The Human Camera
Stephen Wiltshire has been called the “Human Camera.” In this short excerpt from the film Beautiful Minds: A Voyage into the Brain, Wiltshire takes a helicopter journey over Rome and then draws a panoramic view of what he saw, entirely from memory. Incredibly, however, Wiltshire does not have a photographic memory (according to this article, no one does). While his drawings possess uncanny accuracy — he gets the number of arches in the Colliseum exactly right — they are not like a Xerox. As Oliver Sacks writes in his book An Anthropologist On Mars
May 1st, 2006 at 6:56 pm
I am dying to see this film. I, like many others, read about Mr. Wiltshire in Oliver Sacks’ book and was fascinated by his incredible talent.
The fact that he is able to create a piece of this magnitude absolutely boggles the mind. This man is truly a superhuman.
May 1st, 2006 at 7:24 pm
If he were put in a round room, with the walls covered in text, would he reproduce the words in sequence? Or would he lay in clusters of letters based on their spacial location?
May 1st, 2006 at 10:45 pm
If this is the savant I think it is, a wall of text would mean nothing to him… that is, he would not reproduce it.
His particular autism deals specifically with architecture and city planning, and has indeed spent much of his life creating similar city drawings.
May 1st, 2006 at 11:00 pm
I wish I could draw a decent picture of anything that’s still in front of me. An apple, a dollhouse, a human face or hand, heck, a simple cube would be fine. People are amazing. I can remember phone numbers. Lots of them. It’s a neat trick, and people use me, because I’m faster than a phone book, but I really just want to be able to draw.
May 1st, 2006 at 11:24 pm
I have a photographic memory too. I just need new film….
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:15 am
Stephen Wiltshire- Human Camera…
Wiltshire takes a helicopter journey over Rome and then draws a panoramic view of what he saw, entirely from memory….
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:26 pm
I like stuff.
May 2nd, 2006 at 2:38 pm
[...] Stephen Wiltshire is an autistic man who can draw like crazy. I first read about him in Oliver Sacks’ ANTHROPOLOGIST ON MARS. In a recent documentary, they flew him in a helicopter over Rome, and he sat down afterwards and drew a panoramic view of the city. [...]
May 2nd, 2006 at 3:41 pm
[...] From the documentary Beautiful Minds: A Voyage into the Brain, savant Stephen Wiltshire takes a 45-minute helicopter ride over Rome, seeing it for the first time. For the next five days, he draws a remarkably accurate panorama of city on a fifteen-foot long sheet of paper. Link [...]
May 2nd, 2006 at 6:06 pm
the linked article says:
“Like other savant artists, Stephen’s work depicts exactly what he sees without embellishment, stylization, or interpretation. He makes no notes; impressions are indelibly and faithfully inscribed from a single exposure…”
while the above blurb says
“His pictures in no sense resembled copies or photographs, something mechanical and impersonal — there were always additions, subtractions, revisions, and of course, Stephen’s unmistakable style. … ”
which is correct?
May 3rd, 2006 at 6:53 am
[...] From the documentary Beautiful Minds: A Voyage into the Brain, savant Stephen Wiltshire takes a 45-minute helicopter ride over Rome, seeing it for the first time. For the next five days, he draws a remarkably accurate panorama of city on a fifteen-foot long sheet of paper. Link [...]
May 7th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
the linked article says:
“Like other savant artists, Stephen’s work depicts exactly what he sees without embellishment, stylization, or interpretation. He makes no notes; impressions are indelibly and faithfully inscribed from a single exposure…”
while the above blurb says
“His pictures in no sense resembled copies or photographs, something mechanical and impersonal — there were always additions, subtractions, revisions, and of course, Stephen’s unmistakable style. … ”
which is correct?
The second one. It’s very clear if you take a look at the up-close pictures of the drawings that are avalible on his website.
May 23rd, 2006 at 9:54 pm
[...] Near-perfect visual recall in a human. [...]
October 25th, 2006 at 3:45 am
Kona Coffee…
[...]Home schedule pageant sponsors grades brewing buttons history media photos. Recipes driving tour cupping seals program links konacoffee the best prices on pure kona coffee gourmet coffee shi[...]…
May 5th, 2007 at 4:34 am
Being a human camera to the world is a beautiful experience. It’s educational, inspirational and life rewarding. I’m glad to know there are other people who share such an extraordinary mind.
June 9th, 2007 at 2:23 am
Cingular Ringtones…
[...]…
July 29th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
i have been savaged