Exhibition Details

Title: "American Identity: Coming Into Focus"
Dates: Monday, March 19, 2007 - Friday, April 27, 2007
Venues: Willard G. Rouse III Gallery (Stuckeman Family Building) & Residence Hall Cultural Lounges
Media Accepted:
1) Open to all 2D media including photography and digital art
2) Wall-hung 3D media also accepted
** Work must be ready to be hung upon submission
** A digital copy of the work must be submitted with artist submission contract
** An artist statement must be submitted with artist submission contract that is 70 words or less
** Artwork for the exhibition will be selected by curatorial committee.
Pictures: Click [here]

Exhibition Theme

As young, energetic, and curious college students, we are on a journey of experimentation and self-discovery.  We are no longer restrained by the shackles of parental supervision.  The freedom we now seize is the ability to do whatever we want and be whoever we want to be.  Therefore, the opportune time to be thinking about our individual identity is now.

In America today, many issues affect our sense of identity.  America is a country whose culture homogenizes its citizens.  People are expected to dress the same, act the same, eat the same food, to speak to same language; they are expected to be the same – citizens of one nation.  Therefore, individual identity is the most urgent question.

This nation, however, is a land of immigrants, and the mixture of these cultures has therefore become synonymous with the name "America."  In an effort towards clarification, everything and everybody is labeled.  For example, America has its own way of distinguishing its multitude of ethnicities: the hyphen as in the term "Asian-American."  Although it may offer a bit more clarity, the hyphen also creates a separation – a distinction.  Labels also exist for different classes, different genders, different sexual orientations, and different regions of the country.  Creating and sorting through the labels is difficult enough, but they are only fractions of the whole.  The more important and broader question is what does the label of "American" mean.

Art is an essential form of self expression.  The creative energy from which art is born comes from deep within the soul of its creator.  Therefore, the artist leaves a piece of himself/herself on the canvas which he/she paints, revealing a part of his/her identity.  Furthermore, art functions as a silent conveyer of both identity and truth.  

This art exhibition aims to discuss American identity surrounding the following questions:

• The new technologies of Facebook and MySpace have created the digital identity. Is this a new vehicle for self-expression or is there a clear distinction between your digital and real self?
   
• How do you define femininity today?  How do women identify with being American in a still potentially male-dominated society? 
   
• Has the definition of manhood changed today?  How does that perception differ when race is also an issue? 
   
• How does being an "Americanized" minority affect your sense of belonging in both America and your native country?
   
• How has the recent immigration debate affected your sense of belonging in America whether you are Caucasian or a minority? 
   
• Ever since 9-11, how has the backlash against Islamic-Americans and other people of Middle Eastern descent affected your ability to identify as an American? 
   
• Same-sex marriage has also been a heated topic in the last few years.  How does that debate affect gays and lesbians' sense of American citizenship?

Submission & Additional Information

Website: http://www.identitythroughart.com/
Facebook: http://psu.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2211333667
Contact Anthony Le (Project Director): atl5008@psu.edu