Essay

Module 2 Commentary: Identity

Identity: Audio Commentary

Before you begin your work for this module, take a few minutes and consider the term "identity." How do you define "identity" as a concept? What are the different ways in which you identify yourself? Does how you identify yourself mostly focus on physical characteristics (e.g., "I'm a short redhead with big feet.") or do you call upon personality traits (e.g., "I am someone who likes music, is kind to animals, and likes to spend time with my friends")? Or, do you find that you use mostly external associations (e.g., naming your political ideologies, cultural associations, or professional memberships) to describe yourself? These questions speak to the idea that a person's identity is more complex and multilayered than it is simple and that an individual's identity is shaped, influenced, and constructed from both internally and externally derived sources. It also suggests that identity can be perceived as a fluid concept that can shape and reshape itself according to our particular experiences over time.

In the assigned reading for this module (Chapter Two: Identity in Themes of Contemporary Art) the authors note that Western art history is filled with examples of how artists have explored identity and that this is easily seen in the traditions of portrait and self-portraiture. Consider, for example, the work of Frida Kahlo, a 20th century Mexican artist who died in 1954. Although not considered a "contemporary" artist for the purposes of this course, it is relevant to examine how Kahlo's work has greatly influenced many contemporary artists. Over the course of her career, Kahlo painted numerous images of herself because, as she is often quoted as saying, she was the person she "knew best" and that by painting herself, she painted "her own reality" (Artquotes (http://www.artquotes.net/masters/frida-kahlo/kahlo- quotes.htm) ). In looking at Kahlo's self-portraits we find an individual who was fearless in

we find an individual who was fearless in examining her physical traits and realities. See, for example, the works Self-Portrait with Monkey (http://www.artchive.com/artchive/K/kahlo/kahlo_selfmonkey.jpg.html) (1938) and Broken Column (http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/02/29/arts/29kahl.ready.html) (1944). We also find, however, that Kahlo's self-portraits explored and commented on external factors that influenced her identity, such as we can see when examining The Two Fridas (http://www.artchive.com/artchive/K/kahlo/two_fridas.jpg.html) (1939). In this painting, done during a period of separation from her husband Diego Rivera, Kahlo explores the implications of her divided cultural self -- the woman who was "never quite fully European nor fully Mexican Indian" (Burton 2005) and how this division in her cultural identity impacted the relationship she had with her husband.

Like most of us, artists search to discover and define their identity through a variety of means and experiences and they convey these explorations through a broad and diverse array of expressions. During her career as an artist (1925-54), Frida Kahlo invested considerable energy in examining her own likeness and in creating numerous and remarkable self-images. Through our work in this module, we will learn about artists today who continue to explore issues of "identity" in the relatively familiar traditions of self-portraiture (such as those we find in earlier artists such as Kahlo). Equally and, perhaps, even more importantly, we will learn about

contemporary artists who are exploring identity in ways that are startlingly new and unfamiliar and which introduce audiences to entirely new ways of how one can define "identity."

There are two principal ways that we will explore the content for this module. The first is by reading "Chapter Two: Identity" in the course textbook. In this chapter, we will find that the authors present a broad survey of examples of artists and works of art that, in some manner, explore issues having to do with identity. The authors begin by providing some historical context for how the concept of identity has evolved in recent years. Notably, the authors discuss how theories, terms, and definitions about identity have come and gone, moving in and out of favor and emphasis. It's important, as one proceeds through the chapter, to reflect on the authors' claims about the fluidity of identity and how it's perceived.

The second way we will explore this module's content is by viewing a segment from PBS's acclaimed television series, Art 21: Art in the Twenty-First Century. The segment we will view comes from the series' first season and, appropriately, is titled "Identity" The segment can be viewed online at: https://www.pbs.org/show/art-21/episodes/season/1/ (https://www.pbs.org/show/art- 21/episodes/season/1/) . There are four artists featured in this segment: Bruce Nauman (http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/nauman/index.html) , Kerry James Marshall (http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/marshall/index.html) , Maya Lin (http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/lin/index.html) , and Louise Bourgeois (http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/bourgeois/index.html) . From Nauman's use of everyday objects to the austerity of Maya Lin's sculptures to the deeply biographical references present in the work of Louise Bourgeois and to Marshall's playful but charged use of domestic interiors--we will find that each of these artists creates art that is provocative, thoughtful, and distinct in its examination of identity.

artists creates art that is provocative, thoughtful, and distinct in its examination of identity.

Special Focus: Do Ho Suh

Featured Link: The Lehmann Maupin Gallery presentation of Do Ho Suh (http://www.lehmannmaupin.com/#/artists/do-ho-suh/)

Some of the most current, up-to-date information about contemporary artists and art can be found by exploring the websites of commercial art galleries. In most cases, these online "galleries" showcase the work created by the different artists represented by the gallery in fully illustrated and detailed ways. The online address of an art gallery's website can, of course, be easily located by a quick search in your favorite search engine. Another way, however, is to utilize any number of online gallery guides to browse the different gallery websites that are available. An excellent example of an online gallery guide is be found in the Gallery Guide (http://art-collecting.com/galleries.htm) section of the Art-Collecting.com

(http://art-collecting.com/index.htm) website. This set of guides provides links to more than 4000 galleries located in the U.S.

The link featured here is to the Lehmann Maupin Gallery (http://www.lehmannmaupin.com/#/contact/) presentation of Korean artist, Do Ho Suh. The Lehmann Maupin Gallery is a prominent New York gallery that specializes, as the gallery's website notes, in "international contemporary artists working in painting, sculpture, photography, video and new media from all over the world" (Lehmann Maupin Gallery (http://www.lehmannmaupin.com/#/contact/) ). Artists represented by Lehmann Maupin include Tracey Emin, Suling Wang, Gilbert and George, Ashley Bickerton, and Do Ho Suh.

Do Ho Suh was born in Seoul, Korea in 1962. He is primarily known for constructing site-specific installations that "question the boundaries of identity "(Lehmann Maupin Gallery (http://www.lehmannmaupin.com/#/artists/do-ho-suh/) ). In his biography, his work is described as exploring "the relation between individuality, collectivity, and anonymity" (Lehmann Maupin Gallery (http://www.lehmannmaupin.com/#/artists/do-ho-suh/) ). Visitors to the gallery presentation for Do Ho Suh will find many images of his work plus links to information about recent exhibitions of the artist's installation works and full-text copies of reviews about his work.Artist Profiles: Multimedia Resources

Artist Profiles: Nancy Burson and Shirin Neshat

Following the discussion of each theme, the chapters in the Themes of Contemporary Art textbook include extended profiles of select artists whose work is discussed in the context of that particular theme. The profiles present discussion of the different ideas and approaches used by each artist. This section of each course module represents an online extension to the profiles provided in the textbook by presenting access to multimedia and external links that are relevant to each artist and which provide further

illumination about his or her work.

Nancy Burson

Nancy Burson's renown in the field of digital art is best defined by her pioneering work in morphing technology, which allows for a virtual enhancement of the human face. One of her most famous works, the Human Race Machine, permits people to view themselves as members of another race. The Human Race Machine is often used as a tool to initiate conversations about racial diversity and has visited the Penn State Campus several times as part of our annual Martin Luther King Day celebrations.

Human Race Machine (UMTV)

A brief demonstration of Burson's Human Race Machine (1999 to present)

In their profile of Burson, authors Robertson and McDaniel (2009) describe the significance of Burson's work in developing morphing technology:

Although today software that enables morphing and digital recombination of photographs is readily available, Burson was a pioneer when she first used computers to alter photographs, collaborating with computer scientists and engineers as early as 197t to develop digital morphing technologies, generating composite faces using those technologies. Her concepts for the hypothetical composites were in line with then emerging philosophical ideas about 'Otherness,' difference, and cultural stereotyping, as well as simulation and virtual reality, and presaged later artistic preoccupations with themes of DNA recombination and genetic engineering. Robertson and McDaniel, p. 60.

In more recent years, Burson's work has returned to more traditional portraiture; however, her interests continue to focus on issues of identity, cultural stereotyping, and human difference.

Visit Seeing and Believing: The Art of Nancy Burson (https://greyartgallery.nyu.edu/publications/seeing-and-believing-the-art-of-nancy-burson/) , an exhibition of the artist's work that took place at the Grey Gallery in New York in 2002. (http://www.nyu.edu/greyart/)

Shirin Neshat

Last summer, Neshat participated in the exhibit, "She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World. (https://nmwa.org/exhibitions/she-who-tells-story) " The exhibit was sponsored by the National Museum of Women Artists (https://nmwa.org/) and featured works by numerous artists working in photography and videography. The works provided individual visions of the world as "witnessed" by each artist. The following is Neshat's biography as presented by the National Museum of Women Artists (https://nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/shirin-neshat? gclid=COSQi4u1ktICFUaHswodMTkMBQ) :

Neshat left Iran to study art in Los Angeles in 1974, just prior to the Iran Islamic Revolution; she did not return until 1990. At that time, Neshat began to photograph herself wearing the chador, orveil. In 1983, Islamic law dictated the wearing of chador for women. Much of Neshat’s work examines the physical, emotional, and cultural implications of veiled women in Iran.

Her work, which has never been shown in Iran, essentially declares the female presence in a male dominated culture. In her films and photographs, the female gaze becomes a powerful and dangerous instrument for communication.

Her first series of photographs, Woman of Allah, 1993–97, combines images of women with written words taken from religious texts. Neshat further explored cultural taboos through video and video installations.

In 1997, she won the 48th Venice Biennial prize for her film Turbulent, which contrasts a man singing in front of an all-male audience, with a woman singing to an empty concert hall. Her work has been shown throughout Europe and the United States. She currently lives in New York and frequently travels to Iran, though the majority of her work is filmed in Morocco, Turkey, and the United States.

In the videos below, Shirin Neshat speaks about being an artist in exile and her recent exhibition, Women Without Men.

Women Without Men Discussion

Commentary Sources

1. Artquotes. "Frida Kahlo." URL: http://www.artquotes.net/masters/frida-kahlo/kahlo-quotes.htm (http://www.artquotes.net/masters/frida-kahlo/kahlo-quotes.htm) . Accessed: 21 February 2017.

2. Burton, J. 2005. "Frida Kahlo: Room Guide (http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate- modern/exhibition/frida-kahlo/frida-kahlo-room-guide) ." Written for the Tate Modern. Accessed: 21 February 2017.

3. Robertson, J & C. McDaniel. 2009. Themes of Contemporary Art. 2nd. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Shirin Neshat Art in exile