1.) Big Idea: Identity
Jamie Marie Wilson
Title of Lesson: Identity Relief
Lesson plan # 1 (3D)
Class title and ages: Art concepts: grades 11-12
Number of days to teach lesson: 5
2.)
Purpose: Students will create a three dimensional piece of
artwork that explores personal identity through the use of
symbolism. They will view and take part in a discussion about the
works of Frida Kahlo, Shirin Neshat, and Sergei Isopuv as well as
read the article “Cultural Identity is Constructed and Challenged
by Stereotype”(homework), and fill out the “Who Am I” worksheet.
They will plan out their ideas through sketching. All of which will
assist them in developing an understanding of what identity is and
how they can make art about it. Finally, they will participate in
mask making with classmates and incorporate various art techniques
to create their sculptures’.
3a.) National Art Standards:
#1: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and
processes
#2: Using knowledge of structures and functions
#3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols,
and ideas
#4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and
cultures
#5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits
of their work and the work of others
#6: Making connections between visual arts and other
disciplines
3b). The Universal Constructs of the Iowa Core Curriculum:
· Critical thinking
· Complex communication
· Creativity
· Collaboration
· Flexibility and adaptability
· Productivity and accountability
3.) Objectives:
1. The students will create a plan through sketching out of
their relief sculpture, after completing the worksheet, reading the
articles. (National Standard: 1; 2 and US: critical thinking;
collaboration)
2. Students will use color, image and composition in order to
communicate a significant aspectof their personal identity.
(National Standard: 3; 4 and UC: creativity; critical thinking)
3. Students will work with plaster to effectively by make a mask
of a classmate. (National Standards: 2; 6 and UC: flexibility and
adaptability; collaboration)
4. Students will convey an understanding of color, focal point,
repetition, texture and balance. (National Standards: 2 and UC:
complex communication)
5. Students will combine elements of art (e.g. sculpture,
painting, found object, and mixed media) to create a wall relief
sculpture. (National Standards: 1; 2 and UC flexibility and
adaption)
6. Students will reflect on their sculptures by participating in
a group critique and completing a self-evaluation rubric. (National
Standard 5 and UC Complex communication, Collaboration, and
Productivity and accountability)
4.) Materials: From Dick Blick Art supply. Order online- 20% off
orders of $199. Free shipping on orders over $150.
http://www.dickblick.com/?wmcp=google&wmckw=[dick%20blick]&wmcid=adwords&cid=psgex072611171&gclid=CPTNn4bHkKsCFSUEQAodyEgstw
· Plaster bandages cut into 1"x4" rectangles- 4 yrds. /$6.36 per
roleor invest in 250 yrd. box for $76
· Reusable plastic face forms- for those students that don’t
want to have one made of them. They can experience working with
plaster on these pre formed masks. $1.99/each x 4= $7.96
· Containers for water- available in the classroom
· Masking tape- Wal-Mart $8.88 per 3 roles
· paper towels- available in the classroom
· Vaseline- Wal-Mart $2.00 for a large container
· Face soap (hypoallergenic) $2 per bar
· Scrap plywood- from home or donation. Can also be purchased at
Menards for 4’x8’ piece for $ 18.00
· Primer paint (Kilz brand)- Wal-Mart - $18.96 per gallon
· Chromacryl brand Acrylic paint- set of 12 pints is $52.00
· Material scraps- donation
· Wall paper-donation
· Magazines- donation
· Staple gun- from home- was $20
· Found objects (brought from the students home)
· Also. have things available in the classroom. Found objects
collected by the art instructor or from nature.
5.) Interdisciplinary connections:
This lesson will be connected to Social studies through the
exploration of how artists and the students identify themselves
through their culture or religious practices, and
Psychology-through the exploration of what a student’s identity
says about them and how it affects them psychologically.
6.) Artists/ imagery:
Frida Kahlo
“Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Humming-bird”
“The Love Embraces the Universe”
“Self-Portrait as a Tehuana (Diego on My Mind)”, 1943
· Frida Kahlo was born 1907
· She is a celebrated Mexican painter whose self-portraits are
emblematic of national and indigenous tradition.
· Feminist- uncompromising depiction of the female experience
and form
· Married to the muralist, Diego Rivera. They had a stormy
relationship.
“Tree of Hope”, 1946 and Photo of Frida in the hospital,
1944
· Kahlo uses duality a lot in her work.
· She suffered lifelong health problems, many of which stemmed
from a traffic accident when she was 18
· Kalho said about her self-portraits, "I paint myself because I
am so often alone and because I am the subject I know
best."
“The Two Fridas”, 1939
· Shortly after her divorce from Diego Rivera, Frida completed
this self-portrait of two different personalities.
· On the right, the part of her, which was respected and loved
by her husband, is the Mexican Frida in Tehuana costume. In her
hand she holds an amulet bearing the portrait of Diego as a
child.
· On the left, a more rather European Frida in a lacy white
Victorian wedding dress, the Frida that Diego abandoned.
· The hearts of the two women lie exposed a device Frida often
used to express her pain. The unloved Frida's heart is broken while
the other Frida's heart is whole.
Shirin Neshat
“Women of Allah”
· Shirin Neshat is a contemporary artist from who uses herself
as a subject matter.
· This body of work entitled “Women of Allah” addresses the
social, political and psychological dimensions of women's
experience in contemporary Islamic societies.
· Her work recognizes the complex intellectual and religious
forces shaping the identity of Muslim women throughout the world.
Using Persian poetry and calligraphy she examined concepts such as
martyrdom, the space of exile, the issues of identity and
femininity.
Sergei Isupov
· Sergei Isupov is a Ceramic artist
· From Russia, born in 1963, lives in the U.S.
· He is from a family of artist. His mother is a well-known
Ceramic Folk artist and both his father and brother are
painters.
· Called an erotic surrealist, he draws on personal experiences
to create these autobiographical sculptures.
7.) Visual Culture connection:
See ppt. images and appendix a. for the article “Cultural
Identity is Constructed and Challenged by Stereotype”
8.) Reading across the curriculum:
See appendix a. for the article “Cultural Identity is
Constructed and Challenged by Stereotype”
9.) Lesson procedure:
Day (1): Introduction (***what I am saying is in italics, while
what I am doing is in normal text.)
We are starting a new unit about identity today. We will be
doing three different projects that address this subject in
different ways. This project will cover our 3-Dl faction of this
and address self-identity. In the first project you will create a
relief sculpture that incorporates a mask of your own face. A
relief is a kind of sculpture that comes out of the wall. There is
high relief, which comes out a lot and low relief that is very
shallow. Your sculptures will be somewhere in the middle.
Can anyone tell me what they think identity means? Can you give
me an example of something that might be used to represent
identity? How do you define yourself? Can you think of any symbols,
colors or design elements that could can be used to say who you
are?”
First you will be making plaster casts of each other’s faces.
You will then take the mask of your own face and affix it to a
piece of wood using a staple gun, and paint the entire thing white.
This will give you a good blank slat to work from. Before you start
work on these relief sculptures, you will sketch out a plan of what
you will be doing. Then you will transfer your ideas to your relief
sculpture of your face. Finally, we will set them all up and take a
look at them. You will also have a chance to assess your own
work.
Now I am going to show you some images by artists who use the
subject of personal identity in their work. (Show ppt.)
Day (1): Studio time
Well, for the sake of this lesson and the 2 that follow in the
coming weeks, we are referring to identity as distinguishing
characteristics of an individual’s personality that shape who they
are. As young people you are just starting to come to grips with
the daunting task of figuring this out. So let’s first, fill out
the handout entitled “Who am I?” (Appendix b.) Make sure to keep
what you have written to yourself. These are to be used for
personal reflection and a tool for you to start thinking what type
of elements you want to include in your relief sculpture. They will
not be shared with others. These questions can be difficult to
answer. There is no right or wrong answer. Don’t think about them
to hard. The class fills out worksheet. Remind students to answer
honestly and keep their work to themselves.
Day (1): Closure
I am handing out an article called “Cultural Identity is
Constructed and Challenged by Stereotype”. Read this and bring some
interesting points about the article to talk about next time. Think
about the things we have talked about and come prepared to get your
hands dirty next time. We will start to make our facemasks next
time, so I suggest you bring a bandana or hat to keep the plaster
out of your hair. I will be providing tape, which can be placed
along your hairline if you can’t find anything or forget. Also, I
recommend that you not where anything to nice as the plaster may
get on it.
Day (2-4): Introduction
Come on in and get seated quickly and quietly. We have a lot to
go over today. So what did you think of the article? Can anyone
give me some insight to what it was about? Have some questions
ready to ask the students about the article. Then call on a couple
of students to see what they thought. Have materials set out so
they can get started as soon as your introduction is done. Today we
will be starting making our masks. We need to get together in
groups of 3 to a table.
Day (2-4): Studio time
If a student has issues with having a mask made of their face
have them use, a plastic form to make their mask. The students will
work in groups of three. One student lies on the table, while the
other two students each produce one half of the face mask. This
will ensure that the masks are finished and dry enough to take off
in one class period. Quickly show them how to do all this on a face
form before they get started on each other, so you won’t have to
repeat your instruction. Walk around the room assisting where
needed.
1. Prepare your work area and materials. Cover any surface you
don’t want to get messy and cut plaster bandages to approximately
1”.
2. Have your subject lie down on the table or floor after
putting a bandana or painters tape on their hair line to keep the
plaster out.
3. Rub petroleum jelly all over the subject’s face, making sure
to thoroughly cover any areas with hair to prevent sticking.
4. Begin the first layer of plaster application by dipping one
strip at a time into warm water and then applying it to the face by
smoothing it on like a sticker.
5. Create an outline of the face and under the chin first. This
will help your mask edges stay neat and clean. Since this mask will
be affixed to a piece of wood, add a 1” flap to either side of the
mask where the ears are.
6. Take special care when applying strips to the eye, mouth and
nose area so as not to get plaster in them or cut off air
supply.
7. Cover the rest of the face with a couple of layers of
bandages.
8. Allow the mask to set up on your subjects face. It will warm
up slightly while it hardens.
Day (2-4): Closure
The students who are having their masks done can continue to lie
on the table until the mask dries. The other students must clean
up. When the mask begins to feel itchy have the subject begin to
wiggle their facial feature to loosen it up. When it no longer
feels stuck, gently slide your fingers under the mask and lift it
off. Place removed mask on a drying rack until next class
period.
If someone finishes early have them begin to sketch out their
ideas. Make sure the masks have names on them. Things to think
about when doing your sketching are color, what colors do you feel
akin to? Focal point, what do you want people to focus their
attention on and see first. Repetition can be achieved by repeating
elements in your work. How can this be helpful in getting your
message across? Texture can be added to your work as by adding
elements of found objects or mix media. Balance, is another factor
to think about. Picture your piece of art as a teeter totter.
Placing a lot of stuff on one side without balancing it out could
cause your work to seem heavier on one side than the other.
Day( 5): Introduction
First have them affix their mask to the board with a staple gun,
and then paint the whole thing with the primer paint. While they
are doing that discuss how their sketches are going. You should
have a pretty good idea what you want the ground level of your
relief sculpture to look like. We have discussed the use of color,
focal point, repetition, texture, and balance. Are there any
questions? While you are priming your pieces I will be coming
around to check out your ideas.
Day (5): Studio time
Have them spread newspaper on tables and show them how to affix
their mask to the board. Have them consider placement carefully,
because that is where it is going to stay. They will also finish up
their sketches. After you’ve got your masks attached to your board
you can take it to the painting station. Put an even coat over the
whole thing.
Day (5): Closure
Students will put their sculptures on the rack to dry. Clean up
your work areas and wash out your brushes. Be ready to work on the
final steps of their relief next class period.
Day (6): Introduction
Some students may still be completing their drawings or priming
their sculptures due to absences. Today we will be decorating our
sculptures with paint, images and found objects that you may have
brought in. I have a bin of odds and ends that you can use. I also
have some material here and other things that could be used for
texture and decoration.
Day (6): Studio time
Get your sculptures off the rack. I will be circulating around
the room to answer any questions and discuss design ideas you have.
Does anyone need anything right away? Help those students that are
behind with any instruction they may need. Have a hand out or have
the design elements posted in the room, so they will be available
for reference by the students.
Day (6): Closure
Have everyone pick up their materials and put them away, and
store their sculptures back on the drying rack. Are there any
questions? Next time you come your paint will be dry and you can
begin to add other dimensions to your sculptures that can add
greater depth to the idea of identity. Continue to think about the
design elements that we discussed- color, focal point, repetition,
texture, and balance. In the back of your mind think about what
else you want to add to your sculpture. We will be finishing up on
this next class time, so if you have a lot left to do, you should
think about coming in to work on them after school or during study
hall. Make sure to bring any material that you want to add to your
sculpture next time.
Day (7): Introduction
Hi guys come on in and get settled. Does anyone have any
questions or need any help right away? Otherwise, I will be
visiting each of you in turn.
Day (7): Studio time
The students continue to work on their sculptures the entire
class period. Walk around the room helping students craft their
ideas. Remind students periodically to stay on task and that these
need to be completed soon.
Day (7): Closure
We only have a 15 minutes left of class, so you should be
putting the final touches on you piece. In 5 minutes you need to
pick up and put away. Do you have any last minute questions? We
will have a few minutes at the beginning of our next class if you
need to make any last minute adjustments to your piece before we
look at these in class.
Day (8): Introduction
All right, get your sculptures out. I am going to give you 15
minutes to do any tweaking and fine-tuning that you may need. I am
going to pass around a self-evaluation form. Read it carefully and
grade yourself honestly.
Day (8): Studio time
Pass evaluation forms out. Give them 15 minutes to work. Okay,
times up so stop what you are doing. Bring your sculpture up here
and lean them against to calk board. So what do you think? What was
the hardest part of this lesson/what was the easiest? What were
some challenges working with plaster? Tell me about working with
each other to make art. Was it hard to think about your identity in
terms of how you could represent it in a piece of art? Look at each
piece in turn and ask the student to discuss what they are saying
about themselves.
Put your sculptures back on the storage rack and make sure your
name is easy to find on them.
Now, please return to your seats and fill out your evaluation
form in you haven’t already. There is room at the bottom for you to
leave me comments. I am interested in what you think of this
project. Remember to be nice; I am still your teacher after
all.
Day (8): Closure
Next time you are with me we will be starting a new project on
identity. See you then. Oh, I should have these graded by then, so
you will be able to take them home.
10.) Assessment/Evaluation
During class, have everyone set their relief sculptures along
the wall, so they can be viewed all together and then separately.
Discuss each one in turn. Ask the class, what do you think this
piece of art says about…? Ask questions like…Are you satisfied with
the work you did? Did you have any trouble thinking of ways to
represent thinks about yourself in your work? What would you change
or do differently next time? See appendix c.
11.) Resources:
1. Article: CULTURAL IDENTITY IS CONSTRUCTED AND CHALLENGED BY
STEREOTYPES, Raymond ROCA, March 2006.
2. Fredo Kahlo images:
a. "Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Humming-bird"
·
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/Frida_Kahlo_%28self_portrait%29.jpg
b. “The Love embraces the Universe”
·
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Frida+kahlo+self+portraits&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=ytC&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=978&bih=852&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnso&tbnid=possAXHLruFUoM:&imgrefurl=http://www.sell-art.net/frida-kahlo/&docid=IQYr6lg2AGBTuM&w=500&h=595&ei=r49vTqipJeHDsQK3kLzhCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=358&vpy=473&dur=71&hovh=245&hovw=206&tx=144&ty=141&page=2&tbnh=144&tbnw=119&start=17&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:17
c. Kahlo, Self-Portrait as a Tehuana (Diego on My Mind),
1943
·
http://artseverydayliving.com/blog/2011/07/artist-day-through-artists-eyes/
d. Tree of Hope, 1946
·
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/K/kahlo/kahlo_tree_of_hope.jpg.html
e. The Two Fridas, 1939
· http://www.amybrown.net/women/frida.html
3. Shirin Neshat images: Woman of Allah series.
·
http://artspeak.ca/exhibitions/event_detail.html?event_id=67
·
http://www.agero-stuttgart.de/REVISTA-AGERO/ARTICOLE%20IN%20LIMBI%20STRAINE/Cultural%20identity%20de%20RR.htm
4. Sirgei Isupov images:
· http://www.ferringallery.com/lenox/isupov_sikora.htm
·
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=sergei+isupov&start=151&num=10&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=978&bih=852&tbm=isch&tbnid=RXmSRS_K368mWM:&imgrefurl=http://www.oocities.org/tanushishechka/ceramics/isupov.html&docid=b5ukoZ8SuYfsrM&w=350&h=234&ei=updvTt7vFsqmsALBuNi4CQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=662&vpy=203&dur=5071&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=149&ty=97&sqi=2&page=9&tbnh=137&tbnw=190&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:19,s:151
·
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=sergei+isupov&start=20&num=10&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=978&bih=852&tbm=isch&tbnid=SdxkApvQEV2mUM:&imgrefurl=http://www.iheartmyart.com/page/307&docid=99ttEV-Yc4-33M&w=400&h=317&ei=updvTt7vFsqmsALBuNi4CQ&zoom=1
Appendix A.
CULTURAL IDENTITY IS CONSTRUCTED AND CHALLENGED BY
STEREOTYPES
Raymond ROCA
Cultural identity can be defined as the identification of a
given group or culture, and the individuals within that culture,
with a series of shared values and norms. Traditionally,
stereotypes have often been used to bring about a stronger and more
unified sense of cultural identity, since their oversimplified and
generalised nature is a key element in strengthening individual
identification with shared values and norms. The postmodern period,
however, saw an increasing amount of openness and pluralism
regarding cultural identity, influenced in part by the
globalisation of culture and the worldwide civil rights movement.
This led to a subversion of traditional identities and the
stereotypes that supported them.
Artists have played a significant role in this process, by
creating works that often recontextualise stereotypes, placing them
in non-traditional and contradictory contexts with the aim of
challenging existing cultural identities and, in the process,
creating new sets of values – that is, constructing new cultural
identities. These new identities were influenced by a number of
issues relevant in the postmodern period, such as feminism,
consumerism, globalisation, minority and indigenous rights, and
sexual and gender identity. Such issues are reflected in the works
of two key artists of this period: Barbara Kruger and Yasumasa
Morimura, as well as the works of Margaret Preston, which predate
the postmodern period but also explore the notion of cultural
identity.
Barbara Kruger is one of the most well known artists that use
stereotypes to challenge cultural identity. In her works, Kruger
juxtaposes archetypal images of traditional identity with
provocative and often satirical text. The text, as well as the
context in which the works are placed in, seek to subvert the
values and norms that the stereotypical images allude to, and in
the process create a new, postmodern cultural identity. Kruger’s
visual techniques, inspired significantly by advertising, also
provoke the audience into questioning the extent to which their
cultural identity is constructed by mass-media stereotypes. As
Italian critic Federica Vannucchi writes in her appraisal of
Kruger, the function of her work “is to make us think about social
and political questions, about the stereotypes and clichés created
by our society.”
One of the best examples of Kruger’s work is We don’t need
another hero (Plate 1), a billboard poster created in 1987.
During this time, both the United States and the United Kingdom saw
a rise in the popularity of right-wing politics, with Margaret
Thatcher and Ronald Reagan using nationalism and militarism as key
strategies for re-election, and the US invasions of El Salvador,
Guatemala and Nicaragua taking place. The second-wave feminist
movement, which had come about at the same time as the postmodern
period, from the 1960s onwards, felt that these conservative
undercurrents in politics could bring about a resurgence in
traditional values and hence undermine the progress in women’s
rights achieved throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.
Plate 1: We don’t need another hero by Barbara
KrugerPhotographic silkscreen on vinyl 277 x 533 cm
In We don’t need another hero, the central image is
reminiscent of war propaganda posters, making a comment on the
political context of growing militarism in the late 1980s, while
also alluding to the traditional gender roles that construct males
as powerful and dominating. In the image, the young boy is
portrayed as the archetypal male hero, exhibiting his strength to
the girl, who glances at him in awe and submission. Through this,
Kruger shows the power and influence of such stereotypes in
constructing traditional cultural identity from an early age,
particularly through their use in the mass media and advertising.
The image is augmented by the caption “We don’t need another hero”,
which is presented in bold typography on a red background, once
again alluding to propaganda advertising. This statement, which
seems to come from a male perspective, further highlights the
traditional, patriarchal notion that only men should be seen as
heroes, and that another hero, in the form of a woman, is not
needed.
By recontextualising propaganda advertising techniques in a
postmodern context, and presenting the associated stereotypes to
the audience in a confronting and direct way, Kruger seeks to
subvert the very culture that the image and the caption exemplify.
She also seeks to criticise the advertising industry’s
stereotypical portrayals of women, making audiences realise the
prejudice associated with such traditional views of gender roles.
In this process, Kruger consequently constructs, or at least
attempts to propose, a new cultural identity, based around the
notion that strength and heroism belong to women as well as
men.
Another work that seeks to challenge traditional notions of
women and their gender role isYour body is a
battleground (Plate 2), a photographic silkscreen created by
Kruger in 1989. This work was launched to support the organisation
of a large pro-abortion march in Washington, DC, on April 9, 1989,
which in turn came about in response to growing calls from
conservative politicians that abortion should be restricted. In her
work, Kruger suggests that stereotypes, such as the image of the
female model, which seems to be taken from an advertisement, have
played a key role in the traditional perception of women as
objects. This is depicted visually by the division of the picture
in two halves, which not only represents the binary controversy
over abortion, but also shows the way in which the media has
promoted the feminine archetype as an image of symmetrical,
commodified beauty, without further social significance. This
objectification, Kruger argues, has led to a culture in which
women’s rights, including abortion, are not valued and cannot be
taken for granted. As she explains, “we, as women, are spoken of
but never addressed. We are never a subject, we are always an
object.”
Plate 2: Your body is a battleground by Barbara Kruger,
Photographic silkscreen285 x 285 cm Completed in 1989
Through her use of media stereotypes outside of an advertising
context, Kruger accordingly seeks to challenge the values of
patriarchal society regarding abortion, making the audience
question their validity in a postmodern context. In order to
construct this new set of values, Kruger herself uses a slogan
reminiscent of advertising: “Your body is a battleground”, which
addresses the work’s female audience directly and contrasts with
the clichéd, balanced image of the female model.
Despite her widespread feminist activism, Kruger’s art does not
deal solely with the theme of women’s rights and gender roles. In
many of her works, she seeks to challenge the consumerist culture
of an increasingly mass-market society, as can be seen in I
shop therefore I am (Plate 3), created in 1987. Through the
use of the caption “I shop therefore I am”, which is the most
prominent element of the work, Kruger suggests that consumer
culture and society’s increasing value for material goods are
influenced significantly by advertising stereotypes. Kruger’s use
of this cliché provokes audiences into questioning their own values
in regard to consumer culture, and into considering the extent to
which they are influenced by media stereotypes glorifying
consumerism, such as the work’s caption. I shop therefore I am can
also be read from a feminist perspective, where it comments on the
fixed idea, often portrayed in advertising, that women have a
weakness for shopping and define themselves in terms of this
activity. Under this interpretation, the work challenges the
artificial, stereotypical notion of universal female identification
consumerism, and encourages audiences, particularly males, to form
a more complex and realistic view of female cultural identity.
The subversion of existing cultural identities is also a major
theme in the practice of Yasumasa Morimura, a contemporary Japanese
artist currently living in New York. Morimura’s works deal
predominantly with intercultural exchanges, particularly those
between the East and the West, in the context of increasing
cultural and economic globalisation and communication. Morimura is
best known for his appropriation of elements of popular culture,
including stereotypes, which are often placed in contradictory,
unnatural contexts, and hence seek to challenge and question
traditional cultural identity, while simultaneously exploring an
international, postmodern identity.
One of Morimura’s most famous works is After Brigitte
Bardot 2 (Plate 4), a photographic composition which was
completed in 1996, and is part of the Self-portrait (actress)
series. The main subject of the photograph is the figure of
Brigitte Bardot, wearing shiny hot pants and boots, and sitting
astride a Harley Davidson, all of which are stereotypical images of
Western – more specifically, American – popular culture. The image,
however, is taken out of its natural context, as Bardot is placed
in a typical streetscape of downtown Osaka, and her face is
replaced by that of the artist himself (hence the name of the
series, Self-portrait – actress).
Plate 3: I shop therefore I am by Barbara KrugerPhotographic
silkscreen285 x 287 cm Completed in 1987
By juxtaposing these two stereotypical images of
widely-differing cultures, Morimura seeks to show their interaction
in a postmodern world of increasing globalisation and
multiculturalism. The resulting visual dissonance, which is almost
comical, implies the superficiality of national stereotypes in a
highly-complex globalised context, and challenges the idea that
cultural identity is defined by a set of a national icons, such as
the narrow neon-lined streets of Japan or the Hollywood stars and
Harley Davidsons of the USA. Instead, it can be argued that
Morimura seeks to construct a new international identity, defined
by a strong tendency for intercultural exchange. By placing
himself, a non-European male, in the place of Brigitte Bardot, a
European female, Morimura further subverts traditional perceptions
of American cultural identity, particularly the role of ethnicity
and/or race is constructing this identity. Morimura’s Bardot is
Asian, while maintaining her stereotypical American
characteristics, and is hence a product of a new cultural identity
that transcends national barriers.
Morimura’s After Brigitte Bardot 2 is also significant
from a post-colonial perspective. By placing an American icon as
prominent as Brigitte Bardot in a Japanese context, Morimura seeks
to challenge the notion of Western hegemony and its global economic
colonisation and imperialism. The use of a Hollywood media
stereotype – Bardot on her motorcycle – also makes an allusion to
the fact that such icons were used, and continue to be used, as key
elements of the Western (pop)-cultural domination that Morimura
seeks to challenge. His work can hence be seen almost as a reverse
colonial conquest of the East over the West, alluding to a new
global cultural identity where the Eastern World, and particularly
Japan, has increasing influence, in the context of that region’s
economic growth and cultural appeal.
Plate 4: After Brigitte Bardot 2 by Yasumasa MorimuraGelatin
silver print Completed in 1996
Another of Morimura’s works that explores Western perceptions of
Eastern culture is Portrait (Futago), created in 1988 (see
Plate 5). In this work, Morimura appropriates Édouard Manet’s
Olympia (Plate 6), one of the key symbols of Western cultural
tradition, and places himself as both the nude Olympia and the
black maid. The art critic Norman Bryson argues, in his essay
“Three Morimura Readings”, that Morimura’s cross-dressing and
contextualisation as a woman challenges the Western colonial
construction of “Asia as female”, and Asian males as effeminate. By
overtly displaying this stereotypical perception in his work, and
appropriating it in a traditional Western context, the artist makes
Western audiences question and re-evaluate their perceptions of
Asian cultural identity.
Plate 5: Portrait (Futago) by Yasumasa MorimuraGelatin silver
print Completed in 1989
Portrait (Futago) also seeks to challenge traditional
perceptions of sexual minority cultures. As a gay artist, Morimura
uses cross-dressing in his placement as Olympia, in order to
highlight the stereotype of gay people as effeminate. By conforming
to this stereotype in his work, Morimura explores the way in which
his own cultural identity is constructed by generalised social
conventions and labels. At the same time, it is obvious that
Morimura’s Olympia is a male figure, hence highlighting
the artificiality of such stereotypes and challenging their
validity. Additionally, the placement of Morimura as a woman
destabilises the notion of fixed, binary gender roles of male and
female that is prevalent in existing culture, and instead
constructs a new, more elastic gender identity, where stereotypes
of male and female are subverted.
Plate 6: Olympia by Édouard ManetOil on canvas 130.5 x 190 cm
Completed in 1863
The use of stereotypes, icons and symbols in order to challenge
the predominant cultural identity and construct a new one has been
a defining characteristic of the postmodern period, but it must be
understood that this technique has also been used, if less
daringly, in previous art periods. One such example is the work of
Australian artist Margaret Preston, whose late works of the 1940s
have a number of postmodern undertones, particularly due to her
intention of incorporating symbols of Aboriginal identity into her
art, and hence aiming to integrate Aboriginal histories and
narratives into a broader Australian culture.
Plate 7: Flying over the Shoalhaven River by Margaret PrestonOil
on canvas 51.6 x 51.6 cm Completed in 1942
Preston’s attitudes towards Australian cultural identity can be
seen most prominently in her paintings of the early 1940s.
In Flying over the Shoalhaven River (Plate 7), she paints
a fairly typical Australian landscape, yet uses colours and marks
reminiscent of Aboriginal art, such as the browns and maroons of
the hills, and the broken lines representing the trees in the
distance. In this work, Preston explores and questions one of the
most well-known stereotypes of Australian culture in the 1940s –
that of the rugged Australian bush, embodying Australian identity
and providing a sanctuary from the complexity and stress of urban
society. Through her incorporation of Aboriginal elements in such a
potent symbol of Australian culture, it can be argued, particularly
from a postmodern view, that Preston seeks to subvert the bush’s
“European Australianness”, accentuating the importance of
Aboriginal culture in the creation of an Australian national
identity and challenging the idea that Australian culture belongs
solely to those of European origin. Her intentions of constructing
a new cultural identity for Australia, one that challenged
traditional values and norms, is best described by her own
statement from 1941, when she wrote, “I am humbly trying to follow
them [Aboriginal people] in an attempt to know the truth and paint
it, and so help to make a national art for Australia.”
Other key paintings of Preston’s Aboriginal period
are Aboriginal Still Life (Plate 8), The Brown
Pot and Aboriginal Landscape, all of which create an
intercultural relationship through their combination of European
forms and stereotypes of national identity, on one hand, and
Aboriginal colours and patterns, on the other. In Aboriginal
Still Life, for example, Preston places a still-life composition of
flowers and plants as her main subject – a decidedly
European-influenced technique – but juxtaposes this with emblematic
Aboriginal cultural artefacts in the background. A similar
composition can be seen in The Brown Pot, which is also a
still-life painting that uses Aboriginal-inspired ochres and browns
as its main colour scheme. These subtle cross-cultural portrayals
further show the complexity of Australian national identity, a
complexity that was acknowledged by few in an era still dominated
by colonialist perspectives of archetypal Australian culture. As
Julie Hewington, the head of the Australian Art division at the
Queensland Art Gallery stated in 2005, “This ambitious experiment
was ahead of its time and its audiences… [it] is an early emblem
for the artistic ‘meeting’ that Margaret Preston pioneered between
the two [European and Aboriginal] cultures.”
Plate 8: Aboriginal Still Lifeby Margaret PrestonOil on canvas
43.6 x 48 cm Completed in 1940
Despite her intentions of creating a new, more inclusive
culture, Preston’s works are viewed by some as condescending to
Aboriginal culture, particularly as she didn’t incorporate any
Aboriginal people in her works, only stereotypical objects and
artistic techniques. Numerous critics, such as Elizabeth Butel and
Djon Mundine, have questioned whether, through her trite, European
view of Aboriginal culture, Preston is not, in fact, constructing a
misleading identity that portrays indigenous people as inferior,
and as artefacts that are part of Australian culture, but not
active participants. The art historian and curator Djon Mundine
asked whether Preston’s works symbolise “the passing of Aborigines,
perhaps”, while the postmodern artist Narelle Jubelin appropriated
her work in a series about the art of Australian cultural
colonisation. It is important, however, to read Preston’s work in
the context of the times she created it, when Aborigines were still
seen as “prehistoric” and “uncivilised” by most of Australian
society. In any case, Preston did succeed, ahead of her time, in
attempting to bring Aboriginal culture to the attention of
non-indigenous society, hence aiding its inclusion into the concept
of Australian national identity.
By examining the practices of various artists that worked
throughout the postmodern period, or that demonstrated postmodern
techniques, it can be seen that this period of great change in the
art world led to a comprehensive challenge of the traditional
values and norms of society, values and norms that were often
constructed through stereotypes. Through the recontextualisation
and appropriation of these traditional stereotypes, artists such as
Barbara Kruger, Yasumasa Morimura and Margaret Preston have been
active participants in subverting existing cultural identity and
making audiences question the validity and value of such an
identity in an increasingly pluralistic and heterogeneous world. In
this process, such artists have also incorporated the histories and
narratives of various groups that had previously been marginalised
by these existing systems of values and norms, be they women, LGBT
people, indigenous people or non-Western ethnicities. Thus, they
have attempted to create a cultural identity that is arguably more
complete, inclusive and diverse, in the context of a globalised and
culturally-interconnected postmodern world.
Raymond ROCA
March 2006
Appendix b.
Who Am I?
1. What makes me unique or different from others?
2. How am I the same as others my age?
3. What qualities about myself do I love?
4. What things about myself would I like to improve?
5. What symbols would I use to represent myself?
6. What are some colors that I could use to represent
myself?
7. How can I use focal point, balance, repetition, and texture
in my art to say something about who I am?
8. How do I spend my free time?
9. What are my hobbies?
Appendix c.
Assessment form for Mrs. Wilson’s Art Class
Name: ______________________________________Grade: _____ Date:
__________
Assignment: Students will create a three dimensional piece of
art work that explores identity through the use of symbolism. They
will view and take part in a discussion about the work of Fredo
Kahlo and Shirin Neshat, read the article “Cultural Identity is
Constructed and Challenged by Stereotype”(homework), and fill out
the “Who am I” Worksheet, which will assist them in developing an
understanding of what identity is and how they can make art about
it. Finally, they will participate in mask making with classmates
and incorporate various art techniques to create their
sculptures’.
Circle the score for each criterion of Excellent Good Average
Needs Rate Teacher’s
this project that best represents Improve- Yourself Rating
the student’s work done to the ment
best of the students ability.
Composition and design4 3 2 1
1. Is the work well thought out and planned?
Creativity 4 3 2 1
2. How original and innovative is the work?
Fulfills Assignment 4 3 2 1
3. How well does the work represent the objectives
Required in the lesson?
Care and Effort 4 3 2 1
4. Does the work have few mistakes that distract from
the unity and effectiveness of the work as a whole?
Growth and progress 4 3 2 1
5. Does the work show creative growth and progress
from previous assignments in terms of skill, design and
application of idea?
Work Habits 4 3 2 1
6. Did the student stay on task and complete the
work in an appropriate amount of time?
Totals:
· Student comments:
· Teacher comments:
·