Global Artists – Shaping Personal Identity.

Global Artists 

During art school, one of his teachers asked Nigerian-British artist Yinka Shonibare, “Why aren’t you making authentic African art?” He wondered: “What is authentic African Art. What is authentic identity in a global modern world?”

Michel Tuffery is artist an artist of Samoan, Rarotongan and Ma’ohi Tahitian heritage: “We’re this third generation,” says the artist, “we were born here, in New Zealand. If you go to a new place you create a new culture, and that’s what we’re doing…it’s a coming to grips.”

Chinese contemporary artist Xu Bing considers what has inspired his work: “As an artist, you ask yourself: Can you channel your life experience through your artwork using whatever is unique to you, to create a new artistic language?” 

In the wake of rapid global change, we see the emergence of global, transnationalLinks to an external site. artists worldwide who use art to explore their identity and to comment on socio-political issues. But imagine what it’s like being an expatriate, living away from one’s home country. Imagine what it’s like feelinglike an expatriate when you’ve never left the country where you were born. How would you deal with that? What type of art would you create. What would your message be?

These are just a few of the issues contemporary artists are tackling, locally and globally, in the 21st century.

How Artists Explore Identity 

Art helps us understand not only the artists, but also ourselves. Works of art can convey the experiences and identities of the artists who create them, and as viewers we may share similar experiences and identities. As you watch this video, consider some of the ways art informs how we see the artist, and what it tells us about how artists see themselves.

Why Global Art?

In our interconnected and increasingly fragile world, we cannot afford to overlook the perspective of global, transnational artists who work from the basis of experiences and traditions that may be very different from our own. 

Some of these artists work within our local communities, while others create and display their work far outside our local region. Located in different countries around the world, these artists draw on a broad variety of artistic knowledge, incorporating into their work the ideas and practices of their own culture, as well as innovations from other cultures. For example, an artist working today in China has available the resources of traditional Eastern and Western art practices, as well as the pluralism of modern and postmodern art.

Informed by diverse cultures and personal experiences, these artists communicate values that all persons, irrespective of their particular cultures, can share. Whether celebrating the vitality of local culture and tradition, promoting mutual understanding, or making powerful social and political statements, these artists bring a fresh global worldview that we desperately need.

Key Issues and Themes

Contemporary global artists work in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, installation, and performance art. They create works of art that confront our worldview about the social, political, and environmental challenges we face, including:

the socio-political effects of forced migration, displacement, and exile.

the trauma of conflict, industrialization, environmental destruction, and natural disasters. 

the violence, oppression, and misrepresentation experienced by minorities in contemporary society.

historical stereotypes, cultural appropriation, and the oppression of indigenous peoples in modern culture. 

the experience, identity, and roles of women and men in traditional societies.

the construction of contemporary identity and self-image within a colonial and post-colonial world.

Key Strategies

These artists use a variety of strategies to draw attention to these challenges.

They remove objects and images from their usual context (decontextualization).

• They present common things in an unfamiliar or strange way (defamiliarization).
• They emphasize the idea behind the art over its monetary value (dematerialization).
• They challenge aggressive localism that uses culture as a mark of otherness and as a defense.
• They critique the institutions of art and the colonial attitudes they sometimes reinforce.
• They employ radical juxtaposition of forms to reveal hidden meanings.
• They create art that is grounded in or examines local or national traditions.

Your Assignment

In this Discussion, you will select a global, transnational artist, from the list provided in the instructions, who makes work that you can relate to or who has an artistic approach that you find powerful and interesting. You will then post a 500-650 word analysis of their artistic approach, and how their work expresses their personal history and identity. 

You will support your key points with ideas and information you find in the resources provided in the instructions, and with your own observations, ideas and insights. Please do not rely on other sources. I am mostly interested in reading what you have to say about the work of the artist you select!After you select an artist from the list provided, write and post a 500-650 word analysis of their artistic approach, and how their work expresses their personal history and identity. Please include at least one example of the artist’s work that demonstrates their artistic approach.

• At the beginning of each paragraph, write a concise topic sentence that clearly states what the paragraph is about. This topic sentence will help frame the controlling argument for each paragraph and will help your reader follow your key ideas.
• Paragraph One: Theme and Approach
• This paragraph should be between  150-200 words. 
• Please post at least one image that is a good example of the artist’s work.
• Topic sentence: In your topic sentence, clearly state the main issue or theme the artist is working with. Do this in one sentence. Please refer to the list of key issues and themes in the previous section. Pick only one main issue or theme to write about and focus on that. 
• Body of paragraph: Next, describe the artist’s unique artistic approach to addressing this issue or theme. How does the artist create their work? What is the message? Introduce at least one example of the artist’s work and describe the main strategies used to convey this message. Please refer to the list of key strategies in the previous section.
• Paragraph Two: Personal History and Identity

Topic sentence: In your topic sentence, summarize the connection between the artist’s work and their personal history and identity. Do this in one sentence. 

Body of paragraph: Next, describe this connection in greater depth. Provide more detail about the artist’s personal experiences and explain how they inform their art. Before you write this paragraph, you may need to do extra research to learn about the artist. Please cite your sources.

Paragraph Three: Making a Difference (Evaluation)

This paragraph should be between 150-200 words. 

Topic Sentence: In your topic sentence, summarize why (or why not) this artist’s work of art made a difference to you, or to your way of thinking about the issues and themes in the work.  Do this in one sentence. Stay focused and don’t try to write about everything. Keep it real.

Body of Paragraph: Next, thoroughly discuss your reaction to the artist’s work and evaluate its effectiveness in more detail. Explain why you think the artist’s work is successful. Support your key points with examples and observations of the artist’s work.

It may be helpful to consider some of these factors:

You don’t need to answer all these questions. They are here to help get you thinking.

What initial ideas or feelings come to mind after experiencing the work of this artist?

Do you identify with the artist’s work? Based on your life experiences, is it personally relevant to you?

Does the work impact your way of thinking about these issues?

What is it about the artist’s work that engages you the most? The message? The way it is made? The formal characteristics?

Do you think your experience of the work is the same as what the artist intended?

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