How does art relate to forming and understanding identity? On the most basic level of national identity there is usually a simple geometric abstraction on fabric known as a flag, and a generic classical composition known as an anthem. One is supposed to be moved to tears by these things at the olympics.

Traditionally art has been related to the formation of identity in a very Freudian sense, that is as an expression of the individual subconscious - a major exploration of the surrealists, who were compelled by the visual forms in dreams. Lacan offers another idea where the formation of identity is based on the prelingual misrecognition of the self as an external entity, this idea fueled a lot of feminist theory, and you can see this play out in Mary Kelly's work. And of course the Black Arts Movement is very much involved in supporting the subject position of people of color, who politically in the 60s and 70s were advocating for their own rights to representation.
/k