Reflections on the Geography of Self

ARTISTS- CREATIVE AGENTS
Subject and Section
Date
Reflections on the Geography of Self
In Geographies of Selves, Gloria E. Anzaldúa presents the idea of reimagining a person's identity since most people follow society's predefined conventions about what social roles people should play to fit the society’s expectation as members of the social group. This sociological perspective of defining the self considers physical appearance as the primary consideration of having your own Geography of self. The body of a person will never escape society’s categorization of identity because these are the basis of the collective identity of a person, a race, and a nation; however, these classifications can't contain the entirety of our self-identity (Anzaldúa, 2015). There is no single attribute that can define the self as it is not static, which limits complexities of self-growth and expression, but rather dynamic since our identity expands as we connect with our surroundings (Anzaldúa, 2015).
I consider the body and the totality of experiences in relation with my environment as my own Geography of self. Just like Anzaldúa, the El arbol de la Vida or the tree of life is a fitting metaphor to relate my geographical self (Anzaldúa, 2015). The proper acceptance and nourishment from my surroundings contribute in the proper growth of the tree, but in my case, my tree became hybridized since my roots had planted themselves on different soil. I'm a Muslim immigrant from Pakistan. I have strong roots about my culture where I absorbed our language and indigenous beliefs as a source nourishment to gather strength and wisdom from the onset of my life. As time passes, the growth of my roots had touched another country’s soil with different experiential and situational aspects from my usual everyday life that further redefined my Geography of self. It is interesting to read about Anzaldúa's statement about the interaction of different attributes that create identity and the hybridization of the self since these resonated with my current conditions that made me further understand myself that can move beyond society's norms, limits and expectations.
Artist Kiki Smith
Artist Kiki Smith describes her view on understanding art not just by having an artist communicate to other people or having other people understand art, but rather having people feel the art with their lives and not get caught with the predefined narratives that can change depending on interpretation (Simmons, 2018). According to Smith, art does not try to create an ideal version of reality but just making a temporary model about the particular quality of things to have a sense of clarity (Simmons, 2018). Added by Smith, art lets people experience what they had never experienced before through the feelings that comes along with viewing an artwork. Additionally, this experience changes as the viewer's perception changes through time (Simmons, 2018).
Just like the Geography of self, the physic...