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Musings upon the Conscious and Identity

Chapter 1: Subjectivity 

Subjectivity is one of the utmost aspects of any creator and is defined in Mansfield’s paper “Subjectivity: Theories of the self from Freud to Haraway” as “cultural theory in practice” (Mansfield, 2000, p.6). This,and Mansfield’s paper in general, argue that one’s ideas and perspectives are warped by “being a particular someone at a particular time and place” (Mansfield, 2000, p.6). The above thesis regarding subjectivity is perhaps the most outright argument for one’s experiences defining their unique perspective upon a given subject or subjects with individual perspectives informed by experience. One could argue this relates to a performer’s experiences 

Chapter 2: Social Identity

The basic concept of one’s Social Identity is that individuals “have a personal identity as well as a range of social identities. A social identity is an aspect of the self that is derived from memberships of social groups, and this includes (internalized) values and norms” (Psychnet.com). Social Identity’s arguably core tenant is that “that group members of an in-group will seek to find negative aspects of an out-group, thus enhancing their self-image.” (Simply Psychology.com).  An excellent example of a text with the motif of social identity is that of “Heathers: The Musical” by the duo of Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe. The musical follows the character of Veronica Sawyer, a young woman with ambitions of climbing the social ladder at her school by becoming a member of the immensely popular clique known as “the Heathers”. Veronica’s motivation for this is to avoid the abuse that comes to the “unpopular girl” and make it through her final year of schooling peacefully. This is changed utterly when by chance she encounters the three girls who comprise the Heathers and gains membership into the clique. The play then follows Heather as her sense of identity is steadily warped, being forced to dress in ways she would never under normal circumstances, interact with only those the Heathers approve of and in general behave in what ever way is deemed befitting of a Heather until there is little resembling the original Veronica in personality or appearance.

Chapter 3: Fractured Identity

Fractured Identity is a relatively interesting concept in regards to what constitutes an identity, this being when one’s identity has many shifts and alterations made to it over a period of time. The above piece, aptly named “Fractured Identity” by online artist Kevivisual exhibits an almost grotesque portrayal of an irrevocable shift of the self in progress. The body’s morphing to the face and lips is an incredibly eye catching means of portraying this to the audience.

Chapter 4: Creative Identity

An artist’s creative identity is, simply put, their identity as an artist and person which in turn is projected to the viewer in their body of work. As a young man hoping to master the disciplines of performance and acting I think it is utterly important for one to have their own sense of identity creatively in order to avoid becoming “white noise” in a sense or living in the shadows of your inspirations.

Chapter 5: Creative Influence

Creative Influences are somewhat related to Chapter 1′s notes on Subjectivity but in a much broader sense then the aforementioned subjectivity as it is often used to refer to a much broader effect one’s own culture and previous viewings of art and media has upon the individual. This idea’s extremity is taken by Mark Twain who claimed  “There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope.” (Twain, An Autobiography, p.unknown)

With this idea in mind one can argue that the work one creates is inherently a reinterpreted form of a previous body of work and that ideas are more a kaleidoscope that is constantly “shaken up” for lack of a better term.

Chapter 6: Unconscious

The unconscious is a psychological concept related to one’s own psyche harboring thoughts and memories that are repressed and left undone by the individual in question (A Dictionary of Critical Theory, 2018) . However it has been documented that these unconscious parts of the mind can be released through one’s jokes, dreams and slips of the tongue, often referred to as “Freudian Slips”, serving to bring a sense of balance between the mind’s conscious and unconscious elements.

Chapter 7: Over-determination

Over-determination is when one or multiple dream thoughts are either amalgamated an represented within one artwork or, alternatively, it refers to the process of an ideal being imposed upon another artwork (A Dictionary of Critical Theory, 2018). While held in a negative sense creatively it is an all important aspect of self reflection to be able to dissect exactly which dream thoughts are dominant within one’s art and whether it is efficiently represented.

Chapter 8: Sensory Knowledge

Sensory Knowledge is the comprehension of how our bodies and assorted senses interact with society and the world around us as a whole, linking it directly to a day to day factor of the human existence. Oppenheim's piece “Object” is an excellent example of a piece that stimulates a greater inter-connectivity of the senses, with sight of the image bringing forth imagined sensations of taste and texture). This, in turn, creates a greater sense of interactivity with the given audience.

Chapter 9: Authenticity

Authenticity can be pretty efficiently summarized as one who is self aware of their own beliefs, identity and personal philosophy. This ideology contradicts that of the subconscious mind as the core tenant of that hypothesis is that there are elements that are utterly unknown to the individual (A Dictionary of Critical Thinking, 2018). Authenticity is a fundamentally important

Chapter 10: Essentialism

Essentialism is the philosophical concept that humans on the individual and societal levels are defined by a series of commonly held traits which serve to differentiate each person from another. The Renaissance artist Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” piece portrays the creation of mankind by God. This relates to Essentialism due to it being a core tenant of the Judeo - Christian belief system that humans were created with defining traits by a higher power, thus setting them apart from the creatures of air, land and sea.

Source List:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002210310600043

https://www.simplypsychology.org/social-identity-theory.html

A Dictionary of Critical Thinking (2018)

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1987-98657-000

https://www.philosophytalk.org/blog/fractured-identities

Mark Twain’s Own Biography (1907)

Goodreads.com

 Heathers: The Musical by Murry and O’Keefe (2010)

https://kevisual.net/work#/fracturedidentity

Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam (1508)

Object by Meret Oppenheim (1936)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQIZHYnBgdc (Thumbnail is Overdetermination image)

Fractured Identity and Agency and the Plays of Adrienne Kennedy

https://artsonthegreen.ticketfly.com/event/1696222-heathers-musical-gaithersburg/