In Class Disguise
Out of Class Disguise
The subject matter of all of my photos is myself. In class, I disguised myself with a wig and scarf. In the photos I took on my own, I used my old dance costumes including different masks. Also, I used eye makeup. The distance between myself and the camera differs in every photo, some are close and some are far. The setting for my second set of photos is inside my house. I think the setting creates a mystery because the costumes create such a strong character but the setting is so plain it leaves you wondering where exactly you might find them. With all photos I take of myself, I always look to Frida Kahlo as a powerful inspiration.
Disguise Edits
I altered all of my photos using some sort of blur in photoshop and iPhoto. I also used the paintbrush to fill in the eyes of the mask and to make sure I fixed small color details of all the photos. These edits change the photos into something really creepy. It leaves you wondering why the person may have no mouth or no face. It is almost like the missing features symbolize a deeper meaning of the person in the photo such as a personal problem or insecurity. The message that is being sent is the mystery behind it all. I want the viewer to not just look at the photo and see a girl with no mouth, I want them to look deeper. It may be a girl with no mouth because she is not allowed to speak, she has been through torture and got her personality and voice stripped from her. Within some of Frida Kahlo's self portraits, she did something similar. She has added extra features onto her face such as another face on her forehead. I took the opposite approach and took away features.
Disguise Cutting
I did not make any big alterations within my photo. I cut up the pieces and created space within the image. To put the photo back together, I glued the pieces onto construction paper. There was no specific pattern of cutting, I wanted to create many different shapes within the photograph. I think this enhanced the meaning of the photo because now not only are you concentrating on the mask and the disguise in the image, your eyes are also leading you through the entire photo following all the shapes the cutting created.