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The American Identity Politics Movement began at the tail end of the Black Civil Rights Movement, carrying the momentum of the movement from the 1960s into the 1970s and beyond. While focused on different minorities, the movement’s purpose was in harmony with that of the earlier civil rights movement: to bring greater representation and inclusion to underrepresented groups in the United States. The movement primarily focused on Native Americans, gays, and women, but can be extended to include anyone who has been marginalized by society. Artists of the movement explored all genres of art, including paintings, sculptures, memorials, music, literature, and even quilts. Through their creativity, participating artists sought to be more inclusive of all people, regardless of race, gender, and orientation. Artists were able to portray their experiences of identity and community that they felt with those who had dealt with similar discrimination and exclusion, and promote a more inclusive and sympathetic society.

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Martin Luther King Jr. by Suzzane Sines (not part of identity politics but an influence for the movement)

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Influences: Black Civil Rights and First-wave Feminism

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Influences: Black Civil Rights and First-wave Feminism

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Some of the primary influences for this movement, as mentioned above, included the Black Civil Rights Movement and the First Wave Feminist Movement. The Black Civil Rights Movement introduced the need for further social reform and in unequal and separate treatment based on race, as so bravely presented by leaders like Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. The bravery of these activists served as inspiration for individuals of other minorities to step up and speak out against their unfair treatment, especially including leaders of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in the late 1960s and the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) in the 1970s. Additionally, First Wave feminist activism, which primarily focused on legal issues and the right to vote, heavily influenced the continued fight for reform in the treatment of women. The Second Wave Feminist Movement (part of Identity Politics) primarily focused on shattering stereotypes about female qualities and their “proper” role. Art from the Identity Politics movement helped promote the equality of women and establish their place in the workforce and in education.

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The Identity Politics movement was not only inclusive of marginalized races and genders, but of all people who were different from what society deemed “normal” at the time. Artist in the movement included additional social groups including homosexuals, transgender, and people affected by disabilities, HIV/AIDS, and other challenges. While many of these groups didn’t have large civil rights movements, they utilized the Identity Politics movement in art to portray their ability to overcome societal expectations. In the words of disabled writer Allan Walker, Disability art helped show that “disabled people have rejected negative assumptions about their lives, defined their own identities, [and] expressed pride in a common disabled identity.”

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Romare Bearden, born in 1911 in Charlotte, North Carolina, was a celebrated artist known primarily for his work to promote and celebrate the African American experience in an evolving racial landscape. Bearden was heavily influenced by the modernist ideals of Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso’s work with collage art and Cubism. In his early career, Bearden primarily focused on oil canvas paintings, but gradually branched out to include patch quilts and unique collages. Bearden fought tirelessly to celebrate Black American culture, especially in a white-dominated modernist movement, and even used much of the profit from his art to fund the education of aspiring artists in Harlem as he entered the postmodern Identity Politics Movement.

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American People Series #4: Civil Rights Triangle by Faith Ringgold

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Faith Ringgold was born in the 1930s in New York, where she later completed her BS and MA in visual arts at the City College of New York. Faith was a talented artist, not only in her paintings, but in sculpture, story quilts, and musical compositions, for which she later received 23 Honorary Doctorates from various universities. Ringgold began to grow in popularity in the 1960s as she created art in support of the Black Civil Rights Movement. Many of her early paintings featured men and women in bi-racial marriages, especially those featured in her “American People Series” which she released in the mid 1960s. Through her art, Ringgold was able to communicate her political views and promote the desegregation of America and increased unity of its citizens. Now, at age 89, Faith continues to be inspired by the recent civil rights movements and avidly supports the cause of racial equality.

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Equestrian Portrait of Phillip IV by Kehinde Wiley

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Kehinde Wiley is a young but powerful Identity artist. Born in 1977, Wiley has used his art to focus on black and queer identity, being himself a gay black man. Wiley has differentiated himself from other Identity Politics artists by painting black men into the position of powerful white men from history. By doing so, he seeks to break the cultural norm of associating power in history with only white males, and wants to use pre-existing associations with power to elevate Black Americans into an identity of power and success. As shown above, Wiley paints a black man with brightly colored clothing in the place of Phillip IV to demonstrate the pride and power the black and gay communities can have. Wiley continues to strengthen his identity through art, and has even done portraits of famous african americans like President Obama.

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Untitled Film Still #35 by Cindy Sherman

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Cindy Sherman was another famous artist of the Identity politics movement who primarily focused on women’s rights and overcoming gender stereotypes. She is most famous for her photography art series known as the Untitled Film Stills. In this series, Sherman recreates famous scenes from nearly 70 different hollywood classics, placing herself in the photos as she recreated stills from those movies. Throughout the collection, she takes the place of the female lead role, whether it be as a housewife, librarian, mistress, working girl, and so on. In every still photo, Sherman drew attention to the female stereotypes surrounding women of the day, hoping to exploit the injustices and satirize the “roles” and “attributes” that were assigned to all women of the day. She wanted to show that women should not be confined to the roles that they are assigned by media and tradition, and that they should not be simply seen as objects to men. As shown in the image above, Sherman satirizes the notion that women must be resigned to the role of housewife, while also remaining “sexy” and appealing to their husbands. By starring herself in all of the photos, she demonstrated by example that women can choose what they want to do and how they want to represent themselves, rather than succumb to societal expectations.

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American People Series #20: Die by Faith Ringgold

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While it may seem that the Identity Politics Movement is one primarily of inclusion and support, some argue that the movement has created a greater divide among the American people. Anders Kreuger and Nav Haq, curators at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp, Belgium, argue that the rise of Identity Politics in the art world resulted in a transition "from marginalization (on the outside) to ghettoisation (on the inside)". The focus on promoting specific cultures and social organizations can create such a divide that rather than creating harmony and unity, it actually puts a focus on people’s differences. Some argue that it creates connections between the people of marginalized groups but fails to promote the integration of those marginalized people into a unified society filled with diversity. Rosi Braidotti, philosophy and gender theory professor at Ulrecht University, along with other experts in similar fields stated, “This ultimately sustain[s], rather than challenge[s] and eradicate[s], social inequality, oppression and domination." It is pretty clear from Faith Ringgold's painting above that some could see these works as divisive. While these are the opinions of a few, it is important to recognize the potentially negative effects of the Identity politics movement.