Very
often, many individuals have trouble defining themselves, or really identifying
who they are. Identifying who you are may take a lifetime for some, and for
others may take just as long as the strike of a brush on canvas. It becomes a
bit simpler to identify yourself when you have creative ways to express yourself,
such as through art. Through art, we are able to visually appreciate the
identity that the artist meant to create. However, artists are not always
seeking just to define their art through their own identity, but they use their
works to define the identity of cultures, and time periods such as those belonging
to history.
One
specific work of art that defined individual identity for me, was "Untitled" from the Series of Dear Painter, Paint for Me by artist Martin Kippenberger. This specific
painting portrays a man sitting on a disposed of leather black couch on the
sidewalk of what appears to be a city much like New York. The indidvidual in
the painting is merely just sitting there, and seems to be pondering away in
the middle of all that garbage. What spoke to me about this painting was how
this man was not afraid to sit down, in the middle of the busy city, in garbage
laying the sidewalk no less, and just ponder his thoughts. To me, this spoke
out as not being afraid to be different in a city where the hustle and bustle
makes everyone seem alike. As an individual, the man in the painting is sitting
in trash without a care, without caring that he has just identified himself out
of everyone in the big city.
Cindy
Sherman's work "Untitled #264" spoke
out to very loudly as an example of cultural identity. The way that Sherman
used the enlarged genitals and breasts of the woman in her photograph made me
consider that culturally, women are still considered sexual objects and that as
a culture, without realizing, we make that idea okay. We support the idea that
women should have larger breasts, thinner waists, and larger behinds in order
to be attractive enough for men. And if we do not appeal to the other sex, it
is almost as if we are socially and culturally unacceptable. Sherman's use of
exposed and enlarged genitals and breasts goes along also with the face of the
woman in the picture being covered by some sort of gas mask. I took this as
Sherman using this work to portray that this is a poison we are feeding to our
culture, this exploitation of woman that should have ended years ago, or better
yet never should have begun.
Sherman's
work "Untitled #201" is a picture that
also spoke very loudly to me, only this one spoke to me as identifying a
historical moment in time. The use of Sherman replicating a man of power from a
period of history much before her time, really indentified how good the men of
power looked. The individual in the portrait looks extremely well fed and well
dressed, speaking to me that the wealthy have always had it great, and reminding
me that both back then and now, the poor and middle class have had to work
twice as hard as the rich and still live less than half the life of the
wealthy. The fine materials and just the
image itself captivate the kinds of things that the wealthy have been able to
attain that the middle and lower classes have never been able to come close to.
I believe this particular picture speaks both historically and presently,
clearly identifying the differences in class that we try so hard to pretend does
not exist.
The use
of art to express an identity, as stated before, clearly is a great way to get into
the minds of your viewers and make connections with a kind of identity. You may
find your own identity even, by becoming a creator or viewer of a certain work.
Identity begins from within, and I am a strong believer that everyone should try
to find theirs in their own way, but especially through some form of art that
may help someone else begin to find themselves as well. Good art, I believe, speaks
out to you and makes you wonder, therefore good art makes you indentify.
Works Cited
Martin Kippenberger
"Untitled" from the Series Dear Painter, Paint for Me 1981
Synthetic Polymer Paint on Canvas
2007
Cindy Sherman
"Untitled #264"
Chromogenic Color Print
1992
Cindy Sherman
"Untitled #201"
Chromogenic Color Prints
1989
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