Abstract:
The face is our most basic medium of sociality. Like every medium, it is what stands in the middle, both connects and separates—connects by virtue of separating—producing commonality while maintaining its in-betweenness. It is possible to identify three functions of the face as a medium: it is the surface by which we appear, the interface through which we interact, and the face-to-face in which we care for others. Regarding the face as a medium is meant here as a heuristic tool, with the aim of offering some reflections on the way technical media configure the social life of the face.
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