Running Head: IDENTITY

Unit Paper #1: Identity

Kaela Punsalan
Sacramento State
Fall 2016

Art 133
Professor Amber Ward

Running Head: IDENTITY

When looking at someones artwork many people can miss the big idea of
what the artist tries to portray. Big ideas represent the artists overall purposes for art
making, and they tell-in broad conceptual terms-what the artist is about. (Walker, 2001,
148). This week we focused on the big idea of identity. Identity includes physical,
emotional, and even psychological characteristics to show certain places or identify
people. It shows others who or what someone is and helps people be able to express who
they are as a person. Identity can be shown in many different ways. Many artists use
their work to express, explore, and question ideas about identity. (Investigating
Identity) Retrieved from
https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/investigating-identity. As a 21st
century approach, many artists will take a certain type of identity and incorporate it into
their artwork to help portray an even deeper meaning to the piece.
Incorporating identity in art would be a very fun lesson for future students.
By doing this, I would first introduce what identity is to the students. Id give them
examples of what I believe identity means and then have them give me examples of what
identity means to them. As a teacher and even student, its important to have an open
mind when it comes to someones identity. Its important to focus on essential questions
when talking about identity so that students can have a broader opinion on what they
think identity is. (What is identity? How might identity be assumed or imposed?) To also
get a better understanding of this I would play a game with my students. I would have
students write down or draw 5 things that are important to their identity (who they are.) I
would then have them put down what they wrote or drew and walk around the classroom

Running Head: IDENTITY

to see what their classmates wrote/drew. If they have something in common with s
student have them put a sticker on it to see how similar peoples identities are to one
another. Incorporating identity in art would be a great way to have fun and also have an
understanding of yourself and other people.

Running Head: IDENTITY

References
(Investigating Identity) Retrieved from
https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/investigating-identity.

Walker, S. R. (2001). Teaching meaning in artmaking. Worcester, MA: Davis

Publications.