MIRROR IMAGE
ONES ALTER EGO OR HIGHER SELF
ABOVE: THE HUMAN FACE. Episode 4. (2001). BBC. 7 March. [Television]
The new born infant only gradually becomes aware of himself. His own face, in the light of the many other faces by which he finds himself surrounded, begins to play a major role in his growing acceptance- and partial rejection- of the world around him.
It is only natural that the child should draw images feel forced to faces in the image of his own face, which is, of course, a projection reduced to rudimentary forms: two horizontal lines, the eyes, opposed or augmented by one horizontal line, the mouth, and both held together by a short vertical line, the nose, with a final line framing these four in an oval. This visualization of man's face is, at the same time, the bengining of the mask. (Sorell, 1974. p.7)
THE HUMAN FACE: JOHN CROOSE: EPISODE 4
Faces are virtually all that we draw when we are first given a pen or a brush; the children are painting the faces of their mothers and fathers. They all have the same paints in four colours and each has its own personality. The circles and the noses and eyes all have their own individual personality; it is imbued with their own emotions and experiences with their mothers. The face tells the child how their mother feels and they are drawing people, which show significance in their lives.
We are drawn faces even as tiny babies. American and British psychological studies have shown that nine minutes after birth, we prefer to look at faces over any other object. Babies look almost as long at the eyes and face as the whole face- the ever-shifting movements of our eyes capture the infants attention. We come into the world primed to connect with the faces around us. Our fascination with faces is inborn, and continues all through life. Above text: (Bates, Cleese, 2001. P.8)
When young children draw a person, their trademark stick figure is usually topped by a hugely out of proportion face, with eyes, nose and mouth. The importance of the face for them is also underlined by the fact that they tend to see every object in the world as having a face.
Above images: Bates, B., Cleese, J. and Staff, D. K. P. (2001) The Human Face. United States: Dorling Kindersley p.141
Above images: Bates, B., Cleese, J. and Staff, D. K. P. (2001) The Human Face. United States: Dorling Kindersley p.49
As one-year-olds looking in the mirror, we see not ourselves but another person. But after that age, our understanding of our environment begins to become more sophisticated.
Usually by 18 months, and we see a reflection in a mirror, we will know immediately who it is. We no longer assume that the images somebody else who just happens to look like us. We are able to monitor movements in the mirror and realise that it is we who are making them.
Babies are genetically programmed to look at faces from moments after birth and children’s drawings of stick people with gigantic heads reflect the enormous importance faces play in childhood and throughout life. (Kemp, Bruce, and Linney, 2004. P.23)
We are assigned our faces in the womb, with no say in the matter, but our looks are to some degree malleable. We learn procedures to keep our faces fresh, youthful and blemish free- all of which practises are inflected by culture, class and the whims of current fashion.
People also learn to animate their faces attractively. Young children ‘make faces’ in the mirror, pushing expressions to extremes- and its not just a game, but a way of arriving at socially acceptable norms.
Adolescence in our society commonly go through a phase of practising more subtle expressions in the mirror, narrowing looks down to those that seem the most flattering or seductive.
Above Text: (Ewing and Herschdorfer, 2006. p.72)
Above images: Bates, B., Cleese, J. and Staff, D. K. P. (2001) The Human Face. United States: Dorling Kindersley p.91
Rankin. (2007) Visually hungry. 20070802nd edn. London: Rankin Photography. p.82
IN THE EYES OF A CHILD
IDENTIFICATION
ALTER EGO AND RECOGNISING SELF
It is man who is most fascinated by man. Since he is puzzled by his own being, he is most preoccupied with himself. His self-reflection, which he tries to penetrate, understand, and love, never quite leaves him.
This is why both the primitive man and the child of the most sophisticated society instinctively attempt to recreate their own image on a wall or piece of paper.
(Sorell, 1974. P.7)
We all have a fascination, even a preoccupation, with faces. Open or covertly, anxiously or eagerly, we catch our reflections in mirrors, glass doors and shop- fronts and ‘put on a face to meet faces’ when we go out. Each of he six billion faces in the world is unique, and it is essential that each face can make thousands of discreet expressions.
The Noemi association wants to change the way society looks at people with multiple disabilities. The message is to improve awareness and ultimately their daily lives. The association wants you to look at these people in a positive way and to respect their dignity, while bringing them joy and happiness.
Theeyesofachild. (2014) THE EYES OF A CHILD // Noémi Association. [online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB9UvjnYO90. [Accessed 10 April 2015]
“Our social personality is a creation of the minds of others.” Marcel Proust, 1918
(Ewing and Herschdorfer, 2006. P.106)
The natural smile and the masking smile use different muscles to produce a similar effect. Hitler was a master performer. He made contrived, conscious expressions into a craft. He practised not only the words, but also the accompanying expressions for each of his key wartime speeches.
He had each expression photographed so that he could judge its effectiveness and pull off a perfect performance. The photographs are a testament to how consciously controlled expressions can persuade people of ones convictions. We convince ourselves that we are good at detecting lies, but studies show that across the board, no matter what job you do, people are only about 50 percent accurate at detecting a lie.
At first glance, the subject of Gillian Wearings portrait appears to be a blandly attractive young woman, with an ordinary face of the kind you might dismiss. But then you note an oddness to the eyes and realize that the face is a mask.
Afterwards, you come to realise that you are the one being spied upon, and that person within is scrutinizing you from behind the mask, you know nothing about that person, only that you have allowed prejudice to judge her character.
MASKS ALTER EGO
Gillian Wearing ‘Self Portrait 2000
Above images: Ewing, W. A. and Herschdorfer, N. (2006) Face: the new photographic portrait. United Kingdom: London : Thames & Hudson, c2006. p.91
The masking smile, a consciously constructed expression for hiding other emotions, is often used by public figures.
(Bates, Cleese, 2001. P. 97)
The French word for ‘model’ is mannequin, which in English refers to an inanimate object. With the current vogue for emaciated and inexperienced models, todays living, breathing exemplars do seem increasingly lifeless and inhuman, both in photographs and on the runway, Ewing and Herschdorfer, 2006. P.88.
Manufactured mannequins, on the other hand, are becoming more and more ‘lifelike’. These portraits have captured a morbid aesthetic of the contrast between the mannequins and the real models, where the artificial constructs show more expression.
Ewing, W. A. and Herschdorfer, N. (2006) Face: the new photographic portrait. United Kingdom: London : Thames & Hudson, c2006. p.88
Above images: Kemp, S., Bruce, V. and Linney, A. (2004) Future Face: The Human Face and How We See it. LONDON: Profile Books Ltd. P.P. 162 and 163
Micro expressions: very fast facial movements lasting less than one-fifth of a second, are one important source of leakage, revealing an emotion a person is trying to conceal. A false expression can be betrayed in a number of ways: it is usually very slightly asymmetrical, and it laks smoothness in the way it flows on and off the face. Kemp, Bruce, and Linney. 2004. P.62.
Whether worn for the purpose of concealment or revelation, masks reveal a tension between impersonality and individuality, conventional representation and likeness. Oscar Wilde wrote:
‘Man is least himself when he talks in his own person,
give him a mask and he will tell the truth.’
(Kemp, Bruce, and Linney, 2004. P.77)
THE OTHER FACE
Early man's desire for transformation, for losing the identity of face and shape, emerged from his seemingly contradictory need for self-repulsion as well as for total possession of his self. In order to make the charm work he felt he had to conceal his identity, to shake off his corporeal existence.
In the mind of early man, he could not conceive of a life clearly demarcated by any determining facts of reality. He could not separate the natural from the supernatural, the spiritual act of taking possession of, or rather assimilating, the spirit represented by the mask- to the point of becoming possessed by it or becoming it- was he goal of such a masked man.
The creative power of mans subconscious experiences found, in its most rudimentary form, expression in colourful and often artistically impressive masks. Their demonic character, once a living reality for early man, has become more and more a playful symbol.
(Sorell, 1974. P.P. 7, 8.)
 |
|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Secrets of Living Dolls, Notes Taken:
Film about men who spend fortunes in the attempt to transform themselves into living dolls.
They lead double lives, dressing up in elaborate rubber body suits and masks, striving to be their ideal women.
Maskers- anyone can be a masker
Robert, a 70 year old man who is divorced and lives with his teenage daughter. He nervously explains:
I have done this for 12 years and nobody has seen me. People say masked people are bank robbers and in the horror movies murderers wear masks.
The Secrets of Living Dolls. (2014). Channel 4. January. [Television]
'Disguise and masks were also used to impersonate some spirits during ritualistic ceremonies, there was no disguise without a mask, which always played the most important role as the counterpart of mans face, mirroring mans soul' Sorell, 1974. P.10.
In life, the mask is a persons living disguise, ever-changing in its reason and reasoning, intent and intensity. It tries to hide the real us, to frighten and beautify, to protect and pacify the subject within.
Femme Skin company: owned by the ramos family. They deliver all over the world and germany is the most in demand for rubber masking. Rubber doll randevou: rubber doll convention in the USA. As fellow maskers they understand the allure of rubber dolling
A doll box: purpose is to not just be a rubber doll but to be a toy. Quote:
"it is like coming out of a doll house. I feel fantastic that two of my friends can see the alternative side".
The mask, hood: open eyes, nose and mouth, feels the same as a Halloween mask. Most rubber dolls are secretive about their lives because there is still so much pressure to conform. Living life in a dream, suits made of silicone
'It can grow into the grotesque image of mans distorted mirror reflection, or be mans visualization of his constant escape from himselfin his anxiety as much as in his playfullness. It gives man the imaginary power to be able to manipulate his own identity'
Sorell, 1974. P.12.
DOPPELGANGER
The artists, photographers and designers in the book use a variety of techniques and strategies to capture the human form in means of its nature and self-perception. They look for what makes human beings today, reinventing and searching for identity in their artworks.
The key to success lies in digital identity, in other words, insofar as the Internet is seen as a medium; it lies in the chequered world f media identity, the doppel-ganger of the physical human being.
The Internet liberates anonymous individuals from the social constraints within which they have to function in the physical world as social beings. But the Internet also liberates anonymous individuals from having to confront their group with their real human bodies. So internet identities do not have to relate to real people or groups aesthetically, formally, ethically, or morally.
Without the above constraints, individuals are inevitably forced back to their own resources. They look for aesthetic, formal, and social anchors for a substitute identity, then find an idealized version of themselves in a self-created , artificial double- an avatar.
Above text: (Klanten, Schulze, and Ehmann, 2011. P.7)
So the Doppelgangers are not complete beings, but often reduced, abstract, and inflated artificial creatures. But also creatures who define abysses and who can often exist only under the protection of anonymity and because the World Wide Web is detached from real life.
We are universally able to communicate with our bodies, regardless of race or language. The mirror shows both sides of the face making communication easier through reading expression, artist Bohyun Yoon developed a project about the matter in 2002 named ‘Mirror Mask’, this is one of the images taken from his project.
'Doppelgangers represent the real person in online communities, Images of doe-eyed manga beauties represent overweight teenage girls and disgusting paedophiles can effortlessly hide behind their Homer Simpson facades'.
'Disguise becomes ritual, and ritual requires personality swapping. Transformation and disguise are the core business of fashion and theatre'. Klanten, Schulze, and Ehmann, 2011. P.7
Above images: Klanten, R., Schulze, F. and Ehmann, S. (2011) Doppelganger: Images of the Human Being. Edited by Robert Klanten, S. Ehmann, and Franz Schulze. Germany: Die Gestalten Verlag. P.P. 32, 33
MY STRANGE ADDICTION: IM A LIVING DOLL
Notes Taken:
Justin: ‘The living doll exemplifies the beautiful’ Started a plastic surgery journey at 17 years old: After the first nose job the plastic surgerys became a creative outlet.
Emily, 19 years old and a living doll: Dolls are beautiful with big dough eyes and small noses. She feels as though she needs the large eyes and doll attire. She is insecure and has never liked herself, she feels confident living in her fantasy attire and built up world. Her family try to explain the reality of life to her were you have to dress civilised and go to work, then you can go home and be who you want to be. She would like to have plastic surgery to change her appearance (chin, nose, cheekbones and waist)
Justin: “I get to be my own canvas and find ways to make me look like a doll”. I cant be my own doctor or I probably would. He is conforming to common dictates of taste but cartoon versions of them and looks unrealistic, his appearance is plastic/ doll like and he has spent a lifetime sculpting his image into his ideal.
He wants his abs done next, his mother is concerned and he explains that the only thing that he has in his control is his art. His mother asks if she influenced his surgerys and he believes that he is a pioneer of his aesthetics: “I will continue to mould and shape this form for as long as I want and however I want, no one can stop me, I see my body like a piece of clay”
My Strange Addiction: Im a Living Doll!. Series 5: Special. Episode 4. (2014). TLC Discovery. 1 January. [Television]
Above images: Klanten, R., Schulze, F. and Ehmann, S. (2011) Doppelganger: Images of the Human Being. Edited by Robert Klanten, S. Ehmann, and Franz Schulze. Germany: Die Gestalten Verlag. P. 95
 |
|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
FAILING TO RECOGNISE THE HUMAN FACE
Left: THE HUMAN FACE. Episode 2. (2001). BBC. 10 March. [Television]
During Emerging Mind’ Director of the centre for brain and cognition, Vilayanur Ramachandran payed attention to prosopagnosia (face blindness) and Capgras Syndrome (regarding close acquaintances as imposters).
Prosopagnosia happens when there is damage to a structure called the fusiform gyrus in the temporal lobes, either side of the brain. As a result of the damage it becomes impossible to recognise peoples faces. R
amachandran explains a case of a patient who had been in a coma from a car accident, when he woke he had a profound and sustained delusion about his mother, he explains:
‘Doctor, this woman looks exactly like my mother, but she isn’t- she’s an impostor.’
(Kemp, Bruce, and Linney, 2004)
Notes Taken:
Humans have the most sophisticated recognition system of all species, half of the brain is devoted to seeing, human beings are highly visual creatures.
Jim Cooke: cannot recognise faces, he lost the ability to recognise faces after a brain surgery to remove a blood clot. Every time we see a face our brain compares it to the millions of other faces stored. We find it easier to recognise a caricature than a real resemblance of a face. Your brain is in a sense producing a caricature- storing the memory of peoples faces.
Emotion can be so strong it effects our ability to recognise someone. David Rodriguez: bad car accident, he spent three weeks critically ill in a coma. He was convinced that his parents had been replaced with look a likes. "This woman looks exactly like my mother but she is not my mother, she is an imposter pretending to be my mother". Too little emotion effects recognition.
Racial differences effect recognition, age, nose, shape and colour of skin are depicted between races. You see the person as a single prototype and begin to generalise the person, we should be weary of the instinctive judgements we make on people.
THE HUMAN FACE. Episode 2. (2001). BBC. 10 March. [Television]
-Multiple personality disorder, can come out through childhood trauma, you do not have a single self, whole one that can come together.
-Conversations with herself: Im thinking alf of the personality details you share are embellishments/mistruth. Just I don’t buy a lot of what you’ve said.
-I became confused about who I was, I woke up and felt as though I was in a strangers house but I was my other. The host is the cost of my being
-I see them all as the same and find it particularly y hard to deal with some of these personalities.
-Yes I have a sexual side and it has a mind of its own.
Protector 1:
Takes abuse and laughs at it
Primary protector
Almost an immediate switch to her when the host is abused
Generally positive
Dark goth style to look tough and unpredictable
Can be affected by mental instability (paranoia)
Protector 2: Iris
Not out as often
Wants to be 100 percent in terms of personality
Ignores any abuse and lets it go
Positive, optimistic, spiritual and philosophical
little if any mood problems
light, white styling
Host:
The real person, the core
Takes abuse badly
Easily affected by emotions
Paranoid, traumatised, pessimistic
Sexual Alter:
Superficial, seductive and the only one interested in men
Thinks she is hot and everyone wants her, sex object
All of the sexual desires keep getting repressed and it makes her stronger.
Autumn Asphodel. (2014). Meet My Alters/Personalities,DissociativeIdentityDisorder(DID). [online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjemK803l2M. [Accessed 12 March 2015]