Group show
Artists: Tim Berresheim, Alexandra Bircken, André Butzer, Tine Furler, Caroline von Grone, Zandra Harms, Jeppe Hein, Johannes Hueppi, Leiko lkemura, Ulrich Lamsfuss, Julian Opie, Tobias Rehberger, Anys Reimann, Thomas Ruff, Volker Saul, Matthias Schaufler, Anja Schwörer, Katharina Sieverding, Annegret Soltau, Vincent Tavenne, Paloma Varga Weisz, Johannes Wohnseifer, Tobias Zielony
Facial Awareness
Reflections on the Development of the “Facial Society” on the Occasion of the Exhibition “Face to Face” in Baden-Baden. By Wolfgang Ullrich
Earning a living through portrait photography has become considerably more difficult in recent years. And this is not only because newspapers and magazines are placing fewer commissions or paying less for them than in the past, but even more so because the subjects are often dissatisfied with the photos. At least, that is what is repeatedly reported from within the industry. This dissatisfaction, however, stems from the fact that most people today have much more fixed ideas about their appearance than previous generations did. Especially since the boom in smartphones and social media, many people see pictures of themselves every day and may even take selfies. These photos are often already smoothed, finely lit, or otherwise enhanced thanks to the programs built into the cameras; with just a few clicks, further adjustments can be made to achieve even more flattering results. As a result, people today have not only a precise but often also an idealized image of themselves. And accordingly, the honest or analytical gaze of a professional—any portrait photo not quickly snapped with a smartphone—can lead to disillusionment and result in a complaint.
These days, having self-confidence means, above all, being aware of one’s own image—and specifically, being conscious of one’s own face. It also means wanting to have control over one’s own image. People are no longer willing to fatalistically accept how they look in a photograph; at the same time, however, they often perceive the photographic ambitions of others—especially those of amateurs rather than professionals—as intrusive and aggressive. Many are no longer willing to tolerate their image being shaped by clichéd, one-sided attributions from others.
Those who feel their right to their own image is being violated more readily than in the past may also have already experienced that photos can now have unforeseeable consequences. While photos taken at parties or on vacation used to be pasted into a private photo album at best, or more often stashed in a drawer—in any case, they were out of sight and often never seen by anyone again—today they frequently end up on a social media platform. There, however, they are publicly accessible and can—even years later—be commented on by others, placed in any new context, modified, and turned into memes—with the risk of backlash or embarrassment never far off.
And that’s not all: once online, these images also serve as training data for AI programs, meaning they can return—altered, zombie-like, and eerie. Furthermore, they are identified and analyzed by facial recognition software and also function as material for “big data” projects. In this way, they provide the basis for statistical calculations, often with the goal of making human behavior predictable—and thus plannable! Every image posted thus leads to even more surveillance and control. And since any image that hasn’t been posted could still be posted at any time, there is certainly no room for complacency.
The more freedom one has in shaping and varying one’s own image, the more individual freedom one simultaneously loses due to advances in digital technology and the internet. And as a consequence of both, it is already becoming common practice in some circles to distort oneself and one’s appearance as much as possible in images, ideally to the point of being unrecognizable.
But beyond that, many people are experimenting with forms of digital or analog masking, or treating their own faces as a canvas onto which various types of makeup can be applied. Hardly anything has been as popular in recent years as makeup artists, who, through tutorials and as influencers, have become role models for millions. This is by no means just about beauty tips or current makeup trends, but often also about using a specific style of makeup as a form of protest aesthetics. Minorities in particular, who are otherwise barely visible, can use this method—often accompanied by a hashtag—to gain more attention online. And so makeup can serve not only as camouflage but also as a tool to conform to the logic of algorithms and thereby increase one’s own visibility.
The present day thus offers a veritable encyclopedic array of ways to transform the face: whatever was once common in other eras or different cultures—indeed, whatever had developed for entirely different purposes—is returning under the banner of social media dominance. If you scroll through the Instagram account @fashion_for_bank_robbers, for example, you get a sense of the diverse ways in which facial distortion is employed today. And as long as no ban on face coverings is imposed in the digital space, avatarization is likely to continue to increase.
At the same time, being aware of one’s own image leads to more precise facial expressions and gestures. In this regard, too, there is a growing desire to present oneself in a certain way, especially among people who are active on social media and enjoy posting videos of themselves. They have found that they can expand their reach by appearing in an affective manner—with exaggerated, striking facial expressions that seem almost inspired by comics and emojis. Rolled or wide-open eyes, mouths puckered into a pout or wide open, a furrowed brow, or puffed-out cheeks: all of this makes it more likely for one’s content to go viral.
Just as painting, throughout its long history, has always exaggerated facial features when telling stories or clearly characterizing figures—since it had to compensate for its inability to reproduce spoken words—so too does the insane competition on social media—despite the audio track—demand all the more an outpouring of facial expressions and gestures. Furthermore, even more attention is focused on faces now that, with TikTok and Instagram Reels, the vertical format has become the standard for visual content for the first time. It’s as if the major platforms are now primarily there so that users can hold their faces up to the cameras.
Thanks to social media, the face is now, in a historically unprecedented way, at the center of nearly all discourse. It is through the face—and on the face—that the great power struggles over surveillance and visibility are played out; content has a much better chance of spreading when it is linked to faces and strong facial expressions; authenticity and mimicry, intense emotions and feints are all performed through the face. If one is able to present the face in a flexible and context-appropriate manner, one is well-equipped for such a “facial society”—to use the new buzzword. Indeed, the rule is: one is confident who has their facial expressions under control at all times and has honed their facial awareness to the utmost.
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Source: STUDIOMERCUR668
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