“But that face facing me, in its expression—in its mortality—summons me, demands me, requires me: as if the invisible death faced by the face of the other—pure alterity, separate, somehow, from any whole—were my business’ … the other is my neighbor.”
— Emmanuel Levinas,
from Alterity and Transcendence
I love sketching in the New York City subways. I notice so much more as soon as I start drawing. I no longer feel surrounded by strangers, but by specific humans, each carrying their own private histories, worries, burdens, and joys. As I trace a nose or jaw, the cut or flow of hair, I feel a momentary surge of affection for someone I will never see again. When I travel I always look forward to drawing on the train or bus, or even on a park bench. Suddenly, in Paris or Singapore, I no longer feel like a stranger. In that moment, the people I see around me are my neighbors.
Most people find other people’s faces interesting, as social animals we are kind of wired that way. Newborns will fixate on a configuration of shapes that is face-like and focus on their parents’ faces with surprising intensity. The “fusiform face area” is one of the few parts of the brain that is specialized for a specific function: it helps us recognize small details that identify familiar face. Most of us need no training to recognize either faces or facial expressions, at least among people who are familiar to us. But there’s a range in our facial recognition abilities, — I tend to be bad at it, which is perhaps why I have alway been so fascinated by drawing faces.
We scan the surface of faces for a slight downturn or lift of the upper lip, a widening or narrowing of the eyes. Micro-movements in facial features might communicate, or even betray, another’s emotional state.Most of us are better at detecting subtle differences and micro-expressions in those we know, and not so adept at recognizing people who don’t look like us or like people we know well. There is a well-documented “own-race bias.” This is a huge problem in the workplace, in the criminal justice system, and across society. When we are in a positive mood, we may get better at recognizing faces (and emotions) across differences. Maybe that’s another gift drawing has to offer us.
Sketch in public
Find a crowd, in a park, a food court, a playground, or some other public place. Draw with a pen. Focus on your subject and try not to look at your paper. Have a couple of portraits going at once, so if someone notices you drawing them and it feels uncomfortable you can quickly switch to someone else … or ask permission! People might ask you for your drawings of them. It’s nice if you don’t mind but you needn’t feel obligated.
