Photography and Text by Robin Sanders, Copyright 2016.
.
Portraiture, a Second Look
.
When one mentions the word portraiture, thoughts of faces are more often than not conjured. One’s face describes many characteristics about a person; age, gender, culture, and race are some of the many distinguishing features brought out by the face. It’s quite interesting that one of the most distinguishing parts about a person is a part that we inevitably have little control over.
So does the face say that much about a person? What part of a person can we look at and trust to be an accurate reflection of the person we see?
Clothing, other than the fact that we must wear it, is a choice we make on a daily basis. Purchases, outfits, and styles are a person’s way of describing more about his or herself. A pair of sneakers, Louis Vuitton heels, or sandals can have a drastic affect on one’s perception of a person.
Thus, such a train of thought was born into my mind, and I proceeded to look about to find a method to incorporate this idea into a political piece. In today’s society, an accepted judgment of one another is drawn out specifically through one’s look. A younger woman will likely vote for Bernie Sanders, an elderly rich white man may lean more towards Donald Trump’s views. But what about a pair of sneakers, or boots? Is there an affiliation of political party and one’s choice of feet adornment?
In the following pictures, I have taken photos of several friends, specifically their choice of shoes. I have also positioned a quote within each picture, without the author of the respective quotes.
Some quotes may be more identifiable than others, but for the most part the possible authors of such quotes are ambiguous. The people support politics, but shoes support people. It’s time to forget about the face and all that inherently characterizes a person. It’s time to look at how we choose to let society see us. It’s time to change perspectives.
.
About The Author: Robin Sanders is a Junior majoring in Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Class of 2017. To read more articles by Robin Sanders, go here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/robin-sander-day-to-day/