http://www.motiroti.com/whatcounts
JD Holden
Proposal for “What Counts?” Micro-Commission £350
One strand of my work is about looking at the human face in Abstract Form. Finding an arrangement of simple lines to describe a face, I then create a triptych of 40x40cm paintings, using a simple colour scheme chosen to reflect the personality or style of the subject. I am interested in finding that unique structure of lines that not only draw on the essence of the form and volume of the human face, reduced to two dimensions, but which also create a dynamic balance in the final painting. This is always done with a live model, and never with a photograph, and it will often take up to 20 initial sketches before I find the finished composition. In effect, I am trying to catch what I believe to be the essence of the person, abstracting that into a permanent work. (see Abstract Heads)
So what counts? I reduce a whole person to just a few lines and colours. Clearly this is just an abstract representation of the person, and yet, somehow, it becomes much more than this.
Face recognition software works by through a two step process. First is “Face Detection” which decides is there is indeed a face in the photograph, and then goes on to look at angle of head due to poise etc. The next step is “Face Recognition”. “A number of factors make this a challenging problem for computers. Faces in images and video can be captured at various resolutions, quality, and lighting conditions. Moreover, people’s facial expressions as well as their pose...can vary widely, and facial characteristics can change dramatically as people age.” (PittPatt.com)
So what counts? Face Recognition Software (FRS) reduces a person to a highly sophisticated algorithm.
But identity is much more than what we look like. It is how we dress, who our friends are, what we do. Google Picasa Face Recognition software identifies and tags individuals and then we can use Face Movie to create a movie from this data. “Face Movie analyzes the faces in your selected photos to find the smoothest transitions across facial expressions and poses.” (From Google Picasa Support)
The most interesting aspect of Face Movie from the perspective of this project is that it does not just display the individual in the Face Movie, but rather the individual as the centre of the movie. This means that the context of the photo can be clearly seen, along with friends and family, place, activities etc.
And FRS is not perfect. Google Picasa identifies a number of images incorrectly. Rather than removing these images, I will leave them in the Face Movie. (See quick edit here, watch from 1:00 on)
This project then, asks the audience to think about what makes a person who they are. What really counts? Is it just what I look like. Is it about how I style my hair? Is it the friends I keep? The places I go? The things I do?
The proposal is to create between 4 and 6 high resolution one-minute Face Movies of myself, my family and friends, taken from an archive of photos from the last decade, including pertinent images of my “Abstract Heads” paintings. A self-portrait Abstract Head will need to be created for that film.
Permissions will need to be sought from all the “actors” in the movies.
Curriculum Vitae
