Cody & Mcgee,walker,hamilton,sikander

After viewing these artists and reading the articles presented about them, it is obvious that their relationships with art very similar, Ann Hamilton stands out.

McGee and Swoon present themselves as graffiti artists who have refined their work to fit a gallery setting. This in itself almost contradictory and McGee tells about how he finds it difficult to keep the street crowd’s respect of him. He says for every inside work, he tries to do one hundred outside to keep his credibility. It’s always fairly clear that most intense graffiti artists have created their styles and usage from their own culture o living in a highly urban area. Shahzia Sikander also uses her cultural background in her artwork.
Sikander focuses on religion, painting miniature paintings in the classical Middle Eastern fashion. She incorporates her own feelings of the strain of living in a volatile area, religion and society. Sikander uses her experiences with life to send the message of Muslim women and women’s oppression. Her artwork is a direct result of her cultural background and when/where she is living.
Kara Walker uses her cultural identity as an African American woman to act as a catalyst between our society and its past. Her blatantly minimalist works include black silhouettes of harsh scenes that play on black stereotypes and factual events from the older generations. Her works encompass issues within race, violence, sexuality and identity with such a minimal piece of art.

Now it is apparent that many artists use their cultural identity as inspiration for their works, whether it is in style or in message. Ann Hamilton uses mostly external sourcing to fuel her next projects. For instance, the camera from the mouth was externally sourced in her examination of the eye as a camera and to push that idea further to the mouth. She also focuses a lot of attention on the notion of line. This is transparently external, much like my materially inspired phase, so she explores how far line will take her.