Blog Response 1

I was not influenced by Lippard to use a certain medium or identity, because I completed the self-portrait assignment prior to doing the readings. However, I do see a parallel between my process and the concepts stated in the book. Lippard states, “The deeper ground of ‘Telling’ – the process of understanding and drawing strength from one’s past, one’s cultural history, beliefs, and values – is distinguished here from the socialized topsoil of ‘Naming,’ although the two are in fact inextricably connected, since they are the ways in which communal identity is forged and history is recomprehended.” (56)

What I get out of this is that in while telling and naming are not the same, they are linked, and I think that they are linked in such a way that the naming process should generally come before the telling process. For the self portrait project, I had some difficulty deciding how to portray myself, what identity to share, because I haven’t really taken the time to name myself. I don’t feel very strongly in a positive manner with any identity, and the identities I do feel strongly about are negative and I don’t want to share them.

I believe that telling is a powerful experience because it allows the teller to feel like someone cares. It in a way validates their experiences and identities. On page 64, William O. Thomas mentions that “Black African philosophy is, simply, ‘I am.’” The teller is able to release what they hold inside as true for themselves and share it. Similarly, it can influence the viewer/listener to want to share his own story. On page 66, the story of Bessie Harvey specifically speaks to me. She talks about how the wood speaks to her and draws her to sculpt or set the inner sculpture free. When I read that, I got chills down my spine because that is the kind of feeling I want to have. I want to be able to say that what I’m doing isn’t just because I wanted to do it, but because I feel like I have to set something free. On page 99, we read about storytelling and traditional ideas of stories as things to tell children. This may be a sort of a tangent, but I feel like this relates to my idea of the bible. I feel they are stories and an art form in themselves. Religious identity is one that I have struggled with, and my relationship to spiritual works has been rocky, but I feel the reading sort of validates my opinions.