Identity collage was a project that came out of the class Studio 1, part of Parsons Undergrad First Year program. The assignment was to create a collage based on identity in some way. I executed it by creating a series of collages that focused on the adult film industry and comparing it to "mainstream" film actors and actresses. The thesis is as follows:

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Identity is seen in art and in media in a variety of different ways. Each viewer, or member of the audience, has different perspectives as to what qualifies as “art.” For some, singers or actors are considered “artists” because they act and perform in different pieces. Continuing with that mindset, why wouldn’t women who act and perform in adult videos be consider artists as well? Or, why wouldn’t their bodies be considered art?

 

Identity is seen in art and in media in a variety of ways by whoever the audience is. Some viewers think they might know about actors lives because of what they display in movies or what parts of them they discuss in various medias. Similarly, many viewers think they know everything about men and women that put their bodies in pictures and videos (specifically that have “adult” content).

 

By censoring parts of women’s bodies that were collaged onto pictures of other famous artists, it shows that although their body might be out, their identity is still preserved. We, as an audience, don’t know anything about actors or performers, no matter how much of their body they show in their art. By censoring these body parts, it’s a more concrete way of showing that we can’t see into the lives of those who might put certain parts of their body into their art.