Lecture VII//IDENTITY.

LECTURE VII/IDENTITY

Notes from today's lecture.

SUMMARY

- Historical concepts of identity.

- Foucault's 'discourse' methodoloy.

- Contemporary practice.

- 'Postmodern' theories, Zygmunt Bauman.

- Identity in the digital domain.

THEORIES OF IDENTITY

- ESSENTIALISM (traditional approach).
- Our biological make up and what makes up who we are.
- Inner essence of who we are.
- POST MODERN THEORISTS DISAGREE.
- Post-Modern theorists are ANTI-ESSENTIALS.


ESSENTIALISM


- Physiognomy
- Phrenology
- "Quack" Scientists- no evidence or backing.
- Compartmentalising the brain into different sections- aspiring, domestic, reflective, etc- the notion that criminal tendencies are inherited. The different parts of the brain form the people that we are- the largest section over rules the balance of the personality. 
- Cesare Lombrosso (1835-1909)- you can read the likelihood of someone looking criminal by their appearance.
- Physiognomy is the study of facial characteristics- measuring the "intelligence" of a personal by their facial characteristics.
- Nietzsche writes about the "blonde haired, blue eyed beast" and the Nazi ideals.
- Physiognomy attempted to "legitimise" racism- anglo-teutonic (English/Germanic having the most straight slope of the face, apparently therefore most intelligent).

- Hieronymous Bosch (1450-1516), 'Christ carrying the Cross,'- only Jesus and his female follower have human-looking faces- the notion that only Christians are normal, intelligent people- others are portrayed as evil- anti- antisemitism in grotesque imagery. 
- Chris Ofili, 'Holy Virgin Mary', 1996- born and grew up in Manchester, African parents- broke into Fine Arts industry with his origins, painting the Virgin Mary as an African woman with exaggerated facial features- often uses elephant dung in his paintings- the painting was part of the YBA 'Sensation' exhibition (Saatchi). The painting caused uproar in New York when the exhibition toured as people were "disgraced" by this image of Mary- as opposed to the traditional European Italian Renaissance depiction. 


HISTORICAL PHASES OF IDENTITY


- Pre- modern identity- personal identity is stable- defined by long standing roles.
- Modern identity- modern societies begin to offer a wider range of social roles. Possibility to start 'choosing' your identity, rather than simply being born into it. People start to 'worry' about who they are.
- Post-modern identity- accepts a 'fragmented self'. Identity is constructed. 


PRE-MODERN IDENTITY


- Institutions determine identity
- Marriage, The Church, monarchy, Government, the State, Work


SECURE IDENTITIES


- Farm worker, The Soldier, The Factory Worker, The Housewife, The Gentleman, Husband-Wife


MODERN IDENTITY- 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY


- Charles Baudelaire- 'The Painter of Modern Life' (1863)
- Thorstein Veblen- 'Theory of the Leisure Class' (1899)
- Georg Simmel- 'The Metropolis and Mental Life' (1903) [Deals with the establishment of the modern city and the bills that go with it, a note of social anxiety and concern about who you are and where you fit into society].


- Baudelaire- introduces concept of the 'flaneur' (gentleman-stroller)- 'eur' is masculine, male- does not allow for a woman to do this. 'flanuese'- feminist, female variant.
- Veblen- 'Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure'.


- Simmel- 'Trickle down theory'- emulation, distinction, the 'mask' of fashion- all the upper classes need to do is stroll around, dressed well, looking good- showing something to aspire to, differentiates them from the rest of society. The theory works on the basis that the upper classes are seen wearing the latest fashions, and the lower classes emulate and copy them- seen today in the catwalk/high street.
'The feeling of isolation is rarely as decisive and intense when one actually finds oneself physically alone, as when one is a stranger without relations, among many physically close persons, at a party, on the train, or in the traffic of a large city.'
- Simmel suggest that: because of the speed of modernity, individuals withdraw into themselves to find peace.


'DISCOURSE ANALYSIS'


- Foucault.
- Identity is constructed out of the discourses culturally available to us.


POSSIBLE DISCOURSES


- Age, class, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, education, income, etc.


DISCOURSES TO BE CONSIDERED


- Class, nationality, [race/ethnicity, gender and sexuality "= otherness"].


CLASS


- The current class system came into being with the industrial revolution, with the emergence of the working class (moving to cities for work, etc). Need to be aware of your own class to be aware of the others around you.
- Within the capitalist system there is the idea of the Bourgeoisie wanting to keep the working class in their place.
- Humphrey Spender/Mass Observation, 'Worktown' project (BOLTON), 1937- produced by the upper- class in London, observing the working class in Bolton (North)- documented with a pre- concieved idea of what these people are like, and their mannerisms- 'Worktown people' collection.
- Martin Parr has similar ideas in his photographic work- a member of the Magnum movement- 'New Brighton, Merseyside, from The Last Resort', 1983-86. The "documents the world as he sees it". One of the accusations made of his work is that it is quite derogatory, looking down on the way that people live their lives.


NATIONALITY


- Parr looks at Nationality... 'Think of...' Think of England, 2000-2003, 'Think of Germany', Berlin, 2002.
- Alexander McQueen 'Highland Rape', collection, A/W 1995-96 -involved slashed chain mail, exposing genitals and breasts- splattered with fake blood (Seen on 'British style genius')- stagger down the catwalk as if drugged. Caused a great deal of controversy, and McQueen's fame came from this- a metaphor of the "rape" of Scotland by England- a (confused?) way of making a statement about national identity.
- Vivienne Westwood, 'Anglomania' collection, A/W 1993-94- links to 'Punk' and English eccentricity of the punk movement. Her fashion is very English- uses a lot of tartan as a "taunt" to Scotland for England's role in 
their Govern.
- LAS VEGAS- The fluid nature of national identity in the contemporary world- Venice, Eygpt, New York, Paris- all rolled into one- different identities forced into once place. Around 70% Americans don't have a passport- perhaps because they can go to Las Vegas for "cultural diversity"- the notion of why you should you go anywhere and see the world around you- the "dumbing down" of society.


RACE/ETHNICITY


- Chris Ofili's work and use of elephant dung- 'No Woman, No Cry'- places his pictures on elephant dung on the floor- again, another link to heritage. Use of Rastafarian colours and identity- linked to Stephen Lawrence case (gang of white teenage youths threw a loop-hole in the law and were not found guilty- two have now gone back on trial and convicted for his murder in more recent times) through cut outs of Stephen Lawrence's face in the woman's tears.
- Ofili interested in comic superheroes and creates character 'Captain Shit'- as the way he perceived that  black superhero would be perceived by a largely white audience.
- Gillian Wearing, Turner Prize winning audience- 'Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what someone else wants you to say'- got people to write on signs what they were feeling about, expressing themselves (1992-93).
- Alexander McQueen- 'It's a jungle out there'- accused of racism, used black models and put them in animal skins and was depicted as a racist comment that "the only link that black people had in fashion was with a very animal aesthetic."
- Titan, 'Saint Mary Magdalene', c. 1532. Designer Emily Bates made , Dress, created using her own (Celtic red) hair- was taunted by the colour of her hair and was inspired by the Titan image of Mary Magdalene was always depicted with red hair/wearing red- she was associated as "the scarlet woman"- promiscuous- connections to red head taunts?

GENDER/SEXUALITY


- Gender is usually about women and their depiction of sexuality.
- In the fashion industry, around the time of the suffragette movement (WWII), women had shorter hair, more independent, working in factories- practical fashion. The industry became the work of men, not women and male homosexuals.
- Flapper look and fashion design, 1925- 'La Garconne' ('The Female Boy'). Androgony developed 
largely at this time.
- Cindy Sherman, 'United Film Stills', 1977-80, "masquerade and the mask of femininity"- emulating the "stock images" and scenarios where women are placed in film stills- links into the lecture about 'The Man's Gaze'.
- YBA female artists include- Sam-Taylor Wood, Sarah Lucas, Tracey Emin.
- Germaine Greer writes about how female artists view women- and why artists photograph themselves in situations (such as Sam-Taylor Wood's portrait)- are they objectify themselves? Or avoiding the accusation of the man's gaze?
- Wonderbra advertisements.


THE POST-MODERN CONDITION


- Liquid modernity and liquid love.
- Inentity is constructed through our social experience.
- Erving Goffman said that the self is a series of facades- counter-identities, etc.
- Zygmunt Bauman says that identity is something to be invented as opposed to being discovered- something you can set out to achieve. 


POST-MODERN IDENTITY


- "I think, therefore I am"- justifying self by your thoughts.
- "I shop, therefore I am"- Barbara Kruger's 20th century post-modern condition for Selfridges, 1987/ (2006 Selfridges)- the idea that you are defined by your purchases. At the time Kruger was accused as being a "sell- out", like a sponsored art show- but perhaps both she and the company are mocking the consumers themselves.