“Face to Face” Response
I found it very interesting how a whole society can define itself by expression. How someone from Japan might be holding back emotional cues while someone from Brazil will exaggerate everything. The explanation given about the size of the country and density of the population seems like a very logical conclusion. I would probably guess that weather and linguistics also play a large factor in the way people tend to express themselves. I had never really thought how the sensitivity one has for facial-expression-recognition, or lack thereof, can define the course of one’s life so thoroughly. It is something which we take for granted because it is ingrained into the oldest parts of our brains and we are hardwired to read the subtleties and mirror non-verbal language. This explains a lot to me as to why I’ve always found portrait to be such a fascinating area of study: it offers an almost infinite amount of nuances and subtleties which we must learn to pick out and describe so that the viewer can understand them clearly. We have to assimilate the ripples of expression flowing over the structure of the head and then be able to define specific combinations from the multiplicity of interactions only to then attempt to represent them in a recognizable and relatable manner for the viewer. It is a humbling experience; so much can go wrong— and it usually does— that the mere fact that we can be successful as artists in communicating an idea through painting is mind-boggling.
Something I found very disturbing was about the documentary was the mention of Moebius syndrome: affecting one’s ability to use face muscles. It is difficult to imagine what it would be like to function within a society without facial expression. It is something so deep within us that we take it for granted. Being from a highly social culture, I was always taught that social interaction is key to life. We begin mirroring beneficial behaviors from adults around us at a young age: a smile begets a smile, soft eyes evoke tenderness, a wink might mean mischief, triggering excitement, etc. It is very difficult to imagine a child not being able to mirror these behaviors. If she isn’t able to experience reactions from those around her firsthand, as a response to her own subtle cues, then how will that affect her perception of reality? Her image of self? Her own place within society?
Aesthetics revolve so much around empathy, that these ideas beg the question: Is empathy a learned behavior? Would we possess theory of mind if we were not socialized to the degree and subtlety to which we are groomed as human beings?