Gesture and Sign Language

While searching for articles on Artificial Intelligence and computer modeling, I came across a rather unusual book where the proceedings of a conference in Germany were compiled. The title of the book is “Gesture and Sign Language in Human-Computer Interaction”. The conference was held in Germany in 1997 and was called the “International Gesture Workshop.”

International Gesture Workshop! That was enough for me to get side-tracked in my search and learn more about human gestures and modes of expression.

… Having grown up around the Mediterranean Sea it is easy for me to understand the role and importance of gestures during a conversation. In fact I think that if the nations around that bluest of all seas had no language at all, they could perfectly communicate, interact and debate any topic using their hands, arms and body gestures!

I learned that there is an entire science behind all this. What I call gestures is defined as “spatial information”. And the parameters determining this spatial information are: hand movements, hand shape, hand location, orientation of the hand vis à vis the body, and facial expression.

…Needless to say I started thinking about some pictures I have taken only because I was interested in the position or orientation of the hand or arm and the story that simple gesture suggested.

Here are a couple of unpublished pictures.

The arm of this woman is perfectly positioned to express the pleasure of watching the ocean waves on a sunny day. Of course one can also say that she might have been depressed, unhappy, or otherwise aloof and that all she was doing was holding her hair on a windy pier. Maybe. But for me it was a message of relaxation and pleasure.

This fisherman saw me holding my old camera and smiled. Was he also a photographer? Did he own that 1970’s Nikon lens I was using? And while he was contre-jour (see the flare of my old lens diaphragm on his chest) I pointed the camera at him. He raised his left arm holding the fishing line in his hand. No words were spoken but he seems to be saying “No fish but isn’t it a beautiful day?”

For me it was his interest in my camera and lens that was important, not the fish or empty line.

Needless to say I have taken many pictures intrigued by body language. That is what a street photographer does as he searches for a story. Yet, my most cherished body language photo taken in the street is not of a human. Neither of a dog. It is the picture of a tiny Mantis I took years ago with a Ukrainian Salyut medium format camera. Here it is:

When I saw the Mantis on the sidewalk I stopped to look, and got close to see better. It was at that moment that it “stood up” and assumed the perfect posture of a pugilist! I had never seen such a reaction before. Was I being anthropomorphic in interpreting his “spatial information”?

Here is more about that encounter: http://liveingray.blogspot.com/2013/10/fighting-mantis.html

… So what will I do next time I see someone expressing a feeling or desire using hand, arm, facial or body expressions? My guess is that I will have a camera hanging around my neck and my own body language will be: hold the camera to your face, turn the focus ring of the lens with your left hand, use your right index to depress the shutter, use your right thumb to rewind the film, and walk away as if nothing had happened!!!

April 17, 2015
©Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2015