Is it destruction or identity development?
I have to admit I am a fan of collage art as it has within it a very interesting approach to identity. Do the meanings of the original pieces of art still mean the same? Or are they manipulated to mean something new?
And linked to this is the idea of pieces of art changing over time, are faded posters like the one above. At one time they were one thing. But over time they become something else, a collage of other marketing material. People adding things, tearing things. Or even just the daily grime, grit and dust accumulating on it. The environment making its all important stamp on identity of something.
In this sense it offers a good perspective on identity.
And central to this idea is the notion of destruction and its role in identity development. So in the instance of the above poster. Its identity in its current shape is this dishevelled piece of almost natural collage art. However at one point its identity would have been a sleek clean piece of marketing material promoting (hopefully) something very clear and understandable. What happens here, is at what point does it transition to becoming this disheveled piece of natural collage? This does bring to mind the idea of of the Ship of Theseus. A thought experiment I often refer to. It essentially says if we replace the parts of something over time (i.e. a ship) is it ultimately the same ship. And what is then of further interest is the notion of are we actually in fact discussing the identity of the billboard that this all takes place on? Has the marketing material simply shrunken in its identity to a mere scrap amongst the rest. And in fact it is the billboard itself that is of more interest. Of course here we could get into a never-ending cycle or where exactly does identity end? But that is a post for another day perhaps.
Similarly to this idea of destruction is the identity of things and objects themselves. And our relationship to them. I definitely fall victim to this at times. I.e. I buy something new and then don’t wear it for fear of getting something on it, or a scratch that will damage its sheen. I’m less like this now, as now I just think. Its part of its identity developing over time, not damage. Obviously if it completely breaks this is a different matter, but still even if its broken is it still the same components?
Are these things meant to be perfect? Are they meant to stay as they are? Factory default, shopfloor condition. Or over time, are these little marks, little tears what make it ‘it’. Its identity is from them. And my identity is from them too, the marks, the dirt, the spills and stains accumalating over time. Worn like badges of history.
Objects denoting who we are is something that is always unavoidable I guess due to their very nature. In a quest to be different and individual we can amass things around us, these things can help differentiate us. However, if these things get dirty or damaged, maybe this is one step of differentiation too far. Perhaps, as has often been said when we purchase items or brands we are on some level joining a social club, and contributing to our social identity (I am a Nike consumer, I am a Barbour consumer etc.) But for it to be dirty/damaged/whatever pushes us slightly outside of this club.
Now I’m not saying never get anything cleaned, but I thought it’s an interesting point to start looking at. Or at least one that made me feel better about getting marks on things, and celebrating the destruction on some level. I have always looked at envy with my one friend who has an expensive watch and doesn’t care what happens to it, it’s got cuts scrapes and grazes and he really doesn’t care. That’s my goal now. However, I am still addicted to wearing my cheap Casio because I don’t have to worry about it. So maybe this level of acceptable destruction is related to the level of high/low level of involvement in whatever we buy. Either way, this impact of destruction of identity seems to have many impacts on identity. And maybe it is better to just accept these little bits of imperfections across all forms of identity. It helps create new art.
-‘This post originally appeared on my blog The Identity Transmission’
