Social Identity

by Julia Aiello

Social Identity Theory: “a conceptual perspective on group processes and intergroup relations that assumes that groups influence their members’ self-concepts and self-esteem, particularly when individuals categorize themselves as group members and identify strongly with the group. (American Psychological Association)

Dance (I) by Henri Matisse

Paris, Boulevard des Invalides, early 1909

Completed as a study for a commission for Russian businessman Sergei Shcukin. (the final work later being Dance accompanied by the painting Music).  This painting is noted for its creation during Mastisse’s period of exploring the impact of the more basic components of painting.

Being a member of an accepting and supportive community can be vital for one’s growth, and as you continue to associate with a group, one’s perception of themselves can change, for better or for worse. In many cases group activities and self-expression within group settings allows for people to form new friendships and create a circle of support. In this instance, the group dancing in a circle evokes a sense of unity and joy, as they connect on an intimate level. The limited color palette and minimal linework directs focus on these emotions as opposed to the detail of the painting itself. Dance (I) is currently on view at the Museum of Modern Art, on the fifth floor, 506 The Alfred H.Barr, Jr. Galleries.  More information can be found at https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79124

Identity Crisis

BY GARRY GOTTFRIEDSON

I certainly know who I am . . .

I can get away with being politically incorrect.
I am the ambassador to First Nations’ poetic expressions
& as Kinsella pompously put it straight
“I have the license to do so.”

what a magical way to escape tyranny!
just like Trudeau & Chrétien hiding beneath cowboy hats

nevertheless & back to the point,

call me cowboy
call me First Nations
call me aboriginal
call me native
call me chug
call me skin

if you must,
but never call me Indian.
I call myself that!

& if you feel guilty when I say so,
this is not about postcolonial rhetoric
it is about an identity crisis

Written by Garry Gottfriedson, member of the Secwepemc First Nation and teacher at the Chief Atahm School in British Columbia.  Identity Crisis is an entry in Gottfriedson’s book, Whiskey Bullets, Cowboy and Indian Heritage Poems published in 2006. 

Identity is an obvious theme, though what tips the poem towards alignment with Social Identity Theory is the identification with certain ethnic and cultural groups, and how not everyone has permission to call him certain names.  By stating that he has a ‘license’ to be politically incorrect, Gottfriendson is establishing his membership of one group, while in the next line, calling out Canadian political figures for trying to pretend to be a part of the groups they marginalize. A clear grappling with identity can be seen when Gottfriedson states that the audience may even call him derogatory names but must never call him ‘Indian’. In this context ‘Indian’ was the identity incorrectly assigned to the natives of North America by colonizers when they had thought they had reached India.  He is making it clear that this is something he can call himself as he grapples with the many groups he is part of, in addition to the groups outsiders claim he belongs to.

This poem can be found at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53173/an-identity-crisis

The Block by Romare Bearden

The Block, drawn by Romare Bearden in 1971, and consists of 6 panels that when placed in order depict one block of Harlem.  Each panel is meant to convey a different part of Harlem life and, more specifically, life in tenements, considering the evangelical, musical, and mundane. In its original installation, this work included audio of street sounds for better immersion in the piece.

Communities can be found in many forms, and the most immediate example of a community commonly found would be the average neighborhood, which can be subdivided further into a block. In each panel, several significant actions are taking place independently from one another, yet they are each tethered to one another by the same block. This also applies to the people themselves, as they each have their own identity, though by living on this block, a part of their social identity is formed as they experience daily life.  With each panel depicting a different aspect of Harlem life, the people depicted can be categorized into belonging to multiple social ‘groups’, such as friends, church members, musicians, neighbors, and employees. Because of this, you get the sense that each person in the drawing is surrounded by the facilities that make up their social identity, whether they realize this or not.

The Block is a part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, though is currently not on display. More information can be found at https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/481891