Face Value?

The first flash of what would become "Project EDAN" sparked in my mind in 1987. An artist myself (not forensically trained), it was a product of my own ignorance of forensic art, and my desire to learn a better way.

My own (initial) dislike for the sketch of the "Tent Girl", etched into stone on her grave, caused great controversy in my mind. I thought it looked too cartoon-like, an "extreme caricature".

I drew my own sketch, based on what I thought she might have looked. An odd thing to do since I had nothing to serve as a model except for the very image I was trying to understand.

In time I learned to accept and even appreciate the original image, although it took several years of thought and research. But I realized that even if an artist creates an image that is scientifically accurate, that doesn't always have much effect on the eye of the beholder.

Like many people in the world, I didn't "see" the image as it was intended. And it took years, and ultimately seeing the actual face of the Tent Girl in images when she was alive and known as Barbara Hackman - Taylor. By then she had been dead for 30 years.

I knew if it took me that long to get the concept of forensic art, it must be a problem for others as well. I found over the years that often coroners and medical examiners avoid forensic art for fear of misrepresentation.

Like others, I was struggling to find a portrait in the vague sketch that was meant only to "resemble" the deceased. It's that hint of similarity that was to entice someone that might have known her, or reminded of her in their memories of someone else, perhaps a memory of Barbara.

I was not the person the image was originally designed to reach. I had no real lingering memory of the face of the woman gone before I was born. There should not have been any spark of recognition, yet somehow there was and I struggled to find the answer.

It was 14 years after the identification of the Tent Girl as Barbara that EDAN was born. By then I was also 3 years into membership of Cold Cases Yahoo Group where I had met many others like myself. That was also when I came to be an administrator with the newly formed Doe Network, an international database of unidentified remains. Many of the cases we encountered there also needed a face.

Naturally, the facial reconstructions drew my attention. Some were new, some old...clay and sketches. Some were vague and some very detailed. All too often, there was no sketch at all, and by now the lack of an image bothered me. I needed to look into a face--any face.

When I inquired, I often found the lack of a sketch was due to simply not knowing how to acquire the services of an artist, or lack of funding to hire an artist. I knew something had to help change this -- and soon. I needed volunteer help, but not the everyday volunteer. I decided to form a group of professional volunteers.

It did not take long to build a full team of eager artists. I was actually quite surprised at how willing the artists were to take on the challenge of pro-bono production.

I knew EDAN "Everyone Deserves A Name" had to provide more than just art, it had to provide understanding of the craft. Many times it is the investigating officer who makes the request for an image. Sometimes the medical examiner and coroner may not be a fan of forensic art so it turns more into a sales pitch than direct art service. A matter of "what harm can it do to try?"

If we can provide a face and continue to educate, that is much better than nothing. I've seen an ID evolve during a reconstruction, an ID initiated by the artist as the first one to see the face emerge from bare bone.

No two set of remains are created equal, they range from recently deceased to fragmented bones. The final product directly impacted by the condition in which the remains were found.

My final word to family members seeking a missing loved one among a collage of facial reconstructions? Look for a "familiarity" and then review the entire file. Seek a likeness rather than portrait, then dig deeper. The face is only the starting point, and nothing can be taken at face value.