This week we look at artists who’s work deals specifically with identity, and often with the concept of marginalization. Identity politics is a broad topic in the visual arts, and we will be revisiting it through the remainder of the course. Today we are going to focus on two areas which were at the forefront in the fight for human equality in the 1960′s and 70′s: Feminist and Black identity.
We start by examining artists associated with feminism, and then artists associated with the black art movement. The media today will all be from the series Art21 put together by PBS. I have selected from the artists they have who deal with identity politics. These are more contemporary artists, progressing the ideas put forward by the artists of the 60′s and 70′s.
I’m jumping ahead to these artists because I want to show how these are ideas that are still very much alive in the contemporary art world. The artists are: Fred Wilson, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, Ellen Gallagher, Michael Ray Charles, and Kerry James Marshall.