Profile
2017
Lenticular print
46 x 62 in (116.8 x 157.5 cm)
Unique edition

Profile is a lenticular print designed by Philippe Safire that visualizes voter demographics—by race and gender—in America. The artist constructed the silhouette of a Presidential candidate against a blue sky waving to the audience. Using data from the 2016 exit polls, Safire translated the numbers into no less than 12,000 color pixels: 4,440 white pixels (white women), 4,080 cyan pixels (white men), 840 red pixels (black women), 600 yellow pixels (black men), 720 magenta pixels (latino women), 600 black pixels (latino men), 720 green pixels (others.) The artist’s creative process simulated the painstaking vote count of democratic elections. In Profile, Philippe Safire digitally combined three frames into a single image. As a result, an animation-like effect is produced with a vibrant mix and overlay of colors as the viewer contemplates the artwork from different angles. Safire invites the viewer to examine the embodiment of America’s multicultural society.

12,000 pixels
As part of the 2016 exit polls, Edison Research collected from 24,558 respondents the following results based on race and gender: 37% white women, 34% white men, 7% black women, 5% black men, 6% latino women, 5% latino men, 6% others. For the making of Profile, Philippe Safire converted these numbers into pixels and assigned a specific color to each group.

Artwork commissioned by ArtsWestchester for the exhibition “Give Us the Vote,” October 7, 2017-February 10, 2018.