Behind The Mask: A Woman's True Identity In Photography

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Behind the Mask
The mental state of a female is embroiled in feelings. These feelings can be expressed in many different ways. It is common for people to hide their true selves in order to feel wanted. Most people put on a mask to conceal their feelings, or to be someone they truly are not. These ideas are expressed in this untitled photograph. The photograph represents many themes such as sadness, concealing one's true identity, and sense of isolation. The photograph shows a great deal of strong emotion such as Sadness. One can draw the emotion sadness just by focusing on her facial expression. The woman in this picture seems to have been crying because mascara is smudged, and tears are rolling down her face. Crying is a symbol of …show more content…

The mask that she is gripping onto is smiling, so the mask suggests happiness. Unlike on the woman the eyes on the mask are looking off to the side. These eyes are brightly engaged with hope, and the woman's eyes are looking directly at the viewer as if she is looking for someone to rescue her from her emotions. The woman has all fingers firmly grasping the mask from the bottom, for she does not want to let it go. Also, the mask is shown in full despite the fact she uses it to cover half her face by doing so, she is not letting the viewers see everything that is behind the mask although she does allow them to see some part of her. She is refusing to uncover her complete identity to everyone around her. By using the mask, she is pretending to be someone she is not. Perhaps the woman in the painting is desperate to feel accepted by society, so she wears a mask to display a face that is acceptable to society. Women have always been the face of beauty, but women have struggled to keep up with all the standards. Behind the mask the woman looks like a mess, her hair is displaced, and her makeup is smudged yet the makeup on the mask is perfect living up to standards. The woman shows part of herself to the viewers, but she has a mask to hide herself behind not allowing her true identity to be

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