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Sophie Poole BA (Hons) Illustration Level 5 OUIL501 Context of Practice Studio Brief 1 What are the functions of labelling within the creative industry?

Labelling is defined as categorising something, attaching a ‘label’ to something. When applied to society it sounds almost inhuman to categorise and separate members of society based on our preconceptions and ideas. Within the creative industry in particular, labels are used to create prejudgements, which lead to interpretations, or even misinterpretations, which then lead to a piece of artwork, 'The photographer's way of seeing is reflected in his choice of subject. The painter's way of seeing is reconstituted by the marks he makes on the canvas or paper’ (Berger, BBC, and al, 1972, p.10) without labels we wouldn't have differing opinions or viewpoints, so in this case is labelling a good thing? As human beings we are all raised by our families to believe what they believe and it’s hard to pull away from what’s been instilled into us since birth. ‘Seeing comes before words, the child looks and recognises before it can speak’ (Berger, BBC, and al, 1972, p.7) Children are naive and easily manipulated, especially by family members, as innocent as they are, what they see in the society around them is the beginning of how they will judge as they grow older. We also have a tendency to succumb to the label that we’re given, it happens almost subconsciously ‘Identities float in the air, some of one's own choice but others inflated and launched by those around, and one needs to be constantly on the alert to defend the first against the second’ (Bauman, 2004, p.13) society as a whole manipulates us to be the people we are.

Labelling exists within all parts of society and has done since the beginning of time, however when focussing on the creative parts of society it’s clear that labels become opinions which then become art. ‘…Yet although every image embodies a way of seeing, our perception or appreciation of an image depends also on our own way of seeing’ (Berger, BBC, and al, 1972, p.

10) every image we see is interpreted by us as the viewer and we form an opinion based on what we are seeing, this would be an interpretation formed from knowledge we already know or were raised with, which may include stereotypes, morals, etc. However to get to the image and to allow us to interpret it, the image maker must have formed his/her own interpretation to arrive at the image we are seeing.

Social psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt, did an experiment involving white students where they were asked to identify the race of a man who appeared racially ambiguous in the image, half said white and half said black ’Although all the students were looking at the same face, those who tended to believe that race is an entrenched human characteristic drew faces that matched the stereotype associated with the label (see a sample below). The racial labels formed a lens through with the students saw the man, and they were incapable of perceiving him independently of that label.’ (judgment and making, 1991) This experiment suggests that we see other people and we interpret them through our own ideas and stereotypes which in this case meant that the images drawn by the children were based on ideas and beliefs that they already had, their preconception of the man in the image was clearly influenced by society around them and other factors such as their families and how they were raised.

(judgment and making, 1991) Within sociology there are theories that suggest labels and the way we are bought up define who we become in later life, including the labelling theory and nature vs nurture. ‘Families are factories that produce human personalities’ (The Sociology Book, 2015, p.296) Nuclear families are a focus in Parson’s writings, the nuclear family is often made up of a husband, wife and their children, they live quite isolated from extended family and the rest of society, this leads to members of the nuclear family only seeing the world through the views of their immediate family. This is often the case for members of today’s society, we are much more comfortable believing the people we trust, our family, than going against the grain and forming our own opinions. In relation to this essay, the theory suggests that family form our identities and who we become in later life, leading to preconceptions being based on how we were raised and now our true opinion, but can a true opinion exist if their are so many factors that influence it? ‘For Parsons, the family is one of the building blocks of society, and has a specific function in the working of society as a whole.’ (The Sociology Book, 2015, p.296) In this case the way we are raised informs our role in society, in other words our identity. Parsons is suggesting that without family influence a person would not be prepared for a specific role within society and therefore would have no identity.

As members of society we all want to belong somewhere, and our actions dictate our identity 'One becomes aware that 'belonging' and 'identity' are not cut in rock, that they are not secured by a lifelong guarantee, that they are eminently negotiable and revocable; and that one's own decisions, the steps one takes, the way one acts - and the determination to stick by that - are crucial factors of both.’ (Bauman, 2004, p.11). Society manipulates us into being who we are, from when we are raised with our family’s beliefs to how other’s labels and stereotypes affect us so much that we succumb to them and lose track of our own beliefs.

‘In airports and other public spaces, people with mobile phone headset attachments walk around, taking aloud and alone, like paranoid schizophrenics, oblivious to their immediate surroundings. Introspection is a disappearing act. Faced with moments alone in their cars, on the street or at the supermarket checkouts, more and more people do not collect their thoughts, but scan their mobile phone messages for shreds of evidence that someone, somewhere, may need or want them.’ (Hargreaves, 2003, p.25.) This quote suggests that as human beings we need to belong to something or someone, in relation to this essay, without labels will we lose any sense of belonging we have? In today’s society this quote is still hugely relevant, we long to have an identity and to be worth something but we accept the labels we are given by other members of society which prevents us from actively searching for our own individual identity. 'Asking 'who you are' makes sense to you only once you believe that you can be someone other than who you are’ (Bauman, 2004, p.19) It’s also very difficult to break lose from how we are raised and the beliefs we have been taught since being born into the world. If we can break through from the influence other’s have on our own identity then there is a chance we can build our own and realise who we are.

On the other hand labelling gives us a position to belong to in society 'The idea of 'identity' was born out of the crisis of belonging’ (Bauman, 2004, p.20) Members of society succumb to the labels and stereotypes they’re given in the hope that they will feel as though they belong. The question of who we are comes around when we are in search of our own identity, with no identity we cannot belong. Is the acceptance of labels a coping mechanism to deal with our loss of identity? If we don’t know who we are or where we belong, the easier option is to accept the stereotypes of society.

A theory that tests labelling and how our preconceptions alter our judgements of people is the self fulfilling prophecy. ‘The self fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behaviour which makes the originally false conception come true’ (Merton,

1948, p.195) this implies that labels not only affect our judgements of other people and ourselves, but also affect the choices we make and our behaviour.

According to a field experiment by Rosenthal and Jacobson (The Sociology Book, 2015, p.

34) when random students are selected and told that some have higher IQs than others, the students with the supposed high IQs progress faster than those with the supposed lower IQs, this suggests that if a person believes they are smarter than others, it motivates them to do better, therefore fulfilling their ‘prophecy’. In terms of labelling this implies that when told we belong to a certain category of society, we often will believe it, which has its positive and negative effects.

Without labels and categories, will society break down? Are opinions allowed? Do labels act as a coping mechanism to help deal with our loss of identity? Labels are used to make the complexity of society understandable. ‘The label of "mentally ill" may help a person seek help, such as psychotherapy or medication.’ (Boundless, 2015) in this case labelling enhances the self fulfilling prophecy, meaning labelling is a good thing and is needed to help people change or seek help. It also suggests that if labels didn’t exist, this wouldn’t happen.

Another experiment conducted by Harvey and Slatin (The Sociology Book, 2015, p.68) used photographs of children from a range of different classes, the teachers were asked to rate each child’s performance within education. The results of this experiment were that the children from higher classes were rated higher than those of lower classes, suggesting that labels and stereotypes exist not only within society but also within education and solely on a person’s appearance.

(Hanson, 1994) Duane Hanson is an American artist, who worked from the late 60s to the mid 90s.

The hyperrealistic sculptures cause us to question how we think about the world around is, even though they were created 30 or so years ago, I think they're still very relevant to today’s society.

The sculptures themselves are made from oil, bronze and plastic, with the addition of real clothes to add to the realistic feel they have.

The image is of two elderly people, it is entitled ‘Old Couple on a Bench’ which is very literal. The couple look lonely, however the title suggests they are together which instantly creates a narrative. Why do they look so sad? Why are they sitting slightly apart? These are questions that are provoked by the contrast of the title and the actual image. The male in the image is sat, almost hunched over his knees, the female doing the same. The body language in the image suggests that they are no longer happy together as they are not facing each other and their legs are pointing forwards. Their facial expressions also suggest the same thing, as though they are deep in

thought. They realness of the sculptures means that they cannot be deep in thought at all, however the craftsmanship makes it so.

As I interpret it, Hanson has created these hyperrealistic sculptures to make us stop in our tracks and think about other people’s lives in relation to our own. The sculptures in their own way have their own narrative, in this image in particular there is a clear narrative that is commenting on the elderly people within our society, in my opinion I believe that it is talking about being together but alone within the world. 'The thought of 'having an identity' will not occur to people as long as 'belonging' remains their fate, a condition with no alternative’ (Bauman, 2004, p.12) The two elderly people in this image are showing signs of sadness, as Bauman suggests, because they feel as though they belong in this space in this time, as documented by Hanson, this will be their fate and they will make no effort to find their own ‘identity’ within society. Labels within society become a comfort blanket for most members because if society tells us we belong somewhere, it’s often easier to accept that then search for who we actually are or want to be.

As an elderly person in society, there is already a stereotype that they are outsiders ’17% of older people are in contact with family, friends and neighbours less than once a week and 11% are in contact less than once a month’ (Loneliness Research, 2016) when the fact is they are mostly just lonely. Duane cleverly is commenting on this within the image, as he has stated that they are a couple, however as mentioned before they in no way look like they are together in a happy relationship. The way the couple are dressed suggests that they are from a working class background, I think that Huane is using the clothing and the body language to almost force us to stereotype these two people we have no idea about. As members of today’s society we fall into stereotypes and we give them just as easily 'Identity is revealed to us as something to be invented rather than discovered; as an effort, 'an objective'; as something one still needs to build from scratch or to choose from alternative offers and then to struggle for and then to protect through yet more struggle, though for the struggle to be victorious, the truth of the precarious and forever incomplete status of identity needs to be, and tends to be, suppressed and laboriously covered up.’

(Bauman, 2004, p.16) as individuals we fight so hard for an identity but are forced to hide our true selves because of preconceptions and stereotypes, yet we continue to stereotype and label without shame.

Davis, 2004 Paul Davis is an English illustrator from Somerset, England. His illustrations are loose and expressive, this one in particular is featured in his book ‘ Us & Them’ and documents how American’s feel about British people and vice versa. His images are made from mixed media, a variety of pens and markers, on different paper stocks.

This image is of a woman, clearly British as she is referring to American people. Her face is turned up slightly along with her left shoulder which suggests snobbery, coupled with the quote ‘The Americans are so easy to laugh at, especially those silly tourists’ which confirms my thoughts.

The image is a clear judgement on American society, as suggested throughout my essay the preconceptions we make are formed by how we are raised and the labels or stereotypes we are

given ‘our identity and behaviour are determined by how we are described and classified’ (The Sociology Book, 2015, p.280) the quote suggests that we live the labels we are given.

In relation to other sociological theories I have mentioned in this essay, this image along with the rest of the book follows a similar idea to the Harvey and Slatin experiment (The Sociology Book, 2015, p.68) as the people who are doing the judging are doing so based on their image within society, especially in this particular piece. From my interpretation of the image, the woman featured is to be seen as middle class from the way she has been interpreted. This also is a great example of an artist translating what they see into an image. Paul Davis has the job of making a judgement of whom he is drawing and translating it into one image that other people will then see.

However automatically society trusts this image as if it were a photograph, artwork is interpreted from life and can’t be true to the real life image, the artist is making a judgement, sometimes subconsciously and delivering an image. What we are seeing is not necessarily the truth, it is one person’s interpretation of the truth.

My interpretation of this image is that no matter where you go in life or where you’re from there will always be judgements made by other people including yourself. The image is obviously a documentary drawing and so it is the interpretation of the artist, which suggests that the artist is also making a judgement of the person he is drawing. The facial expression and hunched shoulders suggests he has interpreted this woman in a way that causes the viewer to believe she is stuck up, however the viewer would never know what the woman is actually like as we rely on the artist’s interpretation. We are viewing the woman through the artist’s eyes, and through his opinion of her, which is ironic as the whole book is about other people’s opinions.

In conclusion, labelling is at the core of us as human beings, there is no escaping it. It has positive and negative effects but society can’t seem to function without it. Within the creative industry labelling happens all of the time, and without it we wouldn’t be able to openly share our opinions on the world. Labelling and identity go hand in hand, society would be lost without its labels and categories, and its members would also be lost. We look before we speak and there are a lot of factors that are responsible for the stereotyping and labelling that goes on in society today, including family, education and the creative industry. Labelling’s role is to present us with justification, and to help us categorise everything we see in the world, within the creative industry it is the way to show opinion or to go against the grain, it is a way to interpret something that isn’t easy to interpret with words alone.

Images used: Davis, P.B. (2004) Us and them: What the Americans think of the British -. What the British think of the Americans. United Kingdom: Laurence King Publishing.

Gallery, S. (no date) Duane Hanson - old couple on a bench - contemporary art. Available at: http:// www.saatchigallery.com/artists/artpages/aipe_duane_hanson_oldcouple.htm (Accessed: 27 April 2016).

Bibliography: Bauman, Z. (2004) Identity: Conversations with Benedetto Vecchi. CAMBRIDGE: Wiley, John & Sons.

Berger, J., BBC, the and al, et (1972) Ways of seeing (A pelican original). 35th edn. London, Eng.: British Broadcasting Corp. and Penguin Books.

Boundless (2015) The labelling approach. Available at: https://www.boundless.com/sociology/ textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/health-and-illness-19/sociological-perspectives-on-healthand-illness-133/the-labeling-approach-740-7856/ (Accessed: 21 April 2016).

Hargreaves, A. (2003) Teaching in the knowledge society: Education in the age of insecurity.

Maidenhead: Open University Press Judgment and Making, decision (1991) Why it’s dangerous to label people. Available at: https:// www.psychologytoday.com/blog/alternative-truths/201005/why-its-dangerous-label-people (Accessed: 21 April 2016).

Loneliness research (2016) Available at: http://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/lonelinessresearch/ (Accessed: 21 April 2016).

Merton, R.K. (1948) ‘The self-fulfilling prophecy’, The Antioch Review, 8(2), pp. 193–210. doi: 10.2307/4609267.

The sociology book (2015) United Kingdom: DK.