How Do People Age?

What age would you like your loved one? This is one of the first questions I ask in a sculpture commission. It is essential to know what they expect. There was one commission where the son brought his dad to my studio. The dad was in his late 60's. I took photographs all around the subject. Taking photographs all around helps me to be able to create a sculpture that looks like the subject from all sides. I made an exact likeness, and when I showed the son, he said, "that is not what I want." I showed him the pictures against the artwork, and he said, indeed, I had done my job, but he really wanted an image of his dad as he remembers him. 

What? 

That is a different story entirely. So, he sent pictures of his dad, my client, and the subject's son was in the photos. He is about 7 or 8 years old in those photographs. I guess we remember our parents at a certain age. and that is what he did. So, I had to de-age the sculpture. 

I have studied aging in detail in something called forensic art. It is a fascinating process. 

What does that mean? Well, it is a well-known fact that our noses and ears get longer as we age. EWWW what? Yep, it is one of the reasons I don't wear earrings. I don't want anything to pull those ears down any more than gravity and nature will. Watch this video by Marc Brunet about the aging of a face. 

Here is a cool piece of art that shows a subject's aging as you walk around it. It is fascinating to watch, and I wish I could see it in person. According to My Modern Met, creating this art is not done digitally but traditional painting but done on strips. The one likeness is painting on one side of the strip and the other on the other side. Fascinating. 

For anyone interested in learning Forensic Art the book by Karen Taylor is wonderful.