There are essentially four approaches to the photographic portrait: The constructivist, environmental, spontaneous, and creative. Each one has been used over time for different technical, artistic or cultural reasons.
The constructivist approach is when the photographer in his/her work builds a concept around the portrait. The creative approach is where digital manipulation (formerly done in the darkroom) is applied to build images. In Loreto Villarreal's Rasgos Comunes portrait series, vision dynamics are dramatically altered when the subject becomes physically larger than the viewer. Villarreal began a period of research on the history of formal portraiture and she decided on a portrait style that would be as neutral as possible, and in turn abstract by means of digital manipulation.
The images always represent a person shown from the front and looking towards the viewer. The subject's head occupies most of the frame, and its characteristics are established in a neutral disposition. The blank expression and the flat tones in the image reveal little about the model's personality. The works in the series are identical in size and feature a male or female subject. Portraits, which act as representations of individuals and record standardized faces, could therefore be considered a reflection on the value of the photographic depiction, and the documentation of the individual as a cultural synthesis. Its neutrality eliminates any attempt to find clues that reveal more about the origin or context of the photographed subject. In this sense, the realism of these portraits could be the source of both their assimilation to the viewer, and their vagueness can also be potentially alienating.
It is said that the humans of the late 20th century seem to have escaped the confines of history and race. Hence, their rasgos communes (Common Features). Perhaps these images are evidence of the detachment from experience, history, and memory in the contemporary world.
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