Face Look

Tonight I went to see this exhibition. Actually, I went to see the Sidney Nolan exhibition, but decided to start with the photos, and after staring intently into quazillion serious faces in stern black and white I couldn't stand another exhibition so we went to drink wine, sit and chat and listen to zany solo caberet cover loop de loop live music instead. Aah, the consolations of the epicurian.

Anyway, it was a great exhibition, really interesting and made me think the following thinks:
- dignity. The tour guide I eavesdropped on talked about the dignity of the subjects, and until he'd said it I hadn't picked that word, but in retrosect I agreed. There was a certain 'presentness' - a 'yes, here I am' without shame or ego or apology, regardless of their 'station', that was striking.
- unsmiling faces. 'Say cheese' obviously hadn't become a feature of happy snaps until the happy snapping became faster - posing for several minutes is a serious business. I liked the seriousness, or at best the growing edges of a smirk or smile about to bloom.
- reading faces. My companion and I couldn't always agree on who looked angry and who looked like they'd be fun at the pub. My 'larrakin with a smile on the edges' was his 'angry'. My 'tightlipped and joyless' was his 'dry sense of humour and looks like he's about to laugh'. Interesting. I thought everyone into faces read them the same, but no, apparently not.
- no one looked furtive and mean, even the beggars looked kind of honorable. Or am I just projecting because everyone had nicely tailored coats and spritely hats and curled hair? No-one looked red and hot and harried with multiple children trying to get on a bus, or with bleached trailing hair, or with a scowl, or a mean shifty look, or skinny on crack, or with hate in their faces. I guess most people in repose look peaceful. Perhaps it was less a reflection of the times than a reflection on faces that have been given the honour of being captured for art, for history. People taken seriously, and invited to present themselves to the world as they would like to be presented. Nice.