Ritual (in the style of Cindy Sherman), Z.H.L., digital photography, 2020.

How do we build an identity? What does it mean to find comfort in the construction of a new face?

In response to Sherman's Untitled Film Stills, this work explores gender as performance and ritual, specifically questioning this in terms of womanhood and femininity. What does it mean to be a woman? What are the rituals and actions we do everyday that demonstrate or oppose our identities?

Serge Attukwei Clottey's "Beyond Skin"

Clottey has made work that centers around ideas of image making and identity construction. Taking a cue from mid-century black and white photography made on the coast of West Africa, Clottey seeks to update the visual language of historical images to fit the contemporary.

Both the paintings rendered in duct tape and oil on cork and those made on large sheets of yupo paper are based on existing photographs. Clottey chose his subjects for their expressive nature, drawn to the voice behind the individual. Some are recognizable, such as Chadwick Boseman or Michaela Coel, but some are plucked by the artist from the endless scroll of social media.

Clottey plays with fashion as a form of identity construction. Fabrics act as historical records that are passed on as material culture. The juxtaposition of the figures’ intense subjectivity and the vibrant clothing which adorns them challenges colonialist notions of the agency of the sitter. In the artist’s world, black bodies are no longer props; they assert their independence, pushing beyond antiquated notions of personhood.

Artie Vierkant, Reflection (Profile), 2016. Dye sublimation print on aluminum, 20x16 in

This amazing modern desert home frames views of Camelback Mountain

The Ranch Mine along with Identity Construction has created this amazing modern desert home located on a uniquely shaped property at the base of Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona. The design started with a large, cantilevered roof that tilts up towards Camelback Mountain, framing views and creating a continuous link between the front porch, great room, and rear covered patio through 3…

During my seminar on Diversity in Urban Planning, we asked ourselves, how the process of planning can become more democratic and participative. It is not an easy question to answer, and Cultural Anthropology offers a very complex understanding of what inlcusion and diversity ACTUALLY means: Listening and understanding first, then acting in a respectful and eye-to-eye manner.

Comparing identity construction through analyzing pop culture: We analyzed Jay Z and Sido having themselves filmed in front of and inside public housing blocks, telling about their lives.

Comm2550 Capstone Poster