Proof

April 13, 2005

I think my favorite portraits are those that omit part of the face. The diminished visage leaves more to ponder and more to assume. In classic portraiture the intent was to not only represent the sitter but to please the patron. With the advent of cheap photography however we are under few (if any) financial obligations to those we photograph, and while vanity may still be a major factor behind why we take pictures, the need to memorialize events is just as important for a short-sighted culture. Portraits now are proof. Proof of youth. Proof that we visited someplace exotic. Proof that we loved someone. Proof that we were happy.

Memory, it seems, is a poor substitute for proof.