Luis Jimenez
Roger Shimomura
My “Other” Identity:
The Other is a term used to refer to those who are the symbolic opposite of the dominant social group and are disempowered through this opposition. The concept of the Other typically refers to women, people of color, inhabitants of so-called Third World countries, people of different sexual orientations – that is, all groups that have traditionally been denied economic and political power.
To regard people as Others is to see them as objects rather than as subjects driven by psychological needs and desire similar to the viewer’s. This is, of course, the foundation of prejudice and a psychic defense against understanding people different from oneself.
This term entered the discourse of artists and critics in the late 1970s and began to be frequently heard in the 1980s. The late 1980s saw a growing number of visual artists in the United States and Great Britain addressing issues of “Otherness”.
References:
Atkins’ Artspeak: A Guide to Contemporary Ideas, Movements, and Buzzwords
Sturkin & Cartwright’s Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture
Assignments:
- Type a one-page paper addressing the following prompt question: In what ways or situations do I find myself treated as an Other? Due: Monday, April 14.
- Create an artifact, no smaller than 36″ square, addressing your identity as Other.
- Type a one-page paper reflecting on your thoughts and process relative to your artifact and how it relates to your Other identity.
