I found that Ligon creates paintings and sculptors that examine cultural and social identity through found sources -which include literature, Afrocentric coloring books, and photographs.
In my critique we discussed my lack of research in my work and i agree with this statement. Since then I have been researching topics that I have only considered from my point of view, which makes things a little hard when it comes to brainstorming ideas. Ligon uses research at his advantage by layering and collaging his found quotes and imagery involving the ways in which the history of slavery, the civil rights movement, and sexual politics inform our understanding of American society and turns it into an abstracted form. Since he does multiple layers the initial meanings is lost and most of the time the meaning going missed which creates an argument for his work. I really appreciate the ambiguity of his work, yes he is focusing on social issues but not doing it in a direct way, which i seem to still struggle with.
I saw that "I Am A Man" painting/sculpture in person a few years ago and really enjoyed it, because it was one of the first times I thought I could really understand an influential piece of work. Every two weeks or so it pops into my head for some reason and I reflect on it for a minute. I never knew anything about the artist, and this painting just seemed to exist authorless. For some reason, knowing the artist and thus being able to place it in context makes me sad. I liked this painting existing in a vacuum, which is ironic because it absolutely doesn't and isn't meant to.
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