Human Study #1, 3RNP

Human Study #1, 3RNP is an installation where the human becomes an actor. In a scene reminiscent of a life drawing class, the human takes the sitter’s role to be sketched by a number of robots. When the subject arrives, they are seated in a chair. An assistant attaches sheets of paper on to the robots’ desks and wakes each one up, twisting its arm.

The robots, stylised minimal artists, are only capable of drawing obsessively. Their bodies are old school desks on which the drawing paper is pinned. Their arms, bolted on the table, holding black Bic biros, are only able to draw. The robots, RNPs all look alike except for their eyes, either obsolete digital cameras, or lowres webcam. Their eyes focus on the subject or look at the drawing in progress. The drawing sessions last up to 20 min, during which time the human cannot see the drawings in progress. The sitter only sees the robots alternating between observing and drawing, sometimes pausing.

If you are interested in sitting for a 20 minute portrait session, please speak to a team member. Participation in this artwork is free and is first come, first serve. Portraits are available for sale.

The RNP was originally developed by Tresset to palliate a debilitating painter’s block. It could be seen as a creative prosthetic or a behavioral self-portrait. Even if the way the robots draw is based on Tresset’s technique, their style is not a pastiche of Tresset’s, but rather an interpretation influenced by the robots' characteristics.

The drawings become part of another artwork titled The Collection which already includes more than 36,000 drawings. You can view a sample of this these drawings displayed next to the artwork.

Patrick Tresset is a Brussels based artist who develops performative art installations with robotic agents as stylized actors.

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