There was not an obvious connection between the 21-foot tall resin “Heartless Man” and the 3D-printed giant faces of artist Yin Peet at the opening reception on Sunday, August 30 at the YV Museum on Quarry Road. However, as one listened to Yin Peet speak about the two distinct exhibits, along with 3D collaborator Greg Sirokman, a theme began to emerge.
Peet invited us to consider the huge heartless man not as someone without a heart, but rather as someone without judgment. His two oversized hands, one open, representing trust, and the other closed, representing fear, together speak of the way we choose to interact with the world. We are all both, but if we can strive to be as fully without judgment as we can, we position ourselves to allow our curiosity to surface, and to be open to possibility. Perhaps Peet might consider “open-hearted” as a way to describe her sculpture and aspiration.
As one enters the storage container that houses the 3D exhibit of the faces of Peet, one is greeted by some of the wildly colorful byproducts of the printing, scraps decorating the space and exuberantly greeting the visitor. The four faces depict Peet first as a young child, next at 16, the third at 68 (present), and the fourth projected at age 95. Bohan Chen contributed sound work to the exhibit.
One sees the images through the variety of color of the filament. Peet worked with Sirokman, the technical mastermind, to collaborate with the four printers that worked non-stop from March until the night before the exhibit opened. Peet notes that the printers worked while she slept, but it was still a lot of work, not less. She had to oversee and monitor the process the entire time, making adjustments and changes as needed.
The images were put together in pieces, as neither Peet nor Sirokman owns a printer vast enough to make a single 3D image the size Peet’s vision entailed. The orientation of each piece depended on the portion of the face it was creating, and how it could best be released, without areas that might drip. Sirokman notes that although he has some misgivings about AI, it is a powerful tool, too powerful to ignore, and that they used it to help create the pieces.
“AI tends to beautify an image,” Peet remarks. “But I wanted an accurate representation of myself at these ages.” Thus they needed to modify what AI suggested from the photographs they fed it. “It took multiple iterations to get close to the image I wanted.”
Sirokman notes that ChatGPT corrects itself. It “wants” you to engage with it so it tries to be complimentary.
The 3D prints are made of FDM: filament deposition modeling. It pushes the filaments and shapes it, stacking layers upon layers. The steeper a surface, the more tightly packed the layers, creating a smoother surface. When there is more of a slant or angle, the layers are more evident. The filament comes out of the printer very hot (215 degrees Celsius) but extremely thin, so it cools very quickly, and the built-in fan assists with the cooling. The rolls of filament usually take 15-16 hours to print, sometimes up to 36 hours.
Peet declares that this project took longer than any work she has created. The technology has its limitations, and she views the machines as having their own lives/their own voices, and that they are part of the collaboration. The colors were assigned mostly randomly. Peet would reach into the box of filament and pull out a color, so she invited chance into the mix as well.
It is in Peet’s process, and willingness to try something completely unfamiliar, that the link is made to the Heartless (Open-Hearted) Man. She is living the demonstration to embrace the unknown, and partner with it in order to create art that is as much reflective of AI, and Sirokman, as it is her own vision. Rather than insisting on it being solely her own, she has expanded her repertoire, as well as Sirokman’s, and the machines’. With her guidance, they created a celebration of color, innovation and curiosity, resulting in an art exhibit that makes you catch your breath as you gaze upon the riot of color, and the progressing images of Peet’s face.
If we are able to enter in a defenseless, relaxed manner, with both hands open, we are able to fully appreciate the experiment and remarkable achievement that resulted from Peet’s own open hearted approach to her work and her life.
The exhibit will be on display until March 1, 2027; details on website. . Treat yourself to a feast for the eye and the invitation to question what is possible when we ask, and listen to, what ourselves and others might offer.
Meg Stafford is an award winning author of two memoirs, speaker, storyteller and columnist. Her forty years as a licensed psychotherapist have provided invaluable insight into the quirks and passions of the human experience.
