VIRTUAL TALK: Revealing and Obscuring Identity

Samuels Public Library is thrilled to host the Virginia Museum of Fine Art (VFMA) Artmobile on May 12 and May 13. Jeffrey Allison, Paul Mellon Collection Educator and Statewide Director at VMFA provide a virtual gallery talk about the traveling exhibit. This presentation will help you explore how artists have used portraiture to reveal and obscure their sitter’s identity. Traditionally, portraiture has been used to highlight the sitter’s wealth, power, beauty, virtue, and intelligence and has been reserved for society's elite. Several of the works in this exhibition maintain this tradition. In contrast, others employ it as a means to explore truths about the nature of art, the way we perceive beauty, and the way culture influences and reflects personal identity.  It also considers how photography portrays the sitter’s identity through their race, occupation, and status and how self-portraiture can reveal the artist’s core identity or reflect a carefully constructed persona. This diverse collection of portraits provides insight into the function of portraiture across various mediums, artistic movements, and cultures. Consider the role of portraiture in your life. Do you use your phone to capture images of your family, friends, and pets? What are ways we reveal and obscure identity with the portraits we take?