Lillian F. Schwartz: The Morphing of Mona

Artist(s):

• Lillian F. Schwartz

Title:

The Morphing of Mona

Exhibition:

• SIGGRAPH 1998: Touchware

Creation Year:

1986-1997

Size:

57.5" x 36"

Category:

• 2D & Wall-Hung

Keywords:

• computer graphics
• history
• science

Artist Statement:

The morphing of Leonardo to Mona Lisa, 1987, could only have been realized with a computer. Lillian Schwartz split the faces of the Mona Lisa and Leonardo’s self-portrait down the middle, adjusting the sizes and juxtaposing them so that one side of Mona Lisa’s face matched Leonardo’s. Schwartz chronicles the evolution of the split-face from a study in composition to a convincing argument that the Mona Lisa is based on Leonardo’s self-portrait. Leonardo is still with us, uniting science and art.

Other Information:

Excerpted with permission by Barbara London, Lyon Biennial Exhibition Catalogue, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyon, France, December 1995

From the collection of Don Peterson, Lucent Technologies Bell Labs Innovations.