FAQs Answers: What is lifecasting?
A Brief History of Lifecasting

Definition: life•cast; (lif kast) n., [ME. < OE. lif, akin to ON. lif, life, G. leib, body] + [ME. casten < ON. kasta, to throw] 1. An artifact made by duplication of a living or non-living anatomy as opposed to a similar object made by craft (ie; carving, modeling, etc.). [a lifecast is a3 dimensional photograph] 2. Refers to a 2-part technique where a negative impression (mold) is formed from a living model and then this form is filled (cast) with a positive media (cement, plastic, wax, plaster, etc.) to create the finished object. ––v. 1. The act of sculpting such an artifact [lifecasting is fun!].

This is a historic art technique practiced by several ancient cultures. In Egypt for example, Pharaohs and other royal citizens would have their likenesses captured for eternity. It is rumored that the magnificent, gold likeness of Tutankhamen found in his tomb was originally taken by a direct impression method before being skillfully transferred into the precious metal. In much more recent times the Emperor Napoleon and others have similarly been immortalized, though usually also after death. Their faces thus frozen in the "serenity" of unconsciousness in what have come to be called "Death Masks".

The materials and techniques of past lifecast artists severely limited their work. They would smear their models' skin with animal fat and later, petroleum jelly to prevent the sticking which crude clays & plasters are notorious for. Not only did this obscure most of the fine skin detail but, resulted in the model loosing a great deal of hair as it was torn from the follicles when the plaster was pulled off. Plasters also cure by a chemical reaction called hydration which generates a great deal of heat. Enough heat, in fact to cause mild to severe burns to most human skin if not extremely careful. Also, of course, these materials get very hard, quite slowly, making them impossible to use for complex anatomies like the hands or to retain any semblance of a living expression which makes any work of portraiture meaningful.

Contemporary Approaches:

Within this century we have seen the emergence of miracle plastics such as the various urethanes and silicones. Some of these have been used for life casting by artists who cared little about the effects on their models' health. The skin is the largest organ of the human body and actively exchanges with its surrounding environment every second. Many polymers (the technical term for plastics) are extremely toxic in their liquid state and will easily penetrate skin to accumulate in the organs. This can cause immediate or delayed damage to human health and the immune system of the body.

Basically, anything that's not alright to eat in small amounts and that lasts for a long time like plastic, is not good to put on your skin either. There are a few exceptions such as the so called "skin safe" polymers which have molecules that are too large to pass through the pores of our skin. These are very expensive materials to be sure and I keep thinking about how many other times "the experts and authorities" have given their assurances about such things only to be befuddled by the true complexity of nature. And always at the expense of someone else's health. Other contemporary approaches rely on materials developed for dentists which work alright in small quantities but become pretty difficult to deal with in the quantities required for life casting. And they are typically quite expensive.

We have developed much better ways!

The magnificent death mask of Tutankhamen. Click the image to see more death or lifemasks of famous people.

One notable exception to the death mask is the Volk life mask of Abraham Lincoln which was made while Lincoln was still an Illinois lawyer. The mask was made on Saturday, March 31, 1860 and Lincoln said, "It's a process that was anything but agreeable".