How artificial?
How do different materials affect the relationship between the real and artificial hand, visually and tactilely? Holly was a fan of hand #1 - the first wooden hand, because it felt nice in her other hand and she like the appearance. Ceci, another friend, said it appealed because wood is a natural material and warm and expressive. This was in contrast to using plastic which personally, she said, seemed ‘fake’, perhaps meaning cold/ artificial/ cheap.
I went to visit Proportion Mannequins again recently and they kindly lent me a completely transparent hand, specially commissioned for a clothing retailer. The two images above demonstrate different levels of artificiality. On the right is the Proportion hand and on the left is wooden hand #6, which has had some fingers replaced by plastic ones. How do these hand interact/relate differently with their real counterparts? Is it acceptable or desirable to use plastic or even have a completely transparent hand? What other materials might be nice to the touch or pleasant to look at?
Another interesting feature of the articulated hand is that it that the joints are modular, meaning that you can pop out the finger segments. This means you could embed jewellery or have segments cast in gold or silver if you wished to embellish your hand in a particular way. Any thoughts?
