1. Identity
Portrait Photography Project
Me’ and ‘them’: the in-between where ‘my identity’ tends to change
organically. - Nikki S. Lee
Nikki S. Lee, Projects (1997-2001)

2. Nikki S. Lee — Parts, the men
are missing.
Lee leans on a man, then cuts
him out of the picture.
The importance of identity
Who am I?
I am… I am…
I am… I am… Multiple
I am…
Identities
I am…

3. Painters have explored self portrait
throughout the history of art.
Self portrait- Vincent VanGough Self portrait – Frida Kahlo

4. Definition of Identity:
“the reflective self-conception or self-image that we
each derive from our family, gender, cultural, ethnic,
and individual socialization process” (Ting-Toomey).
Nikki S. Lee — Projects: The Seniors Project
For this transformation, Lee needed a makeup artist.

5. Three levels of identity:
I. Personal (what makes us unique)
II. Relational (our relationships with others)
III. Cultural, Communal or Social (large-scale communities
such as nationality, ethnicity, gender, religious or political
affiliation)
Photography by Catherine Opie

6. Selected Social Identities
Racial Identity – a socially constructed idea that still
persists in the United States
Ethnic Identity – derived from a sense of shared heritage,
history, traditions, values, area of origin, and sometimes
language
Gender Identity (different than sexual identity) – how a
particular culture differentiates masculine and feminine
social roles
National Identity – the nation/country one was born into
( or a sense of place)

7. Ethnic Identity:
The Hapa Project, Kip Fulbeck
• Fulbeck began the project
in 2001, traveling the
country photographing
over 1200 volunteer
subjects who self-
identified as
Hapa (defined for the
project as mixed ethnic
heritage with partial roots
in Asian and/or Pacific
Islander ancestry)

9. The dark side of identity
Stereotypes- categorization that mentally organizes your
experience with, and guides your behavior toward, a
particular group of people.
Prejudices – are deeply held negative feelings associates
with a particular group (anger, fear, aversion, anxiety).
Racism – an extension of stereotyping and prejudice. The
belief that one race is inherently superior to another; “genetic
endowment.”

10. Stereotypes - Gender
Untitled Film Still #14. 1978.
Cindy Sherman plays the role of a young woman studying her own reflection. The
photo visually portrays a woman assembling her identity, caught in the act of
construction…she appears masked through make-up and costume.

11. Cindy Sherman, Continued…
Cindy Sherman. Untitled Film Still #48.
1979.
Cindy Sherman. Untitled Film Still
#43. 1979.

12. • Clearly displaying the exaggerated manipulation of her
body, she describes her face as a blank canvas to be
worked on so as to create and unmask the social
stereotypes circulated by the media, often revealing
their decay and almost horrifying aspects in features
verging on the grotesque.

13. Remember…
emotions can be conveyed.
Dorothea Lange. (American, 1895-1965).
Photo by Tom Hoops
Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California. 1936

14. Let’s look at someone familiar!
• What makes President Barack Obama
who he is on the inside and the outside?

15. Identity- President Obama
• bi-racial, Hawaii, Kenya, Indonesia
• His love of basketball
• His hometown of Chicago
• Politician
• Lawyer
• Father, husband
• Harvard graduate
• President

16. Identity?
1. “Who am I on the inside?
2. Who am I on the outside?”
3. What do I value?

17. • Then….how will you represent this
through a photograph?
1. Clothing, Props?
2. Environment?
3. People/models?

18. Student Examples
• Identity Portrayed through Photography

21. Incorporate Text?

22. Think outside the box!

23. Try something new?!

26. Can be about you, but not
feature you

27. For Friday, Oct. 26 th
• 1. Brainstorm 5 ideas for this project.
• List ways you will “represent” yourself.
• Think about the location, people, clothing,
backgrounds, etc.
• How will your photo be unique?
• A new perspective?
• 6 photos due on Tuesday, Oct. 30th
• Final Photo due Thurs., Nov. 1st