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"Reflection"

Striking Resemblance: The Changing Art of Portraiture Zimmerli Art Museum Rutgers University

Just like in Amélie, there are hundreds of photo booth photos of this mystery man. 445 of them are owned by photography historian Donald Lokuta, and are being exhibited for the first time at a show of portraiture at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University called Striking Resemblance: The Changing Art of Portraiture.

Found photos, especially portraits, are complicated artifacts. They are intimate, and once unmoored from their original owners and stories, the intimacy transforms into vulnerability that can be compelling. Beyond the found object aspect, photo booth pictures are a wonderful sub-genre of portraiture, and are in many ways the direct antecedent of selfies. True fact: I have never taken a picture in a photobooth! Perhaps it's time to rectify that...

The sameness—of both the subject and the photo booth setup—reveals the rhythms of time, mood, and fashion in a way a single photograph cannot, and the volume of photos is intriguing. Is he a photobooth repairman? Or just an aficionado of self-portraits? Is it an art project? Or is there some more complicated story?

The whole Striking Resemblance show and accompanying book are exactly what I've been thinking about with this project, so I'll definitely pay a visit and let you know what I think. The show is up until July 13th, and you can find directions to the museum on their website.

In other portraiture news, I sat for sketches by super artist and friend Jason Mitchell. Can't wait to see the finished project!