Faces Within

Here is the other thing about faces—it doesn’t have to be a whole face to draw our attention. As mentioned on Wednesday, there just needs to be an eye.

You are drawn to the eyes on this interestingly sculpted scarab beetle, aren’t you? I don’t know about you but it took me half a second to realize these big, bright eyes are part of two halves of a face, one that would be whole if the wings were closed. And this isn’t some clever composition by the artist. This is something nature actually does.

Circling back to Monday’s explanation about why we are drawn to faces, eyes and faces on the back of various insects are also based in survival. Any potential predators looking at the face they see on the back of these insects may think they are being looked at and surmise that this may be the face of a much larger creature.

In artwork,  like with this beetle sculpture by Mary Hager, these distracting faces make for delightful little discoveries within the sculpture. Mary works in wood, paper, air-dry clay, wire, beads, fabric, and paint to create her colorful creations. And these are not jewelry. These are good-sized sculptures, maybe one and a half to two feet high (45-60cm).

To see more and read about her process, go to her website here.