Thoughts about the Ted Talks and Portraits

I found it interesting that Riva Lehrer pointed out that viewers interpret depictions of the able-bodied as tributes, while they tend to pity and feel sorrow in response to works of the disabled. People tend to assume that people with bodies that differ than those of “the norm” are in pain or are unhappy with themselves, so I appreciate that Riva chooses to have her subjects contribute to their portraits, to clarify how they see themselves and confidently claim the portraits of their bodies as theirs. Through this process, Riva and her subjects collaboratively create and define a genuine series of portraits.

Regarding the works of another portrait artist, Laura Swanson’s Beauty series spoke to me on a cultural level. As a Korean-American, I am very aware of Korea’s obsession with beauty, which has attributed to Korea’s title as “The Plastic Surgery Capital of The World” and has led to Korean beauty products, especially character face masks, to become more mainstream. The designs on the face masks are meant to be humorous and to amuse, but I think it’s fascinating that Laura used them to send a more serious message.  Looking at each portrait, I feel inclined to peel off each mask and see each subject for who they are, but I think each subject puts on their masks to hide themselves and/or to use the masks to make themselves appear more beautiful in the long run.