NPG - Construction of Identity

Ok so this is a little late, but here it is... Unfortunately I couldn't find the images on the Internet, but the portraits I chose were Drew Barrymore by George Hurrell, taken July 1981, and La Nijinska, Two Studies by Man Ray, taken November 1922.

Hurrell's portrait of Drew was taken when she was just six years old. The photographer has captured a part of her innocence, and this is evident through the bright pink puffy sleeved dress she wears, with her blonde hair gathered into a bun. She is seated and stares straight into the camera, her gaze rather subdued and serious for a person so young. Her facial expression seems to give nothing away and leaves her appearing closed up.

The two portraits of Russian choreographer La Nijinska reveal a more open side. She is photographed wearing heavy black and white makeup, and her hair is a lovely mess with a large comb stuck through the middle.
In the first photograph she gazes into the camera, her eyes wide and full of sadness. The makeup adds to this, making her mouth seem upturned. In the second photograph La Nijinska has her head thrown upwards and her eyes closed. This appearance again gives the sense of unhappiness.

Both photographers have contributed to the construction of their subject's identities, through clothing, makeup and positioning (e.g. seated/standing, looking at or away from the camera). Drew is constructed to appear childlike by use of the pink girly dress and her soft features. However the serious gaze she has makes her seem older than she actually is, seeing as how it appears strong and sombre, compared to the usual smiling face of a typical child's portrait. In both of La Nijinska's portraits she appears unhappy, and also somewhat frightened.

As viewers we do not really know what these people are like in real life. Was Drew really a serious child? Did she really want to wear a bright pink dress, or was she forced into it? Was La Nijinska a depressed woman?

I don't think a person's true self can be captured a second. No one knows what goes on before the photograph is shot, unless they are actually there. The subject could easily be told to force a smile, when really they don't feel like what the forced smile is suggesting. Without even being asked, the subject could automatically put up a wall and hide who they really are as soon as they are placed in front of a camera.