Carrie Schneider

While writing an art history thesis about portraiture via the soft science of physiognomy, I read that the right side of your face represents the dominant personality- the self which you present to the world, and the left side represents the recessive, introverted self. Physiognomy relies on the idea that you determine your own face as you age because facial bones are eroded and facial muscles are built up by the expressions that we habitually display. These expressions are determined by our reactions to events and our outlook on life (strong jutting jaw for an aggressive, assertive personality, weak chin for someone who looks at the floor, apologizes for their words). I tested it out in a class that focused on the doubling of reality by showing each person's actual face, the right side mirrored, and the left side of the face mirrored. Each portrait is strangely unrecognizable and yet also telling of the personality.