Chakaia Booker

A little while back I went to the Storm King Art Center and got to view one of Chakaia Booker's sculptures titled "A Moment in Time" (2004).

Booker is a great example of an artist who uses identity in her work. She once said, "When I get up each day, I begin with myself, as far as sculpting myself."

She recycles discarded tires in her pieces in reaction to her urban hometown of northern New Jersey. In this sense, she is relating herself back to where she grew up.

Her pieces also portray aspects of black culturde-the textures, organization, and color contained in the piece are reminiscent of African-American skin. The patterns within the tire paired with the geometric loops and shapes she creates resemble traditional African scarification. Booker uses her sculpture to reference culture and tradition, both of which provokes ideas about identity.

Some of her other work:

"The Fatality of Hope"

"Phobic Digression" 2006

"Anonymity" 2007

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Some questions about identity:

How does tradition make me who I am?

Does the color of my skin shape or affect my identity?

Does my race make me proud of who I am?

Does the place I reside have an effect on my actions?

What textural art materials can I use to represent the person I see myself as? (soft, rough, hard, sharp,  brittle, etc.)

This American Life

I really enjoyed listening to the middle school segment on "This American Life." I saw connections to my own experiences at that age as well as to our readings in class.

The middle school dance segment discussed the stress, uncertainty, and fear of humiliation that is brought on by this social "experiment in mini-adulthood." At this age, boys and girls are experiencing the realm of dating. According to Kerlavage, at the age of 11-13,  pre-teens and adolescents are attempting to reconcile difference in children and adult roles, which may cause great confusion and a lack of emotional control (pg. 56). As they  go through puberty, middle schoolers are starting to go on dates and see the opposite sex in a romantic way, but are unsure how to act in these new roles. This results in the fleeting relationships that so commonly occur in those years.

Kerlavage also states at this age, young people have the desire to establish their own identities (pg. 57). This was evident in the Mimi segment, where two Mexican sisters attempt to survive middle school by pretending they were from a completely different family. They dressed as if they were rich and dyed their hair blonde. They had an amazing spirit and sense of humor, and by them creating their own image (even if it was misleading) built their confidence and helped them cope with their feelings of identity.