Karen Smiley, (b. 1947 Montreal, Canada), Untitled (Woman's I.D.), 1975, Gelatin silver print, Gift of Sandra Cohen Bakalar (Class of 1955) 1998.35

In this photograph from a series entitled Identities, a woman stands in a plaid uniform, wearing a patterned ascot and two identification badges. A bold BOS announces the IATA code of Logan International Airport in Boston, and a corporate logo represents Allegheny Airlines, a now defunct airline company. The photograph omits the face of the subject, obscuring her individual identity with her corporate one. A ring on her left hand indicates that she may be married or engaged, but the photograph reveals little other personal information. Instead of using the conventional style of portraiture to elevate the distinct attributes of a person, Karen Smiley presents an identity defined by work. In an effort to reinvent its image after a series of lawsuits filed against the company, Allegheny introduced uniforms intended to connect with passengers through fashion.  Plaid blazers with wide lapels over miniskirts symbolized a hip modernity  in an attempt to broadcast the company’s transformation and eclipse its recent wrongdoings.

Fatima Aslam ‘22