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Gretchen

Identity


Who Are We? Who are You?

In PBS' documentary series highlighting different artists, identity was focused on. Four artists were featured, Bruce Nauman, Maya Lin, Kerry James Marshall and Louise Bourgeois. Nauman worked with video projects and large scale sculptures. He questioned the identity of objects. Lin created pieces that dealt more directly with the identity of things and caused you to focus on that identity. Marshall dealt with the issue of race and how African Americans are portrayed, both their real identity and their stereotypical identity. Bourgeois uses hands to define identity and causes the viewer to think about how our body defines us.

Bruce Nauman deals with film projects and sculpture but is most known for his sculpture. He does large-scale sculpture of relatively simple objects, for example, a set of stairs. He placed the stairs in a park, angling down a gently sloping hill. All of the steps of the staircase were different heights, making them very difficult to walk down; concentration would be key in navigating them. The part of the sculpture that deals with identity is not the fact that Nauman made a set of stairs. Or even that they were irregular sizes. It was where he placed the stairs. He placed them right in the middle of nature. This makes us question the identity of stairs them selves. Why do we have stairs? Why are they only inside? What exactly are stairs? These thoughts may be some thoughts of the viewer.

Nauman may not be creating art that is radical, but he is creating art that makes us think. Art that is thought provoking and makes viewers question them selves is important to society. People may not listen to another talking head, but they may listen to a non-obtrusive, peaceful structure that asks the hardest questions of all.

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word/word


The two words of “desert” and “dessert” are very different but spelled similarly. Looking quickly at one of the words, you may think that it is the other one; one has one “s”, the other has two. When using spell check, it doesn’t come as wrong, even though the words have different definitions and very different connotations. Dessert is a sweet treat, usually eaten after dinner, a cake, some cookies, or even ice cream. Desert is a hot, arid, dune-filled, largely uninhabited, place.

image/image


The two images are of a burning cross contrasted with the image of praying, or clasped, hands. The image of praying hands evokes the feelings of serenity, peace and a time of reflection. They also represent the compassion and forgiveness that is the core of Christian values. This image contrasts strongly with the burning cross which most will associate with violence, such as the mob mentality of the Klu Klux Klang (otherwise known as the KKK). When looking upon the images for the first time you see strong contrast, not only in the meaning of the individual image but also of how they are composed visually. The praying hands is a soft, mostly white, with some soft gray, colored image. The burning cross is sharp and the cross becomes the focal point because of the empty, heavy, black background.

image/word


The image is of a series of power lines, with high black and white contrast. By itself it is an interesting photo with some interesting shapes. Paired with the word “picnic” it changes it a bit. A picnic is so happy and relaxing; a real Americana thing to do. But then you see the power lines, a symbol of industrialism and big cities. The classic going-on-a-picnic-on-Sunday-suburban-family idea is fading away with time. And who would want to have a picnic in a field of buzzing power lines anyway?

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