Age-Maps
Since the late 1980s, photographer Bobby Neel Adams has used a collage technique he calls "photo-surgery." In this process, he stitches together pictures of the same individual at two different ages. In most cases, that translates to a face that's half child, half adult, and all eerie. Sound like something straight out of Dr. Frankenstein's lab? It often looks that way. Depending on pose and how time has treated a person, the pictures can brush up against a kind of wild-eyed, sutured craziness. Sometimes, though, the differences are revealed more subtly. A Truman Capote look-alike and a Hollywood glamour puss both look relatively normal—at first glance.
While you're visiting Adams' site, don't miss his "Broken Wings" portraits of landmine victims. They offer a stirring contrast to the age-maps and a sobering view of the toll humans pay for abandoned explosives.
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