<p> This thesis analyzes Yinka Shonibare's appropriation of narratives to address identity-as-construct and develops a theoretical framework for interpreting his art using theories alternative to postmodernism and identity politics. I begin the analysis by citing Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault whose ideas have influenced Shonibare. Then I apply postpositivist realism and conceptual narrativity to Shonibare's work. These theories are intriguing because they offer a more complex and therefore more accurate way of viewing identity, allowing for a multiplicity of signifiers to form an individual's identity, not just one signifier such as race. Thus they account for the differences that explain individual reactions to shared experience within a group. This acknowledgement of differences frees people from category-based expectations such as Shonibare's tutor wanting to limit him, a Yoruba artist, to creating African-themed art. This incident was the catalyst for Shonibare's practice. Use of the alternative theories allows me to accomplish my objectives. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1527010 |
| Date | 05 December 2014 |
| Creators | Johnson, Denielle |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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