IMA Low Res Thesis Proposal

 

YOUR NAME: Hongyi Zhang

 

WHAT IS YOUR THESIS QUESTION?

 

Now that industry and technology are globalizing, information and data are bringing all these connections together. The recent outbreak has caused great trauma around the world.

How to look at each other or ourselves?  

What about the relationships with each person？

 

WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO MAKE? 

 

The works will be presented in the form of installation art, It can be held all over the world. Participants were asked to gaze at a 50-inch screen that played a video portrait of a person for one to two minutes. In addition, a camera was hidden behind the screen to capture the participants’ reactions during the session. Then playback the video of themself, causing them to think. Finally, participants can upload their own pictures if they wish. As the collection grew, the participants’ faces were synthesized into “human portraits”.

 

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO YOU? 

 

Most of us live with “the first perspective”. Even when we see ourselves in the mirror, we also see another self in the first perspective.

When we communicate, cooperate and interact with people around us, we often do not take a careful look at each other. In many cultures, it is considered rude to stare at others.

In today’s society, various types of discrimination and inequality can be seen everywhere. Our society has not become more harmonious because of advances in technology and data, but has increased inequality and conflict. Lack of understanding is often a breeding ground for fear and hatred.

 

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS WITH THIS PROJECT? 

 

People rarely get a chance to take a serious look at one another. This art installation can provide an opportunity for people to look at others and themselves without the burden at least once. It is hoped that participants will feel the power of gazing and will see themselves in a new way. We also want the audience to get a sense from “Human Portrait” : we may have different races, genders, identities, ages, etc., but we are all human.

 

INFLUENCES OR INSPIRATION? 

 

1 The Artist Is Present By Marina Abramović: I was first influenced by this work, in which I felt the function and power of gaze.

2 SNCF “Europe. It’s Just Next Door”: I want my audience to interact with my work and be universal. I really like the idea of globalization in this video and its simple and straightforward presentation.

3 Stanford Researchers Tried to Create a ‘Gaydar’ Machine: In the technical means, there are a lot of scholars in the face synthesis. It stands for eliminating discrimination and living in harmony.

4 Cyborg manifesto By Donna Haraway: In it, the concept of the cyborg is a rejection of rigid boundaries, notably those separating “human” from “animal” and “human” from “machine.”

 

HOW DO YOU ENVISION REALIZING THIS PROJECT? 

 

I wanted the camera to be sitting directly behind the screen and shot through the screen so that the eyes of the participants would be focused on the center of the camera. In addition, the synthetic “human portrait” can look as beautiful(authentic) as possible.

This art installation requires at least a monitor, a camera, a computer, an empty room, and several programs (facial image capture, mass image synthesis).

The classification of fragments of volunteers being shown can be refined and, in the future, applied to specific scenarios. In addition, to some extent, I also want to collect data anonymously. For example, the participants’ facial expressions were collected when they were faced with a particular object.

It is hoped that this project can be carried out in different areas and people. The more diverse participants, the more diverse features will be brought to the work.

OPTIONAL QUESTIONS

What I need to solve for now is to create an internal network that can share videos in real time?

Facial expressions need to be captured, for example, when eyes are open, mouth is closed, and face the camera in a video automatically.

How to combine a large number of photographs of faces into one “human portrait”？

 

TAGS

Your tags: “Art Installation”, “Anti-discrimination”, “Identity”, “Live”, “Experiment”