Faces
Our perception of the world depends on how we perceive ourselves and our place in the world. So how do we define the image of ourselves? The most important element is the face, the universal symbol of identity; our individuality. We use the face to recognize people. The face is the boundary between myself and the world, between me and the stranger. We use the face as a communication tool, in response to other faces. It can retreat, distance, barricade, or read from another face, try to take on someone’s role, feel it in the role of another person. The face may open up to others when expressing sincerity and revealing emotions. It may close and hide its real emotions or become immobile and express no emotion.
The face can be a mask in accordance with social requirements, attributed to the role we play in society. The world of abstraction and culture imposes the conventions we accept. There is no way to be completely honest everywhere and always, therefore, the face is to some extent a lie, a delusion. Society determines what is correct and what is reprehensible as well as definining taboo. It is necessary to adapt properly. We recognise that belonging to a group determines our community, its location in the world, and our identity. The face can symbolize interior (identity, unity, soul) and exterior (mask, facade). Its image is related to the requirements of the times in which it arises, with the applicable convention, canon, fashion.
Traditionally the portrait depicts the status of a person, its role in society, from the posthumous mask, the posthumous portrait, through the medallion, the heraldic portraits. Through a history of portrait painting we have seen the creation of face and body conventions, their symbols, producing portrait types (feminine beauties, clergy, scholars, rulers, scientists, explorers). In the 19th century, technological development meant that portrait photography became widely available. With this, the sense of character also changed. Faithfully portrayed face is no longer the most important identifier of identity. Face becomes a mimic of the constantly changing: „happens”.
An attempt to capture movement within portraiture is often presented in a blur or distortion. Within the requirement to capture the „movable” face the medium of film is the preferred solution. But when we are observed, if we have awareness, we take a pose, differentiating from the natural. This applies even to our everyday image in the mirror. Therefore, if the face is a casual mask, then by blurring its features, it tries to escape from the face. Any distraction, distorting, obscureing, dehumanizing, and finally facial cleansing can provoke questions about the human condition, the crisis of humanistic values.
Today, the face has become a product that is constantly being used, duplicated and spread. It is more important than our own, with our active participation and consent. Today, the most common manifestation of self-vision is the ‘selfie’, with the help of which we shape and craft our own image according to the requirements of modern aesthetics. This morphous way of portraying can be considered tacky, expressing an obsession with the individual and its appearance. On the other hand, this activity can be seen as a new form of visual communication. At the same time, modern technology and facial image are used not only for superficial play, but also for performative activities, manifestos in defense of our beliefs and values.
The way we build our image is the sum of our perceptions: how we look, what we are, how we would like to be perceived, as others see us, the time in which we live and the requirements of social life. The face, its symbolism, its meaning, its perception is still a current issue taken up by the creators and philosophers.
Magda Szplit
