Strangers across the world connect by drawing each other

by Lauren O'Neil Posted: March 13, 2013 2:41 PM Last Updated: March 13, 2013 4:05 PM

Categories: Community, Science & Technology

View the story "Strangers across the world connect by drawing each other " on StorifyStrangers across the world connect by drawing each other Storified by CBC News Community· Wed, Mar 13 2013 11:21:39ImgurFor all of the criticism hurled toward social media for making us less, well, social in real life, one of the web's most redeeming qualities remains its ability to connect people from across the globe.

The creators of a new collaborative art project called Selfless Portraits are trying to bridge that "gap between technology and humanity" by encouraging strangers from around the world to draw eachothers' Facebook profile pictures.
#selflessportraits this is Mariana from Brazil. I've never met her in my life, but this the picture I drew of her using #sketchbookpro in return for someone else drawing my Facebook profile picture... Join in! You can use whatever medium you like... #illustration #portrait #connect #random oh yeah, she wasn't dressed up as a cat in the original... I just liked that.Sophie Sheffield"On Facebook you're connected, but you're still kind of separated from the screen by this layer of technology," said one of the project's founders, Jeff Greenspan to BetaBeat. "So we thought, 'Is there a way people can use this technology as a human experience?' Well, the Facebook profile is a very human visual part of the Facebook experience. What if you actually stopped and ponder one of them?"Greenspan, a chief creative officer at Buzzfeed in New York, launched the project with San Francisco-based artist Ivan Cash in mid-February.

To date, their site has produced over 12,000 community-drawn portraits from people in 90 different countries, many of which can be viewed in the website's extensive portrait gallery.ImgurThe way it works is simple; users register to participate at selflessportraits.com, upload their own Facebook profile photo, and recieve another user's photo to draw in the style of their choice.

Participants have 48 hours to draw the stranger they've been assigned. Once finished, their own artistic portrait (along with the name and Facebook contact information of the person who created it) is revealed.
Jason Sturgill from Oregon, USA#drawing #selflessportraitsAndré Dantas"People seem genuinely excited enough to put real time and effort into their work," said Cash to co.EXIST. "A Brazilian graffiti artist posted a YouTube video showing the making of his portrait. An illustrator in Amsterdam challenged herself to making one portrait every morning."Drawing Mayara for the Selfless Portraits project (sped up)baschzi just drew the randomly picked but oh so fitting my style floginha Mayara from Brazil for selflessportraits.comBaschz LeeftCash appears to be right.

Not only are many people changing their Facebook profile pictures to reflect the stranger's artistic interpretation, many are sharing evidence of their involvement in the project on Twitter and Instagram as well.
Mais um do www.SelflessPortraits.comDoug from Noord-Holland, Netherlands.#drawing #selflessportraitsAndré DantasFor @Sophielovetea especially! My first 'selfless portrait' - have a go at http://selflessportraits.com http://pic.twitter.com/gNQMDr14UnJeanette SuttonFazendo um desenho para o aplicativo do face Selfless Portraits!Mariana Hoffmanmais uma pérola do selfless portraits hauahauaha eu amo essa brincadeiraaa #selflessportraits #portraitCarol AlvesSpending my Sunday drawing a stranger #selflessportraits #illustration #drawing #art #portrait #creative #lettering #instagood #instagramhubShannon SnowMy latest #selflessportraits masterpiece: http://pic.twitter.com/7BKpNKYBRiNick MaschmeyerViciado no #SelflessPortraitsDanilo MatosNose fixed & I'm submitting- hope he digs it (he has to, he's holding a dinosaur w/ sunglasses) #selflessportraits http://twitpic.com/c98jgnNoahOMG I look good #selflessportraitsJen LuIf you've participated in the Selfless Portraits project, we'd love to see the result! Share your photos with us in the CBC Your News Community photo gallery!

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