Are You Human?
Are You Human?
acrylic, 24 x 36
(magnifying glass hangs vertically at side; thumbprint in center of canvas)
Most people identify themselves as human, but what does that mean? Physically we have certain traits—
i.e. hands, opposable thumbs, finger prints— but what does it mean to think or to feel like a human?
In “Are You Human?” I’m exploring conflicting factors in the human psyche.
Culturally, we use fingerprints as an identifier. From one point of view, a fingerprint can identify a criminal.
Are we, as humans, criminal in general? Doomed to repeat political and social injustices because we are
flawed, being “only human?”
Conversely, the fingerprint can also be a symbol for individuality. No two fingerprints are the same. People
are not identical machines. We each have our own conscious mind and our own emotions. We can feel
sympathy and empathy. Humans perform a balancing act, desiring to be unique, and also desiring to
belong in a community.
The hands represent interaction between people. Are we going to hurt each other, or help each other?
Will we crucify each other, or will we heal each other? Political and cultural conflict between groups of
people on a national scale, and genocide and wars between nations on a global scale, are examples of
infighting between what is biologically one species—a species which is still developing what it means to be
human and to share resources evenly. We are all in this together, and must draw on our optimistic ideas
of humanity.