Video: Self-Portrait Machine binds your hands then bends your will

Drawing faces is hard; and as children suckled at the teat of MTV we posses neither the patience nor the discipline required to learn the skill. So imagine our surprise to discover the Self-Portrait Machine, a device that snaps your photo and then forces you to draw your own face by dragging your bound hands around until the portrait is complete. Jen Hui Liao's project is the result of an observation that "our personal identities are represented by the products of the man-machine relationship." So it's like art and the intersection of philosophy... only it's not -- it's just a robot too lazy to make the portrait itself. See the video after the break.

[James @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:50AM]

I dont get the point of this. Why not just attach the pen to it without having your hand attached to it? Or even better just use a printer. I mean i see no point in having this force you to draw something youre not good enough to draw yourself. Either learn to draw or stick with photos.

[jeff @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:53AM]

Then it wouldn't be a self portrait machine now would it?

[Saad Rabia @ Jul 3rd 2009 4:00AM]

You know what is also a self portrait machine, jeff?

A digital camera and a printer.


I totally agree with James.

[nathandanielsn @ Jul 3rd 2009 4:38AM]

I think part of the point of this is that it would help teach you to draw. If you could draw it on your own you would never need it, however using this to draw pictures over and over your body would remember what would need done and you could begin to do it without the machine.

I personally think this thing would work great to teach yourself to be ambidextrious or better yet, with a few modifications you should be able to forge perfect signatures, lol.

[Chrisboff @ Jul 3rd 2009 5:44AM]

Except that this machine draws like no human i've ever seen before.

[Agent .25i @ Jul 3rd 2009 10:40AM]

Lame.

[sweet greggo @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:35PM]

@nathandanielsn

That guy could sit in that machine for a year and he still wouldn't be able to draw any better than he did before. This will teach you nothing. Artistic talent isn't learned. You can't teach your arms to draw from muscle memory. It's something you are born with. You can improve with practice and through learning techniques, but you have to be born with the talent.

And the way this thing is programmed it's shit to be used as a teaching aid, anyway. You don't draw by putting spots here, there and everywhere all over the paper. You start with basic shapes and build on them.

This thing is a novelty at best, and a kind of creepy novelty at that. I wouldn't feel very comfortable being hooked up to that.

[Ray @ Jul 3rd 2009 1:02PM]

@Chrisboff

Exactly, this machine draws in a way that no human would draw... maybe we could hook other machines up to this machine and teach other machines how to draw?

[maanderson @ Jul 3rd 2009 8:13PM]

Matrix

[ill trooper @ Jul 3rd 2009 8:49PM]

The point is that it's cool. Are you one of those guys that just doesn't care what color Crocs you wear, any will do, because, hey, they're all comfortable? Because it sounds like you might be. Sorry if you're an Uggs guy and I missed the mark.

[omidood @ Jul 4th 2009 9:03AM]

@sweet greggo

While I agree with you this machine will never teach anyone how to draw, that this is a novelty at best, the only way anyone ever learns to draw is by repetition. And yes everyone learns to draw. If you have talent then it only means you don't have to draw and repeat as many times before you get it down. Any one who has learned to draw knows it takes many many repetitions to figure out how to draw. Only no one draws sporadically like this machine, so no amount of repetition will stick.

[dmitr77 @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:51AM]

WOW. I wish i had something like this to draftt my architecture plans. :P
i guess it's not really drafting

[A.C.E.R. @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:54AM]

For some reason I find this hilarious...and I'm not even high.

[Gad Get @ Jul 3rd 2009 4:59AM]

It is quite funny, if you stop and think about it. Or if you don't. You could have a computer think about it for you, and then manhandle your mind toward the same conclusion. Then you wouldn't have to learn how to find ludicrousness funny.

[MrNuclear @ Jul 3rd 2009 5:25AM]

I'm high & I don't find thhis funnny

[Erb @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:58AM]

Imagine if they forced someone who loves bondage to draw bondage porn...

Screw that, I'm copyrighting that shit.

[HZ @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:59AM]

Now make it go super duper fast and we have a winner. (and some limbs around the room, too)

[Chitaniumu @ Jul 3rd 2009 4:16AM]

This is just a high tech Rube Goldberg machine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg_machine

[XIYL @ Jul 3rd 2009 4:46AM]

That's an oxymoron.

[MrNuclear @ Jul 3rd 2009 5:26AM]

XIYL, now that;s funny

[ddub @ Jul 3rd 2009 4:23AM]

This is only the first step. Next the robots murder millions of innocent people claiming it was done by your hand.

[PhotoFre@k @ Jul 3rd 2009 4:34AM]

That is kinda creepy in a way.

[kabbalah @ Jul 3rd 2009 6:31AM]

This is some kind of Art, right?

[Andi @ Jul 3rd 2009 4:40AM]

lets put a smile on that face

[Fred @ Jul 3rd 2009 5:15AM]

Hi, I'm a Philosopher and an Artist and if I make a machine and explain it with vague bullshit about our personal identities and the man-machine relationship people will think I'm interesting and important.

[Agent .25i @ Jul 3rd 2009 10:42AM]

Yup. Sad, aint it?

[Peter @ Jul 3rd 2009 6:36AM]

I agree that this is a pretty useless application of resources. Attach the pens to the structure, and let the machine do the work. The person is only providing a support mechanism for the pens.

1) The person is going to learn how to draw, just as likely as a cat will learn how to sing after you strap a CD player to it.
2) Unless the person is deluded, they won't be announcing to their friends: "I drew this"

*shrug* There are some amazingly good ideas for application of technology, and research is wasted on rubbish like this?

[ill trooper @ Jul 3rd 2009 9:11PM]

Actually, advances on a system like this could lead to an assist-system to help a surgeon to make the proper incisions, so maybe it's leading to more than your *shrug*, I guess.

And I think it's more of an art piece rather than 'money wasted on research,' but stay short-sighted, it's cute!

[Major4Play @ Jul 3rd 2009 6:54AM]

Someone tell this idiot he'll break his expensive CAD plotter if he keeps trying to hold the pen.

[peepeepants @ Jul 3rd 2009 7:12AM]

The machine is art itself. If one doesn't get that, one probably doesn't get the purpose of drawing a portrait by hand, either. A mirror is also a self portrait machine, as the image will always be there when viewed from an ideal angle, just like a painting/photograph. So why not just use mirrors for self portraits, right? The process and results of process are important aspects in art, which is why a watercolor painting done by an animal is worth much more than a photo put under the Watercolor filter in Photoshop. In this case, the process is the art.

I live and breathe art muthafuckaz!!!!!!!
http://www.nothinggg.com/donk

[zed @ Jul 3rd 2009 11:17AM]

Now I can draw a Jena Jameson portrait with my penis attached to this...

[ikemup @ Jul 3rd 2009 9:25PM]

HA HA HA!!

[Tim Legg @ Jul 3rd 2009 11:20AM]

This takes micro-management to a whole new level. Modify it to involve movements of fingers and thumbs and I know somebody who would be drooling to have one

[Webber @ Jul 3rd 2009 11:33AM]

Umm... can I go now? I finished drawing my picture an hour ago!
I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave.

[kuade @ Jul 3rd 2009 12:14PM]

can you say "Dutch Rudder"?

[Wwhat @ Jul 3rd 2009 1:04PM]

The labour party already want to make people controlled by machines mandatory, in a 'fight against terrorism' of course, no really, terrorism, to protect the kids, talking of kids, please make sure the government has their DNA samples before they are 2yo.

(Thought I'd have a go at the UK this time)

[Nishelle @ Jul 3rd 2009 2:22PM]

So now the robots are forcing us to draw, CREEPY!

[Valicore @ Jul 3rd 2009 3:28PM]

I'm waiting for a hacker to get into this and enable "Move extremities extremely quickly to break bones" mode.

[Str1ker @ Jul 3rd 2009 11:09PM]

Just use a plotter! This is just a waste of time.