This is a suite of 5 x 7" contact prints (made from the found glass negatives) in which one half
has been retouched by the original photographer to create an idealized version of
the woman subject (skin imperfections were removed, stray hairs were put
in place, makeup was emphasized.)
On the other half of the double portrait
I have retouched the negative with an opposite intention - to make the woman
look "worse" than she actually did. The woman as she truly looked is
not present in either of the pair of images.
In these pictures I am interested
in the concept of idealized beauty as well as in the truthfulness of photographic
representation.
Each double portrait: 5 x 7" on 11 x 14" paper, gelatin silver print, 1999.
(Click on image for larger version.)
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