Structure

Dolls & Masks

By Deanna Sortino, posted on Oct 7, 2021

I first discovered the photographs of Ralph Eugene Meatyard at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2011. His exhibition Dolls and Masks had some of the creepiest and most beautiful photographs I had ever seen. I was there for three hours analyzing, decoding, and enjoying every single haunting image. Meatyard has said the reason he photographed family and friends wearing masks was to represent the masks we all wear for the camera. It’s a question I always pose to my students: “What are some of the masks that you personally wear for the camera?”

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