1. Focus on Identity Selections from AMERICANA

2. Examples of contemporary art Explores storytelling and ritual Focus on ideas about identity
Discussion Points
In this presentation we will explore the way contemporary art and artists explore identity through art. The artwork we will discuss explore ideas about identity, and in particular how storytelling and ritual relate to identity.
What is identity?
How do we form identities?
How do artists express identities?
Vocabulary
Contemporary Art
Contemporary art refers to the work of artists of the last 50 years; and deals with events and issues that affect our time.
Ritual
The term ritual refers to a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order.

3. Ana Mendieta Silueta Works, Mexico, 1973-77
12 photographs from the series Silueta Works, Mexico,
Mexico
Color photographs
16 x 20 inches, each
Discussion Point 
Let’s begin by naming the materials used to create this work.
What shapes do you see in this photograph?
Step-by-step, how was this silhouette made?
In what ways do you think this work relates to the artist?
This photograph is part of a series Ana Mendiate made in which she used natural materials to represent the female figures. Does being part of a series change the way you look at this image? If so, in what ways?
Let’s continue to practice looking closely at artworks to learn more about them. Let’s take a look at the work of another artist who, like Ana Mendieta, has connections to Miami. His name is Jose Bedia, and he also uses figures in his work.
About the Artwork
A pioneering feminist artist, Ana Mendieta was interested in cross-cultural references to goddess iconography and ancient uses of the female form as a power symbol. She referenced diverse aspects of ritual practices derived from ancient cultures from the Americas, Africa and Europe. Her experience of exile −moving from Cuba to the United States without her parents at the age of twelve− had a strong impact on her personal and artistic development. Her bi-cultural identity continually informed her practice.
Silueta Works is an important series that Mendieta produced during several trips to Oaxaca, Mexico. She found inspiration in the art and culture of this country’s Pre-Hispanic past, with its distinct views on life and death. She produced what she referred to as “earth-body sculptures,” involving archetypal female silhouettes, placed in natural landscapes or at ancient sites. Using earth, water, fire and flowers, she created ephemeral works that speak to spiritual concerns; to growth, fertility, presence and absence.
Vocabulary
Series
A series, in this instance, refers to a set that involves the same group of characters or the same subject.
Silhouette
An outline filled with a solid color, typically black on a white ground, and most often for a portrait. Silhouette-like images can be found among Stone Age cave paintings and ancient Greek vase paintings, and Indonesian shadow puppets. But the term and what most people think of as silhouettes originated in the early eighteenth century in Europe.

4. Jose Bedia Mama quiere menga, menga de su nkombo, 1988
Acrylic on canvas
139.7 x 200 cm
Loan from Bob and Dede Moss
Discussion Points 
In this work by Jose Bedia, we see a male figure.
What parts of his body do we see? What parts are not shown?
Where is the figure? Is it a particular place?
The bowl is at the front and center of this painting. Why do you think that is?
The bowl is a reference to a ritual performed in the Palo Monte religion to initiate new members. It is given to new members empty, and materials are added to the bowl over time. The bowl is a symbol of the artist’s commitment to his religion. Besides the bowl, are there any other elements in this painting that reveal something about the artist’s identity?
About the Artwork
The two cross incisions on the figure’s chest in this painting and the empty pot depicted, identify this man as a member of the Afro-Cuban religion Palo Monte. He holds a nganga, a sacred pot that is given during initiation and to which is added symbolic materials and objects throughout the practitioner’s life. The title of the piece references the sacrificial blood used to fill this vessel during the initiation ceremony.
Executed in his distinctly graphic style, Bedia’s painting was produced five years after his own initiation into Palo Monte and can be understood as a self-portrait. The red torso depicted divides the composition in two, with the left side representing a night filled with stars and a car along a dark road, while the right displays a daytime sky filled with birds and a man walking. This binary structure has been described by the artist as representing a man positioned between two worlds, between the contemporary material realm and that of the ancient spiritual world.
Vocabulary
Figure
The form of a human, an animal or a thing; most often referring to an entire human form.
Ritual
The term ritual refers to a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order.
Symbol
A form, image or subject representing a meaning other than the one with which it is usually associated.

5. Rashid Johnson Tribe, 2013 Rashid Johnson Tribe, 2013
Burned red oak Flooring, black soap, wax, spray enamel
96 ½ x 120 x 3 in.
Permanent Collection
Discussion Points
Let’s discuss this image.
How would you describe the mood of this painting? Is it calm, peaceful, upsetting, quiet, violent? What factors are leading you to think one over another?
Are there parts of it that are recognizable to you?
The title Tribe refers to the three figures in the painting. What is a tribe and what kind of tribe is being portray? Look closely for evidence in the painting to guide your answers.
About this Artwork
Rashid Johnson is known for his use of distinct materials that address both the history of art and his autobiography. The black paint of Tribe is in fact black soap, mixed with wax. This soap was part of the artist’s Afrocentric upbringing and marketed commercially as part of an “authentic” black identity. The marks are placed on a surface that is made from domestic wood flooring that has been painted gold, then burned, creating a lush surface that reflects the light. The title Tribe highlights the group of figures that these black materials articulate.
Vocabulary
Figure
The form of a human, an animal or a thing; most often referring to an entire human form.
Tribe
A social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader.

6. Louise Nevelson Dream house XLIII, 1973
Wood
90 x 26 ¾ x 16
Discussion Points
Look closely at this sculpture. It’s titled Dream house XLIII. The inspiration for this work came from a play.
Does it look like a dream house? Whose dream house would it be?
How does color affect the mood of this work?
What shapes repeat in this work?
What conclusion can we make about the artist based on this work?
About the Artwork
This work is was inspired by Tiny Alice, a play written by Edward Albee and its set design. It is a strong example of her assemblages, sculptures and wall works made from wooden pieces of salvaged furniture, boxes, windows, and doors. The daughter of Jewish immigrants and a lumber tradesman, Nevelson’s work mixes her unique biography with interests in both Cubist forms and Surrealist psychology. The title Dream House directly references her engagement with the subconscious. She was a great admirer of Native American designs and rituals, we well as Mayan architecture, and her travels to the Southwest of the United States and Mexico greatly influenced her work.
Alchemy was a word Nevelson used often, not only to describe the bewitching black she engaged to unify her diverse forms, but also as a way to articulate her entire artistic process; the way in which it used the living material of trees, which had previously been made into domestic objects and discarded, and transformed these broken pieces into mystical totems, creating artworks that reference and honor the sun, moon, heavens and spiritual realms. Additional resources:
Vocabulary
Sculpture
A three-dimensional work of art. Such works may be carved, modeled, constructed, or cast. Sculptures can also be described as assemblage, in the round, and relief, and made in a huge variety of media.