I Determine My Identity

The commodity self is the idea that the products we use can help us shape our identities.  I do not agree with this idea at all.  I think that it is my identity that shapes the products that I use.  For example, I love horses and am a very horsey person.  Several of the items I wear have horses on them, have symbols associated with horses, or are worn by people who spend time around horses.  I do not love horses because I bought those products.  I bought those products because I love horses.  So no, I would not say that I am the product of products.

I shop at Aeropostale for a lot of my clothes.  This is not because Aeropostale clothing makes me seem cool or hip or chic; I wear their clothes because the fit well, are not too expensive, and are about my style of clothing.  If I am wearing or using a certain product it is because I feel like that product works, does what it is supposed to, or is helpful.  I do not use it because it made my identity—my identity is why I use it.   

Jackson Pollock

Jackson Pollock was born on January 28, 1912, in Wyoming.  He was born into a family that moved around a lot.  Pollock’s father left the family when Pollock was young, and he was left with his mother and four brothers.  Pollock dealt with a lot of anger and sadness, and painting was his way to handle his emotions.  He moved to New York with a brother, and his artwork developed there.  In 1945, Pollock married Lee Krasner who was also an artist.  Jackson’s style of painting was very active.  He would spread a canvas on the floor and work from all four sides of the canvas.  This way of painting earned him the nickname “Action Jackson”.  Pollock also battle alcoholism during his lifetime, and he died in the summer of 1956 in a car accident related to alcohol.

I choose to research Jackson Pollock because he seemed like a really interesting person.  It was also one of the names I recognized when I searched for a list of some abstract artists, so I would have an idea of what books to look for.  The story of his battle with alcoholism added some allure and mystery to his story.  I also really liked the “drip” style paintings that he did.  They look like they would be so easy to do, but I bet they involved much more skill than most people could imagine.

Here are some samples of his work:

Sample 1: Male and Female (1942)

This is one of Pollock’s first major pieces of artwork.

Sample 2: Number One (1948)

Some critics see this work as exhibiting freedom and unexpectedness.

Sample 3: Black and White No. 51 (1951)

This is one of a series of paintings Pollock did using the same technique and style.

Sample 4: The Deep (1953)

This is one of Pollock’s most important later works.

Sample 5: Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) (1950)

This is an example of Pollock’s drip paintings.  

Bennet, Leonie. The Life and Work of Jackson Pollock. Heinemann-Raintree Library, 2004. Print.

Mattern, Joanne. Jackson Pollock. Checkerboard Books, 2005. Print.

Community Art-Share the Love

Harrell Fletcher did a series of works under the title Garage Sale Series.  For this series, Fletcher asked people around the neighborhood where he had his Oakland, California gallery to inform him if they were planning to have a garage sale.  Fletcher then took the items that a specific family was planning to sell, and he arranged them in displays in his gallery.  He asked the family for the explanation or story connected to each item, and he wrote the stories on tags and attached the corresponding tag to each item.  Then Fletcher held an open house for his gallery.  The neighborhood was invited to attend.

Fletcher’s work involved many relationships.  He formed relationships with the families whose items he was selling.  It seemed to me the Fletcher liked to feel a connection with the people in his neighborhood, and he probably got close to some of the families through hearing their stories about the items they were selling.  Fletcher also wanted the members of the neighborhood to form a relationship with the art.  He felt that a lot of art was very inaccessible to people; it was too formal or the people did not understand it.  But people could understand his art.  Who doesn’t have some junk they would put in a garage sale?  And everyone has a story about their favorite stuffed animal that they choose to give up at some point in their life.  People who visited his Garage Sale exhibits were able to connect to the art.  They also were able to connect to the family who had supplied the stuff because viewers basically got to look into a portion of those family’s’ lives.  I am sure that some of the tags contained some intimate family information.

The Garage Sale Series was a reflection of community arts because the items came from families around the community.  The “art” existed because a family from the community wanted to get rid of some items, and there was an artist who saw an idea in that.  It was community art because much of the community was inspired by the exhibit or at least interested enough to go view it.  The most community-like aspect was probably the sale at the end of the exhibit.  After the items were on display, the community had the opportunity to shop and buy the items like they were at a real garage sale (complete with low prices). 

 Picture from one of the Garage Sale exhibits.

We Aren't Alienated!

Connection with Low Expectation:

I agree with Hal’s idea of connection with low expectation.  That is what Facebook is all about.  We want to have as many Facebook friends as possible because it makes us feel cool, popular, and exciting.  In reality most of your Facebook friends do not care much about your life and your posts, but hey, being Facebook friends with you makes them seem cooler too.

You can have as many Facebook friends or blog followers as you can imagine, but when something goes bad, how many of them are actually going to be there to hold your hand and support you?  I don’t think too many of them would.  But then you weren’t expecting them to come anyways because you know they aren’t your real friends…they’re just your Facebook friends.  This expectation works both ways.  People do not expect to have to be there for you, and you do not expect them to do anything for you. 

The Search for Community in an Age of Alienation

I did not agree with this idea.  For one, I do not think we are in an age of alienation.  How can we be alienated when we can contact our friends and family just by pulling our cell phones out of our pockets and dialing a few numbers?  (I mean, people used to have to ride the horse clear across town to talk to their friends!)  We can contact people whenever or from where ever we want to.  I do not feel alienated at all.

Loneliness is what a person makes it to be.  You can be lonely in a room full of people if you want to be, or you can be not lonely and sitting at your computer talking to six different people of Facebook that you really could care less about.  I feel like it’s your choice.  I like being around people, and I have enough friends and family that there is usually someone around for me to talk to.  But, at the same time I can sit with my laptop and look on Facebook to see what is up in people’s lives.  Facebook does nothing to make me feel more or less alienated.  Blogging about my life would not help me express my “true self” anymore than I do already.  I do not think you can make friends through a blog, and if you cannot express your “true self” in your “real life” then is it really your “true self”?

We are currently in a community that is a large as this world.  If we want to, we can figure out what Jacques in France is eating for dinner, or we can read about the shopping trip that Suri is on in India.  We can connect with every type of person imaginable, so if people feel alienated, then they must not be trying too hard to get connected into the worldwide community.  If you choose not to join Facebook because you think it’s dumb, then that is your opinion.

The whole chapter from The Peep Diaries was about how we like to watch other people and know what is going on in their lives.  I think this gives people a sense of community.  It makes our lives seem less boring if we are able to hear about the exciting things other people are doing.  Even if it has been five years since we talked to Jimmy from high school, we feel connected to him in a way just because we got to read about how awesome his trip to Miami.  I do not think Facebook and social media is a search for community in alienation—I think it is the prevention for that alienation.

The Unfair Double Standard

I think that there is a double standard because of culture and the way the art and images are classified.  In Chapter 3 of Practices in Looking, the book stated that most art was created to satisfy male viewers.  This meant that women were the objects of those males’ gazes and enjoyment.  That principle still applies to many advertisements today (enjoyment for males by using women as “objects”).

The main reason that the double standard exists is because of the idea of culture—or more specifically, high culture.  People have determined that the pieces of fine art that feature nude women are classical pieces of art.  Those with the potential to determine what fine art is usually have money, art education, or some type of power or influence (ex. fame).  Nowadays, the women in the paintings are not really seen as “beautiful” because our opinions of beauty have changed, so I think that is one reason that women in fine art are seen as classier or are more revered.  Those women are no longer the object of men’s sexual desires…the women in advertisements take care of that.

Women in current advertisements can seem slutty or like they are putting themselves on display for sexual reasons.  Many advertisements feature women wearing very little clothing, and this is to benefit the male population in more than one way.  Men can get enjoyment from looking at the scantily clad models in a Victoria’s Secret magazine, and he also benefits from his wife buying clothing from Victoria’s Secret because she wants to look like the models in the magazine and please her husband with her “sex appeal”.  The model in the advertisement below is seductively looking at the viewer, but her gaze suggests she is looking at a male.  She is aware that men are looking—possibly for sexual reasons, but I think she knows women envy her and want to look like her. 

This would have been similar to the fine paintings from centuries ago except for one main difference.  Advertisements are mass produced.  Everyone can see them; everyone has access to them.  It is possible for many people—including “lower culture” people—to obtain an advertisement and enjoys its benefits.  The accessibility of advertising cheapens or devalues the work, and in turn, makes the women in the advertisements less cultured.  There is only one true copy of La Grande Odalisque, so that adds to the value and mystique surrounding the woman and the featured work.

I find the double standard to be unfair.  For example, the women pictured in Victoria’s Secret catalogs are beautiful.  They are probably well paid and treated with respect in their work environment.  I think part of the double standard is a result of cheap porn and advertising that the masses do not necessarily all see, but they are aware of.  The women who model for legitimate reasons and for a respectable company or organization in no way deserve a bad reputation.  

*And just so you know, I do not find the women in Victoria’s Secret ads to be skanky or degraded in any way.  I think that most of the women are very beautiful (probably why they are in the advertisements!), but I feel like men may tend to objectify them.  That is why I used Victoria’s Secret as an example.  I wanted to make sure you knew that since you said your sister-in-law is a model for Victoria’s Secret.