Faces or masks? Representations of oneself and others today

is article explores the conceptual and representational tensions between faces and masks in the context of contemporary visual and performative culture, and their implications for understanding presence, identity, and organization.Drawing on interdisciplinary sourcesincluding aesthetics, anthropology, sociology, and photography theory-it examines how the face, as a site of recognition and vulnerability, is both revealed and concealed in modern practices of portraiture and imagemaking.!e essay contrasts theatrical and photographic representation, especially in relation to authority and public image, and critiques the shi# from symbolic portraiture to mediated ubiquity, as exempli%ed by %gures like Steve Jobs.It interrogates how images, particularly photographs, construct social presence, mediate power, and contribute to the aesthetic regimes of organizational life.!e paper argues for a reconsideration of visibility, resemblance, and ethical representation in contemporary visual culture, urging attention to those faces-and lives-that remain unseen or forgotten.