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Potential of scanography for art making

Scanography remains a great way to make a portrait despite not being able to safely open one’s eyes.  One can position his or her head just above the scanner to produce a self-portrait.  The pitch-black background contrasts with one’s dimly lit face.  The sharpness in the picture makes this type of portraiture personal and distant at the same time. 

Scanography’s portrait manipulating qualities relate to painting as well.  One can distort his or her portrait by movement.  Francis Bacon, a British painter recognized for his ominous portraiture, distorts his face in his triptych titled, Three Studies for a Self-Portrait, 1979-80. Bacon’s triptych includes three self-portraits of each region of his face (left, center, and right) in front of a black background.  Bacon’s scumbly brushstrokes and skilled textures relate to the high definition and grainy textures seen in a scanograph. (Bacon’s triptych remains on display at the Met.) 

Three Studies for a Self-Portrait, 1979-80