Identity in modern art is a broad and exciting theme, allowing the viewer to gain new perspectives and understanding of other people’s lives. For the artists that draw inspiration from their identity, the work becomes a podium for exploration, expression and connection
Frida Kahlo is one of my favourite artists. I first was introduced to her paintings around 20 years ago when I was recovering from a serious RTA. My injuries were extensive, including a broken spine and I found her courage and tenacity (for creating work whilst bedridden) very inspiring for me to start committing to an artistic practice of my own. Our identities are very different, (different points in history and different geographic locations) but the emotion in the work connected me to Kahlo. The work talked to me on a powerful level.
Her painting ‘Self Portrait with Cropped Hair’ 1940 shows a defiant Kahlo. She created this work just after her divorce from Diego Rivera. She paints herself sitting in a chair, wearing an oversized large jacket, just like the one her artist husband was famed for wearing. Her hair lies in tresses, cut off, around her feet. There is a verse of an old Mexican folk song painted at the top of the self-portrait. ‘See, if I loved you, it was for your hair, now you are bald, I don’t love you anymore.’ In this artwork Frida is playing with her identity. She is portraying herself as strong and masculine, detaching herself from her feminine traits such as her hair that almost binds her to her husband through love. She’s reclaiming herself and her space after her divorce. She is no longer the wife of an artist; she is The Artist.
Henri Matisse was a very prolific artist and during his life he found both critical and financial success. ‘Red Studio’ celebrates these achievements and solidifies Matisse’s identity as an artist. Known for his bold approach to colour, this studio portrait abstracts the room to drawn the viewer into the art on display. Matisse’s achievements. All the furniture in the room, (chair, table, plinths) are represented just by simple line. They have a function within the space but they are not the focus. All of the artwork and sculpture in this piece is depicted bright and bold, a true representation of a famous Matisse works. There is an exhibition going on within this one painting. In the centre line of this painting, stands a grandfather clock. Simple line work, no numbers, no hands. Could this represent the artist himself in this sacred place? Where time stops and all that matters is the art.
Glenn Ligon’s artwork was new to me but I found his exploration of identity really interesting. ‘Runaways’ is a ten lithography print series based on eighteenth century advertisements that were published to find slaves that had run away. Ligon asked friends to describe a photograph of him as if he was missing person. What visual markers from a photograph make up our identity to others. Race? Gender? He was surprised that the descriptions his friends had made from his photo were very similar to the original texts from the slave advertisements. He went on to use this text along with images and styling from the original ads to create his own artwork. Ligon states that his work shows how an individual’s identity is inseparable from the culture and the way people see you. I have found looking at the work very powerful. It questions the assumption’s society makes about identity because of how you look, which can lead to stereotyping and racial prejudices.
Identity is such an important subject in Modern Art. It can be used to celebrate an identity or it can be used as a platform to express and teach others what life can be like from another perspective. I find it fascinating that from really looking at a piece art, a picture, we can learn so much about another person’s life.