Laurie Simmons: How We See is a puzzling exhibition that opens our eyes to a new world of synthetic beauty. Featured in the Jewish Museum from March 13 to August 9, 2015, this perplexing exhibition features a collection of six large photo prints. Each photograph features a portrait of female model, heavily painted with make-up for the appearance of perfection. Each model has their eyelids closed and painted to create the effect of large, doll eyes.

One photograph that I found fascinating was How We See/Sisi (Gold) (2015). It is a large pigment print photograph that features a model posing with her face facing front and tilted slightly to the left.The model has long, straight black hair and wears a white collared shirt that has small cursive scribbles across the fabric. The model keeps her mouth at a neutral position as she closes her eyelids–revealing the painted grey eyes on the lids. From a distance, the piece may look like an ordinary photograph, but when at a close distance, one could see the rough paint strokes of the painted eyelids. The background is made out of gradient washes of gold and yellow.

When I looked at this piece, I first thought that the message sent through these pieces were associated ideal beauty. The fact that the eyes of the models were painted in a way that makes the model looks like a synthetic doll. The artist might wish to spread the message about how society also creates new expectations to what people should look like–to the point that some people wish to look as perfect as a doll. All in all, I believe that How We See/Sisi (Gold) is a successful piece because the main focus of the photograph is subtle, yet the main theme of the piece is strong and bold.