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Self-Portrait Machine - Robotically Compelled Art
The Self-Portrait Machine is an art project created by Jen Hui Liao. It starts by taking a picture of the individual user. Then the wrists of the user are securely fastened to the robotic arms of the machine, and a pen is placed in the hands of the user.
(Self-Portrait Machine)
The Self-Portrait Machine then moves the user's wrists, forcing him or her to create a self-portrait based on the photograph taken.
The project started with the observation that nearly everything that surrounds us has been created by machines. Our personal identities are represented by the products of the man-machine relationship. The Self-Portrait Machine encapsulates this man-machine relationship. By co-operating with the machine, a self-portrait is generated. It is self-drawn but from an external viewpoint through controlled movement and limited possibility. Our choice of how we are represented is limited to what the machine will allow.
This project reminds me of the different ways that sf writers have imagined the relationship between human beings and machines. Will we build machines that force us to create something terrible? Or will machines supervise us as we mature and create beautiful art?
From we make money not art via Gizmodo.
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