A gallery within a larger exhibit at the Whitney Museum in New York two years ago has lingered in our minds ever since we saw it. It was entitled Portraits Without People, and we found it provocative. And profound. Because it raised an intriguing question: if someone wanted to capture your essential essence without showing any part of you, what would they paint (or photograph)? The books on your nightstand? Your running shoes? Your last Power Point presentation? What you ate this morning? Said another way: do our possessions define us? Are we what we buy? And if not, then what objects in our lives represent who we really are?
