Hunter Museum of American Art

The Hunter Museum's Identity exhibit has taken qualities of personal and national identity and broken it down to five basic elements: gender, race, class, nationalism and the self. Although the pieces in the exhibit are from the museum’s permanent collection, as a new intern, this was the first time I had viewed most of the works.

Upon entering the exhibit, I was immediately struck by the intensely realistic and lifelike figure of an older woman, Duane Hanson’s "The Fundraiser." I found this piece to be interesting because it strangely fits into the surroundings and one may not even notice it as a part of the exhibit. From the corner of my eye, I assumed it was a live person sitting at a table. I like how this piece of art caught me off guard and made me think twice. Hanson’s depiction of the “everyday woman” exposes the issue of class and the rejection of the powerful and wealthy. The fact that this piece was situated in the middle of the room causes the viewer to almost stumble upon it. “The Fundraiser” relays to the audience that art does not have to always show beauty and fine taste, but also the harshness of reality.

Class is a central facet of self-identity and I thought it was a great choice to feature Hanson’s piece in front of the grand scale painting, “Untitled (Watchdog)” by Robert Longo. Also representing an artist’s rejection of wealth and power, this image shows a contrast between opulent society and the bleakness of the world by having the large dancing bodies of the upper class interspersed with small, square metal printing plates depicting the homeless, nuclear explosions and starving children. To top it off, the painting also features a large figure of a German shepard, which to me signifies the overseeing control that society poses on one’s identity, making us stay within certain boundaries. I feel that “Untitled (Watchdog)” could potentially fall in more than one of the identity categories —perhaps both under class and nationalism.

The also exhibit demonstrates how art can either realistically or abstractly represent one’s vision of the self. Jack Beal’s “The Painting Lesson,” which is a traditional self-portrait with the artist at the center of the image and Arshile Gorky’s “In the Garden,” an exploration of the artist’s psyche through biomorphic imagery, shows the dynamic contrast in which ‘the self’ can be portrayed.

The Identity exhibit truly examines the many concepts and different manifestations that self-identity can take. 

Maria Reuge, Education Intern