MICA Competitive Scholarship Portfolio

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Identity

plaster, acrylic, polymer clay, hair, yarn

12" x 20"

Fall 2015

This conceptual piece about identity was inspired by a documentary about feminists of the 1970's who challenged the primarily male dominated art world. Still today the art world is primarily male dominated, but the feminists made a huge difference, and we wouldn't be where we are today without them. A quotation from the movie “to be an artist is to be a man” shocked me and so I made a piece to address the oppression of, and disregard for women in art.

I chose to plaster a breast because being a woman is part of my identity. I used the stereotypical boy and girl colors to represent the genders. The blue oozes and overtakes the pink color, representing the pressure on, and oppression of women in art.

I added my hair to hang the piece, because my hair is an important part of my identity. I added three nipples because three nipples are almost as surreal and ridiculous as gender inequality in the art world. The weak edges of the plaster piece, and the odd broken shape of the cast express the questioning of my own identity.