Untitled (re-photographed hand worked portrait of a man in suit) c. 1940s

Robert Burian created this re-photographed portrait of a man in a suit. The image, now part of the Harvard Art Museums collection, explores identity through the act of re-presentation. Consider the act of re-photography itself. What does it mean to take an existing image and rework it? Here, a man is portrayed in a suit. The suit, a symbol of professionalism and social standing, speaks to the construction of identity. The mustache suggests a specific historical era and cultural expectation of masculinity. But the alterations made by Burian, the hand-worked aspects, complicate this straightforward reading. Burian invites us to think about how we perceive and construct identity through images. This work encourages us to consider the layers of representation and manipulation that shape our understanding of ourselves and others. What do you see when you look at this man? What stories do you project onto him?