Cube Portraits: Chicago, San Francisco, Miami

Portraiture has historically been a means to immortality for the sitter. Traditionally portraits are staged, single moments bound by the time in which the individual modeled for the artist. Lincoln Schatz builds on this tradition with a new multi-disciplinary work, Cube, that combines attributes of architecture, sculpture, new media, relational aesthetics, and performance to create contemporary portraits through video and computer technology.

Cube, a 10’ x 10’ translucent architectural structure, extends from the artist’s formal background as a sculptor and draws on his more recent practice in generative video memory artworks. It is designed with 24 video cameras mounted at varying heights within the structure. During a one-hour sitting, digital capture from each video camera is streamed to a computer that houses the artist’s proprietary software. The resulting portrait is compiled from thousands of randomly selected video files and presented on a plasma screen powered by a computer

Acknowledging the tradition of portraits as biographical, Cube subjects are encouraged to represent their personalities, interests, and values in whatever capacity they choose. Lincoln Schatz collaborates with the participants to help them develop their own conceptual approach to an hour inside.