertions of bl ac k men i nt o rhr world of aristocrat ic portrnit ure ser v e to u nm ask th e Euro centrism a nd class p rivilege that creat ed a visual history of the wrutc, w ea lthy, an d powerful an d excluded p eople of co lor (a str ategy pursued by othe r arcisrs, inc lu ding Renee Cox {co lor plate 41). Beyond tha t, though, Wiley appe ars int ere sted in r ev e aling how mascu linity in general is constructed by vm,al cliches, s uch as fa shion a nd p o sing. The worlds of Italian Baroque p rivilege and urban

hip-h b l v l ling p llel m n f b th c lt s int nt on c

o e ut a so re ea start a r a s e o o u ure seem e

exce o

p collid : nv eying hyperm c linity hro gh pos ing and v li g in th con m sses of their day .

as u t u tur a re e n e s u er

Artists have d nstrucred w ys i n whi h gender and s xual i d ntitiC's arc.· ster typed by ra

o ce o

eco a

r nation l o gin. Th ir c i iq c

co nter e

E oc n t e

i c poin f th at has

vi e

w historically p rv

d r

d W stern e

rep r t ue

nta i u

n f s a

x ur

li y; ei

e a e e rese t o s o se fo r t o

ua t r example, women ar e held up as e

white e

socially accept abl b c s of desir , whil wom n of c l (on the ra re occ asion s they are depicted in high

o e t

ort ej

art) are p rayed e

as raci e

ally and o or

sexu• ally O h . A l hough t d wom n

t er

of col t

are frequ trea e

ntly as sexua lly taboo (for the pr,-sumc>d whi m l vi er),

e or e stereotyped as sexually promi scuo te a e ew

us and erotically exotic. Thu ndu

s w n o are no on y o s w e w en a y

ishization e re t e a

, ome f color r l bjrttif ed, a hit om rc, bul the h dded pain and shame iof finding th

and pornographic voyeurism. Postcolonial emselves the objc(IS f xtrem f

o s a a u e

theorists, re o

such a s o e e

Rasheed A ,·ael'n e t

, bell h e

Trinh ce

ok a

, e c

T . Minh-h , e

M. e

A. J imes G r r ohat a

, Ell Habiba ShM r r, o , o a

E pe er n s ond K ben

y w en

by uro

t eoryping a

h v tra ed rh s o ue

attirudcs b rs e

ck t s

to a

the p w d amic of coloniolbm, h s

n c er

nq ro jus ifi d l very, rape, and other forms of ly phy ic

oppr si n their c p iv wild, ov l b ing , with e s

u any o and violence

of the a

ir o s bj c ivi y a

wn, wh h d a

10 t

b es

c as

n lled by er

x m s

m a

a e

r s

. V yc o

ri> t

< nd u e

p., t t

ch l ni udes lso o

pe a

m t e

d o

Wes1 tro

m e tre e e su e s o u t ai

t a r ea e ern e e t o

ri 11o r

et e t eo e

dicin , an e ar e

hropol a s

gy s e

, and cth g t ar

c n e o aphy. I n 1he nin een,h

easur

ury, t ra

colonized p e

pl w re reg d d p cim n t b e studied and wc, ·c m ntas es

ed, pho og ph d, en

,md put on a tual display in public s es

c pccrnd s

cs 10 feed thfu i of \•Vcstcrn audi c .w e

Even well�inte e s a

1\tioned e

V\'esrcrn feminists of1e direc a E. rocc t ic gaze ol pranic nd politics l wh in h w ld. n

Ell Sh h , w rt u

1 n t se

f m� i ' imp ri l fant s se ere t e or a o a ro e a o t e

x ter

e b u "W s n

gcsu n srs

ha the e a

d a e u o e e an e e s

m n n

Fog t

in t

nc ten

, he en

si of resc o

h'lg dit e

rid cromiz 'cy t see whit \•Vcstern \lfilm alnd ph graphs f Shi u

d d v s n

il d ersa

women," :N1 m

ug e r

show e . l�

ma sta

wornen e t

gaib s

d a

in lh� oto

h ad .. 10•1oc o

cs o u iv bl

l is nor li it d o i

a n e e

n a

N,·sh a

(see th p f l ), ck g rment a t

k e

rc t nown which

as ro

th ei

a ��tcal!y ssum� b \N s vie to be unambigu u cf itiqueveiling of h e a or

m a ey tern wers o s r

c h s

d t

, e

con o

xt , 1h pa s n

. y s wn e a now es g e

ractice r o

�gamst te

W e

ster a

�lu s r

l1m cou es

tr . Neshat' o vra at i w ck· s a n e led th impot ecogn· f 1z , f or m t c , t h vet 1· mg ma ey v serve as h m nic i fl c(>. In co empora W t r

imp nt culto , i t is 3

tance r t st

h n

v e

no eg hing

v n

p o e orta a e

d d e s a a

led, uen

including nt

femal r

xu e sy e n ture eeme

cally lipositiv y, b is hoci n l uv ql ? e

i e se a t ut t a t a ne uivo . Th b li f th t id nti y i a cul u l coS m

e e

peo e

�l a

welc e

m t

_ h s

id t

th ra n tru o e e arot o r�1-

d teo

h e

; � posS1b1 e

h y of o

ch e

ng t e

. Inde ea

s s d,

at e

C1i n can b xhil ing r f igh n o t a e e

id pan t m holog e

n1i th abili

t y i s o ru t

c to

nst ta t

C1cd b e

thi condi i O e y y o n an e

y n an

s n

r ov r, to c><:a11se

make yo s

r e urself t on

is r es are

� rea

f bei e

g nr , who inc singly xpose Am

rica t

d a a1tnction t o th i m c� .. e se s

d r h A m · . o u? f t h c nca s n

i d a an

o f a fi ·xed y

lf i unnerving. y I

Perh e e n a s e

12es p .ls r o er ett

bo , p o

s m d n, con t c d id a

nriry s a

m s e

m d•• Fo th s l ing g art a u o t o er s ru te e

d nse rony. or

fe , i a a

somerunt; i:

ch ract r· rf r ma · Fce •......... " mpl" �, P• ul M c C art I 1v , 5

s v1 'd e

nntn Claus c n b int eo rpin t:e d pe1 �ormtce, McCa i nic iff n h

e e n u u t

r a e e rete as an ro

of r

W o t e

st � t eme

c t o

re, e

u t

t e a it a e e e r o a n

h aus

r' d in to c.1nc 1u of

n o

ity. o

ng rn n

hy n e

c s d m nt d pa ody f Si ta Clg th , a a a re

benevol ld man whr nd ent o o m."!kes r b l ved ic n nd fog da Chri tmi n. Am ng h o h ,h mes yth

s r

McC s

hy' a s a e a e ra t o o t e t er e at art s

perfo nnance connects w i h (popula cul u , li ion, a d fair t l , am g h m), Santa Clnus also seem

s t r fl ct r

o b t

i re

g re

hit , specif n

call b a

i esg

i y g n whit

on t

man. e

McCart hy' s al ternately abje<:t o e

and e

v n e n w e

rody f a e ny mal

h i y figure, who appe r

o t u s a a o e e aut or ti

abo hi position, a s t e

len fig re i p m

whit on h verge of adness due to the loss of his fo m confid nc

ut s rol r e r e e

e i n life, and idcntiry. The Fluidity of Identity

Related cl osely to the concep t that identi y is c n ct d i th conc pt th d n ity i s nm fixed consistt:nt. l divid l a continuall

t o stru

e gag e s

d i e

rt p e

c s of at

exchange i e t

and ada tap tion or

groups i n

rmi ua

gl s

. re

The fo ces rh n

r i flu e

nc. n

th roy con

id n ity c not as

t nte n e r a n c e e struction of

tran e t

form ar

bl as s bl ,

h a e and thus 1den111y itself is alway; in Oux. Identity is fluid and

s a e t e context changes . The noti on of a fl ui d e ity can be hard to gras p . B ut think about oh w you

, h ve

i l erent in diff e e t in n da r m, nt home y fam ..

p do

a diff ,

l a i

r n SJtuauons: ss oy with ur o o opl

n a y diff job

t eren tervie

ac , or or 1n n situ tion

r m wh1ch ou

ou are o mb r d by

e e of ate :;'II

e og n

or r e

na1 nao ili1y o a

rel ngio all

. e Ary the utnu

snm e

p e

r l

h i a i , r do y u present a �omcwhat e publ y

i e

im g f e son

s n t

c o o c u

n re i ach ose s t u

nt t ons diff

rfo r

xt? A c mpo ar i 1heorisr tha1

r('nt e

ou r "p a e o

rning' yo r

constn. 1 lf

might s ae <'t d ev

i o e

f you onte

, e

· identity r y e y 1h xts; ns o at cwork a diffe

i r

ch id n

y e

is t en

tran ay

e onte

form no of

d or ne s

versions b d the1 is yo on� authenric self b cau

in h r situations. u r s ea ent t s e a a n oned

ot e

id nt b

Motifs of mutat ing and hifting id n i y run h ugh h w k of mero s n is

t · ts in the current er a. G d

i tabili e

y t

i s t

a e t ro

of particular t e or

int nu u r

f rir c d d vi uall en er ns t one r a erest. Gender d i £ .

by ercnccs

noting s e e n o

yped e

vi s w e n ers n s en ey; lear t-0 read a p o ' g d r and sexual orientation

tereot sual dues, such as h airstyl , clo hing, p , nd g s . A ists wh w nt to bv rt th ci l s otyp of masculini

e t

y and f minini ose a

y e ture

ploy pr rt

p , m s k

, a

mak up, su e

nd cos e so

um a tere

r pre es

a s e a t e s to e sent b di of uncertain t e

o e s g d t em o s

ific i n by view , Opie doe in Chicken 2-9). Opi ' phot en · graph

er that resi st das vi s

w at

e [ m y di

e r o c s w

nce h are not

ers

certajn as

if 1h s

re l king at a mol e

o s

a fomole. o

O a a

fundamental s o rt

l l. s uch t o

eve ra nsg ressions do e

thM a oo

ch ll nge g nd e r y

more a e e e r stcr eorypes; n

they undermin the whole notion of a sta bl

e, consistent gende r identi t y . Contemp ra y al a ti S, incl ding M th w B ney nd R b e t Mappl h pe, have expl ored g

o r

end m

er id e r

ti st

y flexibl u

contin at e

m ar

f n a

goti bl o r

p ibiliti et or

m m r bl sc n in hi en

film t

Cremnster as a

3 e

(2002), uu

B a n o

y, e

fo a e

st oss

e o a e e e s r high es . In

e a rmer ar sch ol a

thl t , cal h wall f he spiral ng ramp inside N o

S a

ch e e s

xing es t

phy e

ic s

l o

f t Yo k's G

y be n m taph for facmg e w r ugge nh

he ei im M

u a ta s a eat challeng s f d useum. fining

maleness within cont empo a ma

re . Int e

r ry cultu erp or

retat ions of Barney's t

w k e

ar o

as e

vo.dcd as the range of imag es in the films, but som s Bar ' gym stics

s a e

s mbolic search for a new balance-a third sex, so to sp

e ee

ea k . ne s na ay y

Phot og raphy, perform ance art, and video are especially popul ar practic m ng ortists w ho are int erested in construc ted, unfixed identiti es. Cindy Sherma

es a

, o

h became w ell kn own, starting in 1he l980 , fo ing h r elf n m d l i n s ag

d ph w o

t<>g aph xpl i g f mal id tity, ha s

m d r us

rna e s

ri as

1h d o

< e

t t

ct e

r re o

yp d imag s e

s th or n e

p e en

d in th fa s a e ·

t e e at are resente e shion w o rld, n

dvc sey

ti es

ing, at

m e

vi ons

s, po ru

n g ste

a r s o e r o raphy o

a n er s so r s ne e r n n a n e

, d oth mas .media u ce . Sherman is v a unchanging, u ch g abll'

2 - Nancy Burson Evolution II (Chimpanzee and Man). 1984 (cmDutPf ;,s.,te 11 • 14 K 5

CA(O,..,. � yfhtoxt

2-10 Yasumasa DVD

Morimura I srn I 0<ooectlon. •••"°'"loco 1 rom Dialogue with Myself /Encounter), 2001

C'l(Oll �Ol,._"1-VllflCU.Sltlr,.A,,. �""e.kY

se lf in her photographs; she assumes a different identny in e ach on,•, r ein forcing the ,d,a that idtntoty is artif,c,ally construc,ed and transformable. In her series Hi>torrcal Portraits (1989), Sherman posed in female and malt costumes and used m akeu p and fake body parts to p ar ody th e figures on his torical paonungs. The serie s demonstrates how paintings made in earli er eras off er ed compcllong role models for building Id en tity in their day. even if we fond th e costumed figu r e s ,n the se pa mungs silly now

Japanese photograph er and video anm \asumas., Monmu ra h as made worJ.. depict ing transvestism and oth er behaviors that blur bina ry gend er boundaroe,, Morunura , like Sherman, appears in all his works of an. He is hunsclf and, stmul raneously, l,e becomes a rangr of famous h 1slorical on-world per!,01ml111es. \.Ve �ce Monmura m a mil from a ,·,deo sequence (2-10) m wh,ch the amsr accompanoe< h,m,e l f on an <lec rron,c keyboard instrument whol e h e appears, the n do;,,ppean;, th en ,>ppear,;. o,er and over, dressed OS the Mexicon artist Frid:, Koh l o ns sh(" appears in hl•r o wn p:11ntt.itl \ d f portraits, whkh capture h er llluhiple id entllll'S.

B eyond tht Awdity of ,de nuties defined around r a c e . gend er. ethn,c11v. and ,e,ual tty, th e m1x1ng Jnd mutating of hum.in�. otnrmals.. ,md machmes m \.ln� us combana uons are topic, of increa smg fosonat,on 1n Ort (as well culrurc n,ore bro.1dl ) An earl ay expl'ru nenrer in this re lm is Nan

,Ht in y

c Bur:-.on, whu, since tlu: e.ul r 1980s, ha5 created m3nv images that .,re romposne!<i of

y se\•cral hoto raph1C portraits

} S<annt.'d

onto • compute and combined ,mo on la c e . cl p

r e m udmg nnag� g

that m,x human and

orher animals [2-1 IJ. 1 he ta,i;onun11c 1den1ity and mora l \tanding of !!ltu:h creatures ore ambiguous matte" 8.irney·s ch,-.,tah-woman m Crema,ttr 3 (3-SJ ph .11l and ment.11l i prc)�tve cre tu e who draws u foscm

1> fully senuen,. Mc m a ry o r ay y tcd

•

gaze. Patr1ti.l P1Cc1nin i's humanmd sculptu re; 18-H and color pla te 191, the seemi ng product nf gencuc engineering, rabe many issues about the moral unplications o( n\'W sden1ific rei;.carch . .1 topic we return 10 m c.:haprer 8, ·�1�nce."

Post Identity There ,� evidence that rnrert>,1 1n 1dennt) ddmcd nrnund r.,ce. ethnu.11y, gender, and S4.''<U.1ln m 1he m,uno;trea m art \\(,rlJ Ahho ugh social and os ull .,

y 1s waning t.""ConomJC' patll)' s d,srnnt d«•,1m for ton mJn) all over t h e world. the poli11c;,l nce d for arr rh.1t

sclf .. consc-ious ly romotes identitp y m a ad ncC"s h be mJd . Mnn.- v r

y appl•J1' less prc'Js1ng \'\1 hcrc some ri:al soc11..rn1 • va a v e e n e u e , even 1( politicol ru,. 11v1::-m is necck•d, t he incrca�

ing d1vers1t any d fr;1.gmemanon o f 1dentllH.-' \,h,le adding 10 1 he nch ,anety of ar1 we enJOY m the current scene. m.1ki: 1t h.1rdcr ru build coalmons around �hared intere)h and ,wed!:t.

An -world fo'i hions and 1heoric" change; .1lread 1h .. · 1crms uwlHf11l1uralism 01,d idmtrty sound da red an d e ven m,,gwdcd' Wnh diffe

y r ent motives, many people began

2003 2·12 Do Ho Suh I Karma (Installation at Artsonje Center in Seoul, Korea), Uiethane patnl on fibtrg.lass/rtsm 153.94 • 1 ta .x 29 l il')C.hei.

391 x 299.7x 739.l cm

CR(Olf Col.!flesyol the art4 1 atlcJ Lehman ,.. M1111pl ,..Gailtfy, HY

to view multiculmralism as a form of poli tical correctness. Even propon nts o f id tity politics increasingly beli

e e n

ev icul r z d s rat g y h t h s Jed h

e that mult lism h s b come. ?" ins i u ion li e t e t a a to t e assimilat o .i n of tu

div a

s p pul a

tions e

w1 h1 par t t

m t a

rs th pre d v lue c , hnici y, and oth m

rk e

s o

f ,d a t a ete

lly ar

hom ren

g to

iz a

m ra

ni e

gful er

diff t

nc nd er

ma a

k er

pe o nn y v si

e t � but inst a d aet<1·

a o en .rac m, s xism,

nd homopho bia.

e ea n ere es a s r a ve is e a

Meanwhile, a y oung er gen er a tion, born fr r h political str ggl s f h l960s- 80s, w ants to move bey ond identity labels and

m e

k t e

r t abo u e o t e

Many xp a e a ut a w de varie ty of th emes

rity nd e

i . p

ress little interest in being spokespersons for racial, ethnic, or g:end id · a refe r to focus on their individua l proj ects. Wi h pl yful io sness,

l'r

rator en

Thelma Gold u d h v c tiv term 10 ch t

r c a

i z ser

the a u

a d i d c u

f tists she includ

en se

d in t e

h e

200t o a

exhibiti e post-black

Fre ty . Th a

s a ter

e t e on es le e a e

e re arti ts rt

wh n

em eas

r g o

d the end of the 1990s •who were adamant about not being label

ed as 'bl o

ck' e

ar e

ists, though t heir wo rk was ep d, in fac , d a t

no i s of bl ck ." Gold ste

xpl e

ined th t

p o

eeply in st d, in d fining co pl x t on a ness en e a a t st-bl k

tere

r i e

s " re e

d mpo m

e d " e

by the ul icul ral deb t s d id ti y p liti s o f ac

h a

p t st

vi emer

us d e e w r eg

h y hav m t

h c tu

fid ce a e an

devel en

p i t

rndividu o c

l di t e

ti re

ns. o

e Bu ecade as a resu lt

s t

lf-con e

i t e on en to o n

: , h i s is t h e ta ned indivi dualism of a pre-multicul urnl

gen r e c

rati o

n. Th t t

y e

re r

emb n o t

ing e

mult iple his tories and influenc s and ar reinven t

i g id e

i o

i s fo e

h a

e e t n ent t e r r e rwcnt y-first rac

centu ry . Simi

l ar arguments have bt.."Cn m ade for othe r a rtists v,1ho would h ave been categorized mainl y by gender, race. or e hnici y inn previous generation. Th term post feminist descnbes a r a nge of ar t by

w m t

wh f l mpo d by a li e

r f mini r struggles but for v i us eas n n

dista en

c o

th ee

ms e were e r e e s

femi i t a t sts. Simil a r o

ly, r

Suset o s wa

S . Min, t to

n n

f e

h e

cur elves fr om being identif ed as

On n s r i a r

irs of h 2006 xh bition, e Way or Another: Asi an A

t e

m e rican A t o

N e o

,v, t

g ree

ve h r ato

ca l g es t e

ay h e

itl i

, "Th Las �si n Am ic n Exhibi ion in h Wh

l o

Entir a

W e

rld, ta

" o

i n cally s t

sugg e t e

sting e

a pos

t a er a t t e o e e o

t-1denmy . world for Asian American s . (Min actually argu s ro

in i

th s y e

h t h need for identit y politics in a ma

rk er-driven art econ my i e

n ov e

r, e

al sa

h t

g h a t

h e

strategies need to be recrmceiv d.) In h s o s ot e t ou t e

that v n h e t e ame cata o curator Margo Machida g, says

cally e

d e

iv t ough they are jus t lifiably wa ry of bei ng forced "into racialized or idc'Ologi

r en strahjack r , • po t-identi y tis s b ld on " h i n w nd highly lab rat d

body s s

f critiqu t

su ar

oundi t uL

g h c w

nmuc at s

ion o a well stabli hed

a e o e o e f id nti e

y, ' th s

,mg, and the politics o

f representation .• ,. rr n t e o t o e t o e r

What � w heori , political id s, techn l gical d v l pm n s, nd hist ri l events will mflu

e t

ence how es

idenri ea o o e e o e t a o

t y is defined and represenred in art as t he t wen ry ca

fim cen'."ry con�nues t. o unfold? Many developme nrs r p ssibl . Th r imtcresr crtatmg inv ted virmaJ ide ties, a dir c a e o e e e s a g rowing

g, l� itec� l . '" ve yd

y i t a c ions nt

h compu e

.new digita . r,

ti supported ny pl r_ m on

p by

ao no o

l ,d es

nrm e

s 1ha1 r a

th n

y er

s t on t e te a eo e a e no n

J w creat i g �'. �1g11

nf l a

m d e

o cr e

a s ph1St1Ca e e o te c in erspace t e rt

cyb artists use a ia t e te o te

t in ra t . In h fine a s, d manipulated images of people.

An her fac r ha will c inu to impact id ti y a

n r i tic them is glo b 1. •z t,on.

Indeed, to

som t t

f th ont

u en e

deol gical e n

r si t

nc as a a t s e

a e o e c rr t i o e sta e to multiculturalism is a g 'rr�

m to the perceived manipulati on of identity by global capit alism. In this v ew,

O a arket forces en courage artists to make a irt th at looks ethnic in order to have

e xotic commodi ties frnm far-flung co r ners of the wo rld to sell. T he ar tists once aga in become Others withou t r eal freedom to expres s them selves on their own te rm s .

I dentity remains a n acute issue fo r artists who were raised in OnC' culture and now live and w ork somewhere else. For an sts who operate regularly on an interna tional stage, especially if they live a nd wo

j rk i n more than one loca tion, the collapsing

boundaries of local a nd nati onal communiti es make the establishm ent of a coheren t identity m o r e complicated. Even arrists who rema in root ed in o n e place are shaped by interc hanges wirh peopl e, ideas, images, and products fr om el sewher e.

O ne exampl e of an arti st wh o Jives an i nternntional nomadic e x istence is scul tor p Do Ho Suh, who was b or n in Seou l, Korea, in 1963, s tudied ar t in Korea and the Un ite Sta res, and n

d ow divides his rime between New York and Korea. To rhe e ten a e n

tity i s t x

i ed to t th t id

pl ace (for an yone who f eels a powerful cu ltu ral and emo ti o nal conne on to a particular locale

c t and geography), the kind of dis placemen

i t tha t Suh expe r iences

eve ry time he ch anges locations wor k s against a stable sen se o( idemi1y. Sonw ofSuh's floor sculpnrcs .1 are composed of thousands of miniatu r<' human figures rost in p last and tightly _ packcd wi1h li ttle pers. ona

i c l �pace . Cri1ic s have debated whe1her u i iv n

a t o e a co S h s g

s i g

pos1 1ve r n ganve vi ew of llcct1vc. I he celebr atin workers joining forces fo common

g r a goal., or is h� sh��\1ing how

c individuality br;:omcs. lost in a c rowd? According

ro �rator Susan Solhns, Whether addressing the d ynam ic of per so nal ,pa c e ve rs public

us spac�, or exploring the fine

u line between s e t e omo eneg

t re tr ng h in

c nu numb. rs o r hS h s sculp u s _ onti es n e

ity, Do Ho ally qu n e ua

a tio

a a 1 h ide

o tity

a of 1 h

s indiv id l

y in tod

mcrcasmgl a v� 'tr

s nsn tion l, gl b l ociety:"'!S

Suh's sculpture Karma (2003) [ 2 -12] places miniatur e figu re.,; in wo swa 1hc f o f

t r m s eet

b e l a pair of

o w c ol o ssal le

a gs

s dad in su

er i t pa nts an

e cr d men's bla ress shoes; t he

e c k d

ppear on 1he v g e a g a ,

of i n

ushing th run

figur c

s, who r b k g fo i n a d b gi �mg e rea in

10 Ka" rmat

. o

" n e n

n er e e a m n so e a t t

'.' ould be i e

t p r t asses

d s e

sy e r e r

bolizi g m gi a ca

n of p r ivil eg e ru a

c shing h m : nh th fo en1

. ce o f glob l pitalism flhomog iing cult ua

res ent t e s

. . u worldwide ttening individ l id i i by o� alt�rna

r e s rivcl , a cornlirnrian reg me c, rz n . On the o

y ther ha nd, looking closclv '' we e hrea JI •

s e t ,' Y II h same

a u i repressing it$

t S , < sm a JI 1g r c r t b r· u es ar no

u , are differen1iated by dre d

ss l

n and oth d tail ·,nto d'ff I m g d " 1ypes " .

e r e t

;:: : we m ss t h c ere e n

se disti t ns e t ggest

a u o su t

_ nc a

�o when w g l nre q i kly t c owd. S h a

h , rt c

1 o a a r

re u

1 po.

s ur s ns1b1l1ty to c n n e

o ue 10 d'ist·n o a

t i 1 gms · mong h d1 ff e r enc·d ' es entitles, · · even m a n m of gl b lization.

l Nancy Burson

H ow do we react when physical ch aracter istics mix across gender or race or species

In a ser ies of computer-generated composite ponraits made in the 1980s, pho tographer Nancy Burson envisio ned mixtures that ask us to con sider the philosophical, ethical, and emotional effects of morphing dentities. To make Androgyny (6 Men and 6 Women) (1982). Bur s

i on digitally layered photograph

en a u e a a ic ponraits of actual m en and

wom (srx e ch. ad st d to stand rd si i ze) to create a compos ite face that di s c o m

fits precisely because w e cannot decide ts gender. For Mankind /Oriental, Caucasian, and Black, weighted accord ng ro curre

i , nt population statistics) (1 983-85) (2-131, Burson

combined photographs of three real male faces, each one's features shown according to the percentage of hr s "r ace· counte d in world population st atistics in the early 1980s; the resulting "typical" human looks more Chinese than anything els e . I n Evolution II (Chimpanzee and Man) (1984) (2-11 J. Burson i magined what a face might look like if evolution had taken a different route, one that created a single species even y merg ing primate and human ancestors; Burs on's hybrid has the self-aware a

l g ze of a human

peering from eye s rn a furry face with a cranium shaped like that of a m onkey. Although today software th at enab es morphi ng and digit al recomb nation of

photographs i s u s l

y available, B r on was a pion eer w he e r s us i

readil n sh fi t ed comput er s to alter phot ogr aphs, coll aborating with computer scient ists and engin eers as early as 197 6 to develop d gital morphing techno o ies. geg nerat ng compos te faces using those technolo

i l gies." Her concepts for the hypothe

i i t cal compos tes wer e in

line with the i i

n em ergi ng philosophical ideas about "Othernes s," d ifference, and cul tural stereotypi ng, as w ell as simulation and vinual reality, and pr esaged later arti stic pre occupati ons with themes of DNA recombination an d genetic engineer ing.

Burson's fir st success occurr ed when she and her coll aborators developed "aging" software t hat generated images of how people would look as they age, adding wrin kles and softened mu scles to adult faces and, for children, stretching their faces and overlaying features fro m parents to tum a young person int o a cred ble version of an older self. In 1981 Burs on

i pat ented this software, w hich in addition to its artistic

novelty, has been used practically by the FBI to help locate missing children and adults. Burson next collaborated w,th Davi d Kramlich, a c ompute r sci enti st. to refine the system and produced aged portrait s of celebrities that were published in People magazi n e, bringing Burson consi der abl e attention. The pair also created an interac tive "aging m achin e" that allowed anyone to sit in a booth and see his or her ow n face scanned and encoded into a computer a nd then aged. She cont nued worki ng with Kramlich on realizing additi on al con cepts for compos

i ites, includi ng "beauty"

composite s that melded faces of movie stars from the 1950s and compared them to composites of star s' faces from the 1980s, composite portraits of leaders of countries owning nucl ear ars enals with their features stat sti cally we ghted by the number of weapons eac

i h l eader controlled, composites of hum a

i n faces with features from dolls

2·13 Nancy Burson I Mankind (Oriental, Caucasian, and Black, weighted according to current population statistics). 1983-1985 Ge ca11n $tlvtf punt l

•

and mannequins , and composite s of hum an faces and artists' rend ring f sp c ali s. S me f the conc pts also becam i te ctive in all ti s akin

e s

h o

ging a e

m en

chin o

, including o

m e e n ra st a on to

a e a achine allowing viewers to meld their feal\Jres w n

ith t

those e a

of celebrities a d a coupl es' machine tha1 enabled two peopl e to merge their faces.

The g al presentati n f B so 's c m po p rtraits as st.ill ph tographs i s . . � imilar. E ch

im r

g o o ur n o sit e o o s

frontally, w a

ith d a sh ws di

rl< e o a semb odied head in ti ghtly c pp d clo - p. fac g

a a or neutral background. Alth gh gen ated ro

by e

digital se u

p oc s n

, Burson has usually turned th mposit

e compl eted co e i nt er

o an analog ph a

otograph r e

sh s

t from the c omputer scre

en , either a gel ati n silver print or, later , a l arge-f ormat col or

Polaroid. The resulti ng photogr aphs look seamless and pres erve a doc m ntary even though w k w h y h v b e comp ter ltered. Th ff ct

is e

nsettli aura

g b ec a use w e are

b no

l to t e

ad th a e

w e

face n

a u

im t a

d e

epre e e u n

a e re e ne s an a e an as a r sent ati on of an

to act ual hybr id bei

phil ph r Jean ng. In discussing B rs ' c mposite , c r t Chr is Bruc pointed

oso e Baudrillar d' s theory u on s

that o s u a o r e

simulations are bs ming e lity i contemporary soci ety. According to Baudr illard, w liv in world

su u

where r

i a

g n

s are ubiquitous and have becom e more comp elling

th e

an re a

ality. Mor ov , m m a

g e

increasingly are simulacra chat appear re l b t a acru lly c ucti e

n er i a es

any t gibl c u te part i lity. F ll wing a u

p re a onstr o s w,thout

B r an

' c mpo e o

it n

illu r

tr t n

d rea

i 2-13 "m o o

y b m u on thi s idea, Bruce argued that

u son s o s e s a e n a e ore universally represent ative of wor ld-;,s a pi ece of i nformation, as the photograph you might send int o space

our

than singl imag . bro d

any f a real pe Th fasci natio it g nder i b ed n a c pru

l qu e

s o

i f 'th rson

l.' a e

rm which n n

w e n

m e

for s

e v s

once a r de as

tined o

to live in quotes "" Although t ons o

c e

v nci rea

g, B te

rson' comp o

sites see

oft s e e s

qu lity u lik th crispne on i n u s o en have a blul'l')'

traitu a

. F n e

B ce, e

th f ss

zzi nor mally expect ed of doc

ess , um entar y photographic por ·

a d re

nc p or

ulate ru

the conc e u

ptual n

transitio s part of the fascination of Burson's composites

truct n e a s s in the 1980s f m docum

d ph tog phy a d e

from analog t n

c mpl.lle tech ro ntary to con

s e o r a n ol g y . "Wh e

I like mo t about Burson' s piece is its f itwe shimmer,

o o

uncertain r n

state, o

unlike at

ug its more recent s

c mputer-g ner t i m g s

o d s which c k f perf ct illu ion. eem

e a e a e an ree o

s to exist between virtual reality and traditio al e

imag s

, an Three

wkw Major Races

th conv rs ti b tw en the tw f rms nd t chn n

l gical e

s e a rd pa .""' As

a use in

in e

ch pter e

2 a

, th on

long e e

t aditi of o

p o

rt itur a

i e

bo nd o o

p with tat

th s discussed

a e r on o ra e s u u e expl oration and exp ssion f i d tity. W l r t read id n ity i the m rphology f h m a f ce th

h pe, o

st ct en

re, c l e ea

i g, n

and o

oth r e t

e s a ru u o or tward n

n e ou phy o o a u n a

sical qualities of a h ead and visage-and w e m ake determinations about gender, age, race, soci al cl as , beauty, and th r qualiti s b sed o o r p rc ptions. S ch judgment r e largely

cially det rmi

o e

ned (certain e

h a

e ai tyl n u

ignal e

"f e

mal ." u

rather tha "m s a s o

O tw d app r rs es s e e n ale; for instanc e) .

c u

l h ar

f ea ance doesn't tell us much, if anythi ng, about u nd erlying physiologi

i a

t uman nction (h ce). N

u s ow brai ns work has nothi ng to d o with the size of a nose, for

b n s an l

of physic everthe ess w e persi t in categ rizi g and j dgi g i divid l th

asis al appearance. Bur s

' s c mputer o n

c mp sit u

s n

x mi n

cl ua

si s

fic on

ti e

s made th b si of m p h l gy,

son

unraveli o

g the o

limi o

ati e

ns e a

f inf ne

m as

ti a

b on

t id tity

we " e a

read" s

int or

e n o a h m a o o

f c . n

If (2-11 t

f o

r xample, o or

ca a on

b a

int ou

r• preted a

s a wry send -up of th n

ow a e

d Evolution

bunk d field of st J, o

dy e

k w ph n e

ology e

which tried to ablish link betwe e n

physi e

al e ,

est en appea a c u n o n as ren

n e a d int ellig n c e .

I • • , I ___ _.

s c r n e

In th e 1990s B r moved back t o more tr diti l (u d ct ed) photogr phic portrait ure of

u son

real individuals. Her interests c a

ontin ona n

ued to i ncl o

ude or

them f ident a

ity and issues of human diffe rence and cult ural stereotypi g. O l rge b

dy o

f work c omp is portrait f i

n ne a o o

d f r

i es

i s cau ed s

by o

di ndividuals with proger ia (premature agi

ng) r with facial e orm se o g t c anom li s. B rs n's man ic

lighting d soft fo

t e s

de sea r ene a e u o ro

cus s eem s ig ned to cause emp athy with the Oth er along with t

recon id a n

r • tion of phy sic al standards used to det ermi ne normalcy.

a s e a

2·14 Nancy Burson l "Untitled" from He/She serie s, 1997 �IM'otd CREDfT• O�r Burwin COl.il1Hy C 1mp1rt G.a icl)' l l

• Burson's He/She ser es i (1996-97), from which we illustrate one i mag e 12-14],

ar e analog counte rparts to her earli er comp os te Androgyny. The ser e s compr s e s i i i formal co or port raits that chall enge percept ions about gender based on featu res l of the huma n face. Each dramat ically lit portr ait shows an acrual pe r son whos e fea tures ar e on th e edg e of mal e an d female. According to Michael Sand, "The He/She

series, l ike so mu ch of Burson·s work, asks vi ewe rs t o st op and w onde r at th e lat ent p otential for mutability in everyone.""

Anoth er series, Guys Who Look Like Jesus (2000-01), presents portraits of eight men who cultivate a Jesus l ook by growing the r ha r and be

i i ards . including one black,

one Hispanic, and one Japanese American. ( Burson took out an ad in the Village Voice to f nd the men.) In add tion to the ndiv dua poi i i i rtraits, Burson also made one dl igital composite fusing all the phot ographs and a second comp osit e melding painted rep· resentat ions of Christ in Eu rop ea n art. The form er com posite appear s cl oser to Chnst's iden tity as a Middle Easte rn Jew than the pale-skinned, l ight-hair ed ideal of Norther n Europ ean white ness. A ccording to Maurice Berger, "Guys Who Look Like Jesvs ques, ti ons deep y root ed cultur al al ssoc ati oi ns between whiteness and all things pure. good, and sacred."'° Burson s an ideal st whi o be ieves ferv ently in our com mon humannei s s . l Her popular 1nterac11v e pro ect, The Human Race Machine (1999 t o the prese1 nt), invit es v

i ewe rs to ent er a booth and se ect features of d fferent racial type s (such as Caui casian, l

Asian, and African American) to morph onto t he r oi wn fa ce . Burson's ambiti ous inten ti on is to alt er percepuons about race and di vers t y . The arti si t expl ained, "The Human Race Machine is an opportunity to move beyond our dtfferences and arrive at sam e ness. The more we recognize ourselves 1n others, the more we can connect the human race .... Gene tlcally, we are 99.9% the sam e. The re are groups of genes that make up vanou s c haractensti cs. but there is no gene fo r 'ra ce.' The concepl of r ace is pur e y l po it ical and social."" The Human Race Machine . like m any of Burs on 'l s intrigumg a rt · works, gains tract o

i n at 1hat key theoret ca juncture where the appearance and pur p se i l o

of the index,cal docum entary photog r aph (created from a subject that "really" exists outside the fram e ) crosses paths with the constructed digitalized image (creat ed from a perspect ve that exposes the po it c a ag ency at th e heart of all repres entai tion). i l l

Nancy Burson wa s born in 1948 in St. Lo uis, Missour i . Sh e st udied paint ing for

two years at Colorado Wom en's College bef ore moving in 1968 to New Yor k, where sh e cont inues t o li ve and w or k .

I Shirin Neshat

S hir

i n Neshat, known for her wor k in fi m, video, and photography, undertak es multi evel l l

projects that we could examine through the lens of m ost themes in this book, particularly m emory, p ace, ident ty, the body. language, al nd sp rituai i lity. Here we discuss Neshat's work primar

i y in terms of identity, an especially r ch theme for this i artist, who has explored her mu l l

tipl e ident ities as artist, woman. Iranian (and Pers an), immigi rant, and foreigner . Bor n i n Ir an in 1957, Neshat moved to the United States in 1973 to study art in Lo s

Ang e es. When she w as gr ow ng up, he r hl om eland w as under the leadersh o e i ip f th shah, wh o supp orted a liberalization of social behav or and economi ic changes mod e ed after the West . In 1979. howeve r, while Neshat was s till in America, Iran underwent l a cataclysm ic transformat oi n: an Islam ic revoluti on overthrew the shah, and in ts afti er math the new re gi me of the funda mentalist Ayat oll ah Kho me ni rei assert ed co nt rol over public and pr vat e behaviori . Under his rul e, eve n minut e de tails of dress were dictate d

1994 2-1s Shirin Neshat I Rebe/1,ous Silence. 8 & W RC punt & ,nk.

l l it l4 ioche$

PhCMO lilkf11 by Cyn h a PrHton t i 0 I WC Shinn Nnh.&1

CREDtT: Copy gM$M1 1 1n�at

•

by sacred strictures. (A similar return to fundamentalism occ urred in many Islamic na tions in t he Midd le East and northern Africa in the latter par t of the tw entie th century.)

Returning for a vis it to Iran in 1990 aft er a twe lv e-year ab sence, Ne shat was stunned by the magnitude of the change, which left her own cultural ide ntity in a state of limbo: She had not a dopted a fully wester nized identity, yet s he no longe r felt anchored to the cu ltu re of her home and . The s hoc k inspired he r to try to l under sta nd and express t hrough ar t what had happened to Iranian natio n al identity, p a r t icularly as it concerne d women . Through her art, s he also beg an to ex p ol re gender roles, conflicts between tradition and modernity, and the psychologica l p r essure s felt by dis ocate d peop le who come to fl eel like p erp etual outsiders.

One of the most visible cha nges t hat Neshat saw in Iran was t ha t wom en e v erywhere now wore t he head-to-toe blac k chador, t he loose ro be and ve il tradition ally worn by women in Iran, which had been abo ished in 1936. Woml e n in chado rs became an iconic presence in N eshat's ar t. In her first mature body o f work, a pro vocative series of photog raphs called Women of Allah (1993-97), Nes hat explore s th e ideology of Iranian women who are c aught up in the revolu tion, e ve n to the p oint of being willing to die as martyrs. Within e ach photograph [2-151, Neshat layer s Farsi (modern Persian) callig raphy, the image of a gun, and the black veil, ch a llenging " the western ster eotyp e of the easte rn Muslim woman as weak and subordinate ."" T he writing adorns those specific female body parts that rema in visible i n a fu nda m en talist Islamic land: the eyes, face, hands, and feet The fail ure of cross-cultural com muni cation is embodied in Neshat's use of writin g tha t is ill e gible t o m o st W e stern readers. Westerners recognize th e beaut y of the calligra phy b ut don' t rec ognize it a s poetry that i s considered radical in Ira n because individual poem s offe r different views on the value of wear ng the i chad or. Whatever quick judgm ents that cultu ral outsiders may mak e when th e y ook at t he f emall e figure and the g un, the presence of the writing imp ies thl at understanding requires d eeper learning.

While many in the West expressed dismay and disdain at Iran's return to fundamentalism (charging, for instance, that fundamentali sm totally su bjugates women), Neshat's artistic responses have b een nuanced and full of ambiguity. Old and new stereotypes about the "Orient ," the Islamic world, gender rol s, r eligiand

e ous fa n atici sm, violence meet and mix in Ne-shat's work, without any resolution. In interviews, the artist acknowledges her awarene ss of the contradictions that are re

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s the su� ect of the . ma n's song, be gins her own song . The con trast 1s stunning: the womans s1ng1 ng is p ersona l, intuitive, emot io nal, a sort of musical scream . Whil� the .man'. s performance is locked within tradition -a traditio n tha t, however be autifu l, 1nh1b1ts his ex p r e s s ion--the woman's performance appears witho ut prece den t a nd without bounda ries. The woman's singing rivets us, as we ll as the male singer, who wa tches an d

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listens to the woman from the other wall. What makes the film especi ally poi gna nt is know ng that i n present-day Iran, it is forb dden for a w oman to song ,n pui blic. i

In the films of the trilogy. as well as many subsequent film ,nst allaoons, Neshat shows paired narrat ves on oppos te walls. Typically the d u n i al pro1ect1ons show mei , an d wome n sep arat ed int o diffe rent spheres. This for mat a llows Neshat to p resent dchotom ie s-mascul ne and feminine, culture a nd nat ure, tr adil!on and cha nge, i i public an d private, contro and freedom. As the aud ence, we occupy the vol i ,d between th e two stream s of mov, ng images; unable to see the e ntore artwork at one t me, we mu st choose wh ch side to watch and wh,ch to m iss The ,nabihty of the i i audience to see things fully is a le tmotif in Neshat's work. Th e laye r ed m eanings of i her art thus remain a part y veiled my stery, glimpsed but ne ve r fully fathom ed l

In the second wO<k ,n the trilogy, Rapture, two twelve-and-a-half-mi nut e vi deos are pro1ected simult aneously. In one, a throng of more than a hundred m en, aga,n clad , n unifo rm dark pant s and white shorts, march through a town, event ually mak ing the r way to an anc ent fortress There the men undert ake ritu alist c act,v,t es; i i i , they climb ladders , pract ce drills wash the r i hands, un roll carpets, an d wrestle. The y , i see m to be wori<i ng, perhaps prepanng for an attack on the worn fortress Yet th e m en see m as much to be pnsoners of the fortress, a symbol of their "man-made," trad,t ,on-bound soci ety. On the fac,ng screen , a s,m,lar numb er of w om en appe ar on a barren desert. Each wears the all-engulfi ng chado r that hides her ,nd,v dual ideni tity her figure a scu ptural presence against the andsca e. The women look acr op ss , l l to the other filmed ima ge, observe the men, and begin on unison to make a trad,- 1 ona wailing sound tha, t in the M dd e East serv es as eith er a warn,ng or a c ongrat ui l l latory acknowledgmeni . Th e movement of the women is breathtaki ng y b eautif ul. As l n bl own by the wind, they gather at a shore i ne wher e a half dozen of the women, l ass,sted by the others, shove off to sea in a small. fragile-looking wooden boat, choos,ng escape, howeve r d angerous On the facing wall, the pro1ect1on shows the men saluting from their fortress on the di rection of the women.

Whil e Neshat's films have th e look of realist c documen taries, ,n f act they ar e i car efully staged and choreographed Neshat s mulates the behavior of v e led women i i and then makes us aware of the constructed and nu,d meanings of veilin g, show,ng

us different mean,ngs n , different contexts. W11hon her work, the chador serves multi p e purposes: it shrouds the female body in mystery, ,1 protects the body, and it g,ves l women som e powe r by allow ng th em to conceal aspects of their multilayered ,deni lllles Being veiled , n Neshat's wortd does not equate w th being bound, blinded, or , si ence d . Neshat shows us women actively nav,gat,ng landsca s, gaz npe g at othel i rs, and g,vmg vo,c e lo their feelings ,n song and cnes. The women are powerful agents. At the same t m e, Neshat probes the challenge s and costs for both men and women i of separating th e sexe s . In th e fi nal film in her tr logy, Fervor, a tale of sexual desore, i the physical cfrv,s,on of masculin e and feminin e space sometimes 1s evident ,n one stark, monumental image (2-16).

The main audienc es for Neshat's works lo dat e have been ,n Europe a n d the . Un 1&d States. H enc e, wh atever the art st's intent o ns, her i mages of women we aring 1 i i

veils evoke a ssoc,at,ons with the veiled, erot1c12ed figure of the Muslim harem gir , a l fant as y figure of Western colon,al,sm, which con tinues to connote sexual allure. The h,sto nc Wes te rn fantasy of the veiled a nd clo steri e d Mus ,m woma n a so embraced l l the notion of a r epressed woman who ,s too passi ve and fatalist c to attempt to re si st i her oppress on and needs to be rescu ed by the West; th,s v ew of th e veil as a symbol i i of a r epressive society he ped 1ust1fy colonialism l

Looking at images of veiled women n , lslam,c soc,et,es, the curre nt-day v, ewer in the West may feel superior, , mag,ning the freedom of West ern wom en. In cont r ast to this v ew Neshat observ es "In t he West where you can talk sp ecifically about the i , :

•

• body and sexuality, things are so extroverted that in the end there is no mystery, there is no boundary. •n Neshat describes her own iden tity as that of an outsider who is caught between two wor ds. ·1 a ways think of myse f as an outcast, whether I'm l l lamong Iran i ans or Westerners." She re ates her own experl i ence a s an exi le t o the characters in her films. "When I look back at my work retrospective y, I find it l i ronic that all my fema le characters are a so 'outcasts' wl i thin their social realms whether due to sexua l, cu ltura or politica l factors. There is a constant t en si on between t h e 'indil vidual ' versus the 'community,' and often the impossibility of thei r integration. "34 Shirin Neshat was born in 1957 in Qazvi n. Iran. The arti s t recei v e d a m a s t e r of fine arts degree at the Un iversi ty of Ca lifornia-Berlceley. She current y lives in New lYork Ci t y . Notes

1 . Cl ain- Pajaczkowsk.l, "lssu("S in N:minis1 V'tsual Cultun.•,"' in Fi on a Carson and Claire P,lj.tczkowska,. eds., ftmini$1 Visual Culturi! (New York: Routledge, 2CXX>), p . S. 2. L nda Wc!ntraub, Art on J/rc Edge mul Ovt•r. Senrd1h1g Jo, Ari's Men11mg m iCo11t,•mporary So<1enJ 1970,-1990< (L tchfi el d . Conn .:i Art Ins ghts, 1996)i , p . 9 9 . 3 . Lucy R. L1pp.ird, Mixttd Blessfogs: New Art i n a Multiculturnl Americn (New Yol'k: Pomhe on Books, 1990). p . 21. �· �k ng a1 i jus1 one c1!y-New York -a dditional influential (and conuove rsial) shows .ibou� 1d�nt1ty th at wct"f he d 1n thl e 1990s included these: The Decade Sho w: Frameworks of ldenmy rn the 1980s.. which wa:, held simultaneous y m New l York in 1990 at the Studio Museun, 1n ar �n1, the �l ew Mu��m of Contempo� rary Art, and the Mtt e m . s u of Coi\lt.:mpornry His panic Art, Asia/Amenrn: ldcnnues m Con1cmpor;1ry Asian American Art at th > t Asrn Socie ty G alleries 99-l); Bfock Mal e: Repr�em a1ions �£ M asculinity in Co1uemporary Am� erican Art m the Whirney useum 0994); Bad Car s l at the New Mus eum of Contemporary Art (1994)· ond loo Jewish' Challe�ging Tradit.io1,al Jdentities at the Jewish Museum (1996). ' > . For a more nu,mced . consider at oi n of 1hese two cxrub r oni i s a.nd others or an zed around 1denuty fhcmcs, sec a set of essays ideveloped from a 2004. Coll e eg Art Associ ation pan� or an zed b y curator Nomi I a n L . K eeblan, ·identity il Roll er Coaster: Art /ournnl 64 (Spring 2005)· . pp . ti-94 . 6. 5<'< Roland Banhes, •Th e De .:i th o ( t h e A ut h or, • Ill · /magl', · Mus,,. aS tep h e Trxt, tmns. l\d � d . n I,c3! "• h (N ew York: N, oonday Press, 1977), pp. 1 4 2 -148. . �b - f<�r a comprchensive discus s on i CJf feminist activism v s�?i..vii $ the an� e n in th United Stt1res e gtn 1ng 1n t he 1970s, see Norma Broude and M3ry O G ·• ' arr ard , e<l 77 · e

s., 1e me

Power _ of Fcm1111st A rt: T h A rican Movemen . t QJ · il,e J9lOs. H d o, )t�:;mface designs in Ah Xion's ��;;: �;:in;•;:,�� ;��,• cr;;,��:�:i-to l::t:� ::n l:t.,' uo 'h _ t ha� �xasted s ne ipr[2-4], rhe "tatt��::;s�� ,._

:' e r�/ ;. 1 chistoric imes. In th e illustrncion provided , bod 1 v, .i ,h anunage o , a l an dscan,•in(hr ma, ' a t h c artists · · ' I 9 . W lterTru e e · ttAnde p a c O f ongm. ·-,-.n ,"-_..1 "U., Tl 1e 7i rut / in b outt I rtT• rutli• . t h e ·D• Postm o rru 1.-<011 J usmgam · IR d World (Ne (;'-constructmg w York: rm n am, 1 99 _, 'p. 1 1 2 810 o e · bell h k s •p LJn d rn Olac�nc5s, • in 71 Trutl, �� 1e about the Truth, 11: p . 122. Hom � . i Bh a a, Ed"ard So,d, Olu n amo Oguibe Trng the ma T M' h ny write h d rs i · IJl : � a n o Sann Maharaj ore wh have contr . i buted to di scuss' ons o ' f hyb12. . rR 1dl(y aohini a • i nd Malik syncre tnd sa m . C vin Jan s 1 1 F �mtf iul 11<0IH:rttrctlntemntionnlis , m Dialogues (Lon on !s with d : Artists 011 : In titute or'1�nternauona V15uaglossar l Ari,, 1998)y). , S.V. ·hyb r idity" (in th e 3. Gavin Ja� ,ujes, Introduct on to A Fruit/11l lucolicrea i ,ue p 1 6 � · M rgo Machida,, "Out of As a Ne a . ' . i : ot . . . America: ldeu tin' tities . i 8 Asi an ldcnm1es m Amein Contempora rr icn," in Asia/ y A } :ueri,011 New (New Press. Art n York1994), Asia p . · 07. �:� Soci es 1 A exhibi1io : ety Galleri and n og

. ,

r . 15. Quoted in enni fo Vigi , ,..Will Wil son, . in James H . N om1ge� ed., Diversity mid Dinlo ue: J l gTire Eiteljorg frllowslnp fo r N<Jtivc A mericnn Fine Ari (l ndiani'lpo is: Eitcl org Museum of l jAm erican [ndia.ns and Native America n Art. 2007), p . 9 8 . An exhibition catalog.. 1 6 . Vigit "Will Wilson," in Dit1ersity and Dialogue , p . 1 0 4 . 1 7 , F o r an i ntroduction t o cwo o f the maj or scholars o f Rasquatl,ismo and a discussion o f the misunderstanding of the t erm in the Uni ted St:Hes. se e Holly B amet-S anc:he-z, "Tom.is Ybarr a Frnusto ond Amo 1 a Mt's a•B ains: A Cri11rt1l Discou rse from Within," in Art l }oumal 64 (W nti er 2005): p p . 9 1 -93. 1 8 . Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: Feminism nnd tl1e Subversi()n of Identity (London �n d New York: Routl<dg e, 1993). l 9. Some of the se conccp1s nre discussed in th e profile a bout Renee Cox following <hapter 3. "The Body." 2 0 . Ella Shoha 4 ntroduct on to Talking Visions: Mttlt1culturnl Feminism in a Tra11s11M1011nl A g ei i , «I . Shohot (New York: New Museum of Contemporary An C.1mb; r dgi e : MIT Press, 1998), p . 1 2 . 21. Gnvin J,mtjes told ,mist Mar ene Dumas that he prcfcn thl e tcnn rrew i11ternationnl1sm to multi(ulrurnlis,u. He exp a ined, · ·J have been usi n g the term internat alism as a n open ded l ion enterm. I h�ve not u54.•J mult cuhi uralis1n be<ause I thin k th at cerrnin assocrnt ons, both historical and i

cultural, m ake it a discours e of 1hc past. I speak of intcrnat oni alisn\ bc!aus e it allows me ro u nd e r · stand w hat is happe1tiltg ln the- world o n d w back of ,hose historical notions o f multiC'ulturol sm " iGavin Ja ntjes. "Ma r ene Dumas, " u\ A f,u;1J11l l,reoJ1ere11cel , p. 55. 22. Thelmo Golden, lntroducuon tO Frt•estyle (New York: Stud,o Museum in Har em, 2001 ), lp . 15. An exhib1u on <o.w, og. l23. SthCtte S. Min, .. The L ast Asfon American Exh bition in the Whoi e Entire Wor d , ." in l lMdisS3 Chiu, Kar i1l H,g.i, an d Susett e S . Min, eds. , One Way o r Ano1l1e r: Asittu Amtricau Art Now ( New York: Asia Society; N ew Hav e1\, Conn.: Yt'lle Unive rsity Press, 2006), p p . 34-41 . 24. Margo M achida, "Refr;;iming Asian Aml'ric an,"' in One Way or AnotJu.-r, pp. 17, 1 6 . Machida also m a k es a rompe lling argum ent thn, the oomplex currents i n today's an by Asian A1neric ans are mor e of .i continuum than a rupture with i dentity ar1 0£ the 1980s :ind 1990s; thi'lt the a ucr was more heteroge n eous than those looking back a ways rerogn izel l . 25. Sus.an Sollins. Art 21: Ari i11 1 l1 e Tw .. �my-First Century 2 (New York: H arry N. Abr ams, 20Ql), p . 213. 26. CompOSitc photos we.re made pr or to the a dvent of computers in thi e history of phot o g raphy, p reviously involvin g dark roo m p rocesses for l ayeri ng an;;iJ og nega tives.. 2 7 . Chris Bruce, "t.fovig.1ring in the- Hall of Mirrors," in Chr s Bruce and Andy Crundberg.. iAfter Art; Retl1inki11S 150 Years of Pl1otograpl,y (Seattle: Henry An Gollery ond Univer, ty of iWashingron Press,. 1994), p . 23. A,, e xhibition catal og. 2 8 . Ibid. Although he us es a different title, Br uce is refer ri ng 10 the photograph illustrate d in Figure 2 -13. 29. Michnel L $:,tnd, "Nancy Burson and the Art of See ng," i n Christopher French, ed., Seeing iand lklitving: T11e Arl of Nn11cy Burson (Sanro Fe: Twin P:-1lms; 2002), p . L9. An exhibition catalog . 30. Ma ti r ce Berger, "White- Purity; N,mcy 8urso1\, " ii\ Mi aurice Berger, l-d., White: Wllilt and Race hr Conte mporary Art (Bi'lhimore: Center for Art and Visual Cuhore, University of Maryla nd B altimore County; New York: Oistributcd Art Publishers. 20<l4), p . 52. 31. Ntrncy Burson, "Seeing and Believing: The Art of Nancy Ottrson: Intervi ew with Lynn Gumpe rt and Terrie Sult.m," in Suing a,1d Brlitvins, p . 15· 3. 32. Tina Sherwe . ll, . Bodies In Reprcse1nation: Contemporary Ar ab Women Anist5i" in Fran Lloyd, ed., Conumµornry Arab Wome11 1s Art (londo1t: Wome n's Art Libr ary. 1999), p . 65. 3 3 . As quoted ill Morine Van Hoof, "Shirin Neshat: Veils in the Win d," Art Press 279 ( May 2002): p. 38. b34 . As quote d i n Helena Kontov a, "Mar .no A r a1ni ovit, Vanessa Beecroft, Shirin Nes hat: Modern Nomads," Flash Art 40 ()uly-September 2007): p . 103.