The Chameleon Nikki Lee and Vacation Photos
After looking at Cindy Sherman’s photography, I was expecting something a little more from Nikki Lee’s art. I was not really all that impressed with the photos. It really left me wondering if people actually call this art. I have thousands of pictures I could put up and claim to be art if that is the case. It was not a good first impression by any means.
After I swallowed my initial gut reaction to what looked like an odd collection of vacation photos, I tried to dig deeper. I noticed how hard she tried to fit into the groups she was a part of. The one that shocked me the most in this regards was the Hispanic Project. The fact that she tried to fit in to the point that she changed her hairstyle so dramatically really took me by surprise. The group shot of her with all of the girls made me realize what transformations she had to undergo to blend in. You can also see the persona and attitude she took on in the long shot of what seems to be a bock party. Her expression and passion really blends into the stereotypes of these people.
The Lesbian Project is the one that shocked me the most. The stereotypes of being a lesbian are loud and clear in these pictures, the short hair, the masculine clothing, the tattoo. The intimacy of one of the pictures really caught my attention. How is she able to produce such chemistry in that picture if she herself is not a lesbian? What thought processes does she use when taking these kind of pictures? Does she develop an entirely new character or is she saying that this is something that is natural, but hidden? Is Nikki Lee saying that we all have to potential to do this and just hide these tendencies deep within ourselves?
All of these pictures just scream stereotypes to me. I’m not sure of her intentions yet. Is she mocking these stereotypes or trying to make known how ridiculous they are in the first place? Is she tying to make way for changes or she is perpetuating them?
The fragmented self really comes into play here. The fact that she can take on so many different cultures and subcultures surprises me. Maybe what she is trying to do is find a common thread between all of them. The fact that one person can change so much and blend in makes me wonder if she is trying to show that we all have these schizophrenic tendencies and abilities, but just choose to hide them. She kind of reminds me of the main character from Written on the Body; she is able to take on so many different faces and be involved with all kinds of people, that you almost wonder exactly who she really is.
When we were talking in class about her I had the same thought about why this is art. I felt like I could just take a random photo of myself and proclaim it art and it would be art. But I also think art has to have a purpose or intention, it can’t just be accidental. Nikki Lee obviously had a purpose behind her photos and did research and tried to assimilate into these people’s culture. I like your connection to Written on the Body and the fragmentation of self. We never got a sense of the narrator it was always how other people made her feel.
Hi Ashley,
I too initially missed what made Lee’s collections more than snapshots from a family album. I scanned them quickly in their small web format and didn’t realize that Lee was in every one. Once I made the connection, I thought she was brilliant.
You said:
That struck me too. The boundaries of “us” and “them” had been breached. Not only is Lee assuming these identities, the group is also demonstrating a great deal of acceptance toward her, the outsider. Anybody can try to fit in, but she actually does, becoming a minority within a minority.
Maybe the common thread throughout her work is the lack of the real as captured by stereotypes. That’s not to say there is no meaning in them, but what visual cues mean to those who assume them and those who view them are not always the same. Some take them on to belong, others use them to identify a division of “otherness.” Intent certainly seems to influence our connotation of visual clues.
Like you, I am curious as to who Lee is as “herself.” While it offers few answers, there is an interesting article I added at the end of my post. You might be amused to know that even the interviewer couldn’t get a sense of who Lee really was.
Ashley-
I agree with you, these pictures didn’t seem to be anything special to me. They seem more like the kind of pictures you would find on myspace or in someone’s photo album. I then thought that maybe that was the point of her work, was to in fact play off of our stereotypes, but other than that, I’m not entirely sure what her message is.