Name/Title
OliviaEntry/Object ID
2025.04.02Description
Portrait of a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her face is tilted slightly and she looks up. Her hair is partially pulled back. She sits in front of a blue background.Context
From the series Spitting Image in which O’Leary photographed girls aged 11-14 from her hometown of State College, PA (home of Penn State University), as they reacted to seeing their reflection in a two-way mirror. O’Leary often uses her work as an artist to reflect on her childhood and the experience of growing up in State College. For this series, she wanted to see if a similar impact could be captured in the girls she was photographing. The result is a compelling image of the girls facing their own insecurities and vulnerabilities in the mirror.
O’Leary first conceived of the idea for this series in 2016 when she came across an old folder on her computer of selfies, she had taken around age 13. Through the photos, she could see her younger self trying to figure out who she was and wanted to be. In thinking about the use of photography by young people now, O’Leary began exploring how much photography and photographing oneself relates to self-worth and is used as a mirror. Spitting Image confronts “selfie culture” and highlights the vulnerability and awkwardness of teenage years.Acquisition
Accession
2025.04Source or Donor
Pilara Family Foundation, Andrew PilaraAcquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
Gift of the artist and the Pilara Family FoundationMade/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Eva O'LearyRole
PhotographerDate made
2017Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Print, PhotographicNomenclature Primary Object Term
PhotographNomenclature Sub-Class
Graphic DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsGetty AAT
Concept
portraits, visual works (works)Hierarchy Name
Visual Works (hierarchy name), Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name)Facet
Objects FacetLOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Girls, Mirrors, Young personsDimensions
Dimension Description
PrintHeight
26-5/8 inWidth
21-1/8 inDimension Description
FrameHeight
28 inWidth
22-1/2 in