Learn a little more...with a link!
Online Reference Book, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Archivists, Curators, and Museum Workers | Find out more about people that work in museums.
Website Article: OMGFacts, Science Explains Why You See Faces In Everything | Explanation with lots of wacky examples.
Website Article: Mother Nature Network, If Your Friends Are Talking About UFOs, You're More Likely To Spot One | Got Pareidolia? Then you probably have apophenia, too, the tendency to make connections.
Read the script:
SLIM: OH HEY, PARTNERS. I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR SOME NEW SUBJECTS TO DRAW. IT'S NOT SO EASY IN THIS HERE GHOST TOWN. EXCEPT, DO YOU SOMETIMES FEEL THAT YOU JUST SEE FACES WHEREVER YOU LOOK? MAYBE IT'S A CACTUS OR A CLOUD IN THE SKY OR A TUMBLEWEED ROLLING BY. ACTUALLY, THERE'S A TERM FOR THAT, PAREIDOLIA.
NOW I KNOW OF A CURATOR WHO JUST COULDN'T SHAKE HER PAREIDOLIA, SO SHE PUT IT ON DISPLAY. IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT A CURATOR IS, IT'S A KEEPER OF A MUSEUM. THEY DECIDE WHAT GOES ON DISPLAY AND WHERE. TAKE A GANDER AT THE FACES THAT CURATOR GINA THOMAS MCGEE HAS FOUND IN THE AKRON ART MUSEUM.
GINA: THIS IS FIND A FACE, AN EXHIBITION OF ARTWORK FROM THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION. I WAS INSPIRED BY THIS BOOK THAT I HAVE USED WITH STUDENTS IN THE PAST AS A TEACHER, AND IT GOES THROUGH EVERY DAY OBJECTS THAT LOOK LIKE FACES.
AND I TEND TO DO THIS IN MY LIFE. AND I STARTED COMBING THROUGH THE COLLECTION, WHICH WE CAN VIEW ONLINE THROUGH OUR DATABASE. SO I STARTED FINDING SOME ARTWORKS THAT LOOKED LIKE FACES, AND MOST OF THE ONES I FOUND THE ARTIST DIDN'T INTEND THAT. BUT BECAUSE OUR BRAINS ARE SORT OF HARDWIRED TO DO THIS, WE FIND FACES IN EVERY DAY OBJECTS.
SO I STARTED NOTICING A FEW AND WONDERING, IS THERE ENOUGH HERE FOR AN EXHIBITION? AND IF SO, THAT WOULD BE REALLY FUN AND SORT OF A DIFFERENT WAY TO APPROACH A SET OF OBJECTS THAT DON'T NORMALLY GO TOGETHER.
THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH BY LOUIS STETTNER, AND I'VE COME TO THINK OF IT SORT OF AS THE MASCOT FOR THIS EXHIBITION. IT'S AN IMAGE OF A CAR IN THE WINTER, AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL. IT HAS SNOW ON IT. AND I JUST LOVE, IT CLEARLY LOOKS LIKE A FACE. THE ARTIST, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT WAS PART OF THE ARTIST'S IDEA BECAUSE THE TITLE IS JUST CAR IN THE WINTER. SO WE DON'T REALLY GET ANY CLUES FROM THAT. BUT AS SOON AS YOU SEE IT, AT LEAST TO MY MIND I SEE SOME EYES HERE, THIS NOSE POKING OUT AT YOU, AND THIS TINY MOUTH HERE.
AND I JUST LOVE THE IMAGE. IT SORT OF WAS THE JUMPING-OFF POINT FOR THE EXHIBITION. AND I THINK IT'S SO DRAMATIC AND SO CLEAR THAT IT INSPIRES YOU TO WANT TO FIND MORE OUT IN THE WORLD.
THESE TWO ARTWORKS ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABSTRACT, THEY'RE NOT BASED ON OBJECTS THAT WE SEE IN OUR EVERY DAY LIVES. THEY ARE SILKSCREENS AND REALLY, REALLY COLORFUL, SORT OF ABSTRACTED WORKS WITH MOSTLY SHAPE AND COLOR. BUT IT REMINDS ME OF SEEING A FACE IN SPLOTCHES OF PAINT OR MAYBE PANCAKE SYRUP OR SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S KIND OF LIQUIDY, MAYBE EVEN RAINDROPS ON THE GROUND, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. TO ME, THIS IS KIND OF A PROFILE HERE WITH AN EYE AND THEN A NOSE OFF TO THE SIDE. SO THIS IS A PARTY, THIS IS A PORTRAIT.
SO THIS ONE TAKES A LITTLE BIT DEEPER LOOKING TO SEE. IT IS A HOUSE, AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT YOU NOTICE WHEN YOU FIRST SEE IT, BUT THEN THIS GIANT OPEN WINDOW STARTS TO BECOME A MOUTH, PARTICULARLY WITH THE TWO EYES PERCHED ON TOP. WITH PITCHED ROOFS, THEY'RE LITTLE DORMERS, AND THE ROOF LINE LOOKS MAYBE LIKE EYEBROWS SORT OF RAISED UP IN SURPRISE. SO THIS IS THE OLDEST ARTWORK IN THE EXHIBITION, AND THAT KIND OF HAS A MYSTERY. WE ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW THE ARTIST AT ALL. THE YEAR IS 1851. AND WHEN I FIRST SAW IT, I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT FACE. AND MAYBE THAT'S ALSO BECAUSE THIS OBJECT, THIS MACHINE IS NOT SOMETHING AT LEAST I SEE EVERY DAY. IT'S A LOOM THAT'S USED TO MAKE FABRIC. I SAW IMMEDIATELY TWO EYES, TRIANGLE NOSE, HORIZONTAL MOUTH, MAYBE A LITTLE PARTY HAT OF SOME KIND.
I ACTUALLY TOOK A TRIP DOWN TO THE COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART A FEW YEARS AGO JUST AS A VISITOR, AND I REMEMBER THESE GIANT HEADS BEING IN THEIR CENTER FOR CREATIVITY. AND YOU COULD USE EVERY DAY FOUND OBJECTS TO STICK TO THE HEADS, THEY'RE METALLIC, TO MAKE A FACE. AND MUSEUM EDUCATORS ARE VERY KIND AND GENEROUS, SO I CALLED THEM UP AND SAID, "DO YOU STILL HAVE THOSE GIANT METAL HEAD THINGS, "WITH THE PANELS AND THE MAGNETS AND EVERYTHING?" AND THEIR EDUCATORS SAID, "YES, WE DO. "WE WOULD LOVE FOR PEOPLE TO EXPERIENCE THEM AGAIN." SO THESE ARE ON LOAN FROM THE COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART, AND I THINK THEY FIT IN PERFECTLY.
I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE TO THE PEOPLE WHO COME SEE THE EXHIBITION, BECAUSE I THINK ONCE YOU START NOTICING THESE THINGS IT WILL BE VERY HARD TO STOP NOTICING THEM. SO IF PEOPLE GO HOME OR THEY ARE WALKING AROUND TOWN AND THEY START SEEING THESE FACES, WE'RE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO SNAP A PHOTO AND THEN SHARE IT WITH US. THEY CAN HASHTAG #FINDAFACE AND TAG THE AKRON ART MUSEUM SO WE CAN START COLLECTING AND RE-POSTING AND SHARING ALL OF OUR FOUND FACES IN THE WORLD.
SO THIS EXHIBITION GIVES YOU A PARAMETER, AN IDEA THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR MIND WHILE YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE WORK. OKAY, I'M TRYING TO FIND A FACE. AND IT'S FUN AND IT'S A NICE CHALLENGE, AND IT GETS PEOPLE TO NOTICE DETAILS AND HONE IN ON THINGS THAT MAYBE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE NOTICED BEFORE. AND I REALLY LIKE ENCOURAGING VISITORS TO SEE THINGS IN A NEW WAY, GIVE A NEW PERSPECTIVE. AND I'M HOPING THAT ONCE THEY LEAVE, THEY DO THIS IN OTHER AREAS OF THEIR LIVES, TOO. LOOK AT THINGS WITH FRESH EYES.