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Researchers re-create Washington's face
2007-02-16
Researchers at Arizona State University and the University of Pittsburgh have mixed technology, art and science to re-create the real face of George Washington. Using anthropology, 3-D scanning and digital reconstruction, the 2 1/2-year project has culminated in new life-size figures of the nation's first president and some say the images are the most accurate yet of Washington at a younger age. There is Washington at age 19 as a land surveyor, Washington at 45 during the Revolutionary War, and Washington at 57 when he took the presidential oath. "The whole idea is to put science, history and art together and come up with the absolute best guess of what he looked like," said James Rees, executive director of George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate, which funded the project. ASU oversaw the 3-D scanning of historic artifacts that helped reconstruct the new Washingtons. Researchers used items that best represented his physical characteristics, including a statue, a bust and a mask created from a mold of his face. Guided by an anthropologist, they used computer software to reverse the aging process by filling in teeth, adding fat to his cheeks and smoothing wrinkles. They also aged him slightly for one image. "This was, like, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said Anshuman Razdan, a computer-science associate professor who led the nine-member ASU team. The new statues, along with the bust and mask made in the 1700s, represent the most realistic models to date of Washington, said lead researcher Jeffrey Schwartz, a forensic anthropology professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Schwartz knew Razdan from a previous visit to ASU and believed the university's expertise in digital 3-D would be ideal for the Washington project. ASU's Partnership for Research in Spatial Modeling, or PRISM, specializes in 3-D computer modeling and visualization. Since examining Washington's skeleton wasn't an option -- since he's buried at Mount Vernon in Virginia and the estate didn't want an exhumation -- the researchers relied on historical records and existing images. They steeped themselves in history by reading books and documents and traveled to examine Washington's dentures, clothing, a terra-cotta bust and a life-size statue. Razdan's team used a breadbox-size scanner to capture digital 3-D images of a mask and bust made when Washington was 53. The bust and mask, kept at Mount Vernon, are believed to be accurate representations of the former president because he told the sculptor he wanted them lifelike. Once the digital images were done, a New York City studio made clay molds of Washington's heads and fastened them to foam bodies dressed in period clothing. Artists sculpted wax faces and painted his eyes gray-blue. They added flush to his cheeks and attached hair, the color of which was matched to Washington's real hair in Mount Vernon's collection. Mount Vernon unveiled the statues last fall as part of a new education center. The technology used to re-create Washington could be replicated for other presidents and historical figures, although no project is under way. "You could do Lincoln, Jefferson, so many of our Founding Fathers," Razdan said. ___ Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com
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