Im Currently Working On Part Of To My I Identify With Project, This Time Asking Participants What Groups

I’m currently working on part of to my I Identify With project, this time asking participants what groups they feel they don’t identify with that they’ve been lumped into by others. My intent is to create a positive counterpoint to these external categorizations; I feel that showing the negative side of things will help highlight the positive. 

For more information visit the project site.

This project has taught me new things as an artist seeking participation from others. I learned how to explain myself and what I'm looking for clearly and concisely, so that I get the right kind of responses. I'd had a similar project before, "I Identify As", which was getting me a lot of goofy self-descriptions instead of honest responses about identity. Only after changing "as" to "with" and cleaning up my explanation, did people's answers really shift. Second, I've learned to be more flexible. At first I had an idea of the kinds of responses I was looking for: short, serious, group-oriented, but I've come to embrace the diversity of responses, like this very long one. I wanted this project to give people freedom to express their group identities, and I learned that, after clearly explaining my intentions, I should commit to that freedom 100%. This is the fourteenth photo in I Identify With. More info and photos at the project site.

It's official. I have an Etsy shop, and it's open for business! It's called MYMYZAYZAY, it's all vintage clothing, and I'd love it if you took a look.

Some bold paint and tape design I discovered at a boxing gym while on a walk yesterday in Kumamoto City. I love how it was applied to architecture, framing, and signage. I couldn't get enough of it.

Next Steps

Looking at tantalizing MFA programs in public/community art. All I really want is to join/start a community art collective.

Zachary Trebellas. Video Games, 2014. Digitally manipulated screenshot from X-Men 2: Clone Wars for Sega.