Artist Statement: Prosopagnosia This project is one that is influenced by a neurological condition defined by facial blindness, better known as Prosopagnosia. This, in large, is the inability to recognize faces. While it was originally thought to have been caused by neurological damage, recent research has found that there are forms of this neurological conditions that are not necessarily caused by damage, known as “developmental” or “congenital” Prosopagnosia. This topic struck me, not only because it interested me in a broader sense, but also because I feel as though can relate to it. While I have not been formally evaluated or diagnosed with this disorder, there have been many times where I could not recognize even my own face. Learning about this term sparked my interest, and inspired the development of a project relating to memory and facial identification. While I don't feel as though I have the agency to represent this neurological condition, nor the many people affected by it (given that I am not diagnosed), it inspired greater thought about my personal experiences regarding memory and the difficulty I experience when attempting to recognize acquaintances, friends, and often my own face. This work was also influenced by the work of Julie Orser, with her linear series of portraits of different women made to look identical. While I will be using a singular person and a singular deadpan perspective, the concept is similar to that of Orser’s work. The linearity of her work allows a comparison to be made between each photograph, which made me realize the utility that that tactic may have in my project in attempt of comparing memories. This concept has always been difficult for me to explain verbally. Given this, I found that expressing it visually through photography and photoshop-manipulation gave me the words to better represent this experience. To do so, I started by taking self portraits on black, white, and grey backgrounds to be able to better visualize which would best fit aesthetically to capture a general memory-like tone. I chose to shoot this project in a studio setting to hold the placement of the portraits constant, and to eliminate a variability of location between each portrait. This, I believe, enables the viewer to focus in on the subject (the person), and the manipulation of the subject, rather than focusing on a variable that can be seen as confounding (the location) if not held constant. Following the choice to shoot on a black background, I began shooting portraits of myself, friends, and strangers. Sequentially, I chose a single photograph from the variety of my self portraits, a friends portraits, and another of a strangers portrait, and began to manipulate the face in photoshop. In doing this, I aimed to represent the similar manipulation of the memory of the person’s face in my mind. Organizationally, i realized that beginning with the manipulation of a stranger, then going to the manipulation of a more familiar face of a friend and ultimately representing the manipulation of my own face, would portray that this phenomenon doesn’t just target memories of random acquaintances, but can also affect the memory of self image. After the in-progress critique, I realized that there was an element missing from this project, which lead me to writing poems about each type of memory, one of a stranger, one of a friend, and one of my self. This, I believe, adds a personal touch to the changes, and makes it more clear that these manipulations are not a commentary about beauty, but rather about facial blindness. Additionally, the critique made me realize that mixing the blurring and the distortion of would make more sense than only showing one of the above. This gave me the idea to use the blurred and distorted photographs as diptychs within a linear presentation. The blurred images are meant to mymich the punctuation of the poem, giving the viewer a break from the distortion and connecting the sequential image. This concept began a few years prior to the beginning of this project. In high school, as my concentration for AP photography, I created a portrait with the face of the person blanked out. While I didn’t know it at the time, this process gave me certain tools and concepts that I could later apply to this project. When viewing this project, I expect the audience to have varying reactions. Some may see the distortion of facial features as a commentary on beauty, but I hope to stray away from that. To do so, I am going to create several versions of each person’s face, ultimately showing the original composition of the face to stand as a reference point to the distortions. In doing so, rather than just changing the facial features and showing that single photograph, the multitude of variations will create more of a narrative, given that the photographs will build on each other rather than abruptly presenting a singular statement in the form of a photograph.
Artist Statement: Prosopagnosia This project is one that is influenced by a neurological condition defined by facial blindness, better known as Prosopagnosia. This, in large, is the inability to recognize faces. While it was originally thought to have been caused by neurological damage, recent research has found that there are forms of this neurological conditions that are not necessarily caused by damage, known as “developmental” or “congenital” Prosopagnosia. This topic struck me, not only because it interested me in a broader sense, but also because I feel as though can relate to it. While I have not been formally evaluated or diagnosed with this disorder, there have been many times where I could not recognize even my own face. Learning about this term sparked my interest, and inspired the development of a project relating to memory and facial identification. While I don't feel as though I have the agency to represent this neurological condition, nor the many people affected by it (given that I am not diagnosed), it inspired greater thought about my personal experiences regarding memory and the difficulty I experience when attempting to recognize acquaintances, friends, and often my own face. This work was also influenced by the work of Julie Orser, with her linear series of portraits of different women made to look identical. While I will be using a singular person and a singular deadpan perspective, the concept is similar to that of Orser’s work. The linearity of her work allows a comparison to be made between each photograph, which made me realize the utility that that tactic may have in my project in attempt of comparing memories. This concept has always been difficult for me to explain verbally. Given this, I found that expressing it visually through photography and photoshop-manipulation gave me the words to better represent this experience. To do so, I started by taking self portraits on black, white, and grey backgrounds to be able to better visualize which would best fit aesthetically to capture a general memory-like tone. I chose to shoot this project in a studio setting to hold the placement of the portraits constant, and to eliminate a variability of location between each portrait. This, I believe, enables the viewer to focus in on the subject (the person), and the manipulation of the subject, rather than focusing on a variable that can be seen as confounding (the location) if not held constant. Following the choice to shoot on a black background, I began shooting portraits of myself, friends, and strangers. Sequentially, I chose a single photograph from the variety of my self portraits, a friends portraits, and another of a strangers portrait, and began to manipulate the face in photoshop. In doing this, I aimed to represent the similar manipulation of the memory of the person’s face in my mind. Organizationally, i realized that beginning with the manipulation of a stranger, then going to the manipulation of a more familiar face of a friend and ultimately representing the manipulation of my own face, would portray that this phenomenon doesn’t just target memories of random acquaintances, but can also affect the memory of self image. After the in-progress critique, I realized that there was an element missing from this project, which lead me to writing poems about each type of memory, one of a stranger, one of a friend, and one of my self. This, I believe, adds a personal touch to the changes, and makes it more clear that these manipulations are not a commentary about beauty, but rather about facial blindness. Additionally, the critique made me realize that mixing the blurring and the distortion of would make more sense than only showing one of the above. This gave me the idea to use the blurred and distorted photographs as diptychs within a linear presentation. The blurred images are meant to mymich the punctuation of the poem, giving the viewer a break from the distortion and connecting the sequential image. This concept began a few years prior to the beginning of this project. In high school, as my concentration for AP photography, I created a portrait with the face of the person blanked out. While I didn’t know it at the time, this process gave me certain tools and concepts that I could later apply to this project. When viewing this project, I expect the audience to have varying reactions. Some may see the distortion of facial features as a commentary on beauty, but I hope to stray away from that. To do so, I am going to create several versions of each person’s face, ultimately showing the original composition of the face to stand as a reference point to the distortions. In doing so, rather than just changing the facial features and showing that single photograph, the multitude of variations will create more of a narrative, given that the photographs will build on each other rather than abruptly presenting a singular statement in the form of a photograph.