Most people would not consider a selfie to be a “self portrait” in the artistic sense, so the article was an interesting read, as it notes how there are some universal principles of self-depiction that have held up from Renaissance times’ paintings to modern day selfies. The article identifies parallels in technological, social themes, “underlying psychological factors”, and other shared properties of creating self-depictions that have been passed down through the centuries.
There is clearly a difference in the technical skill, time, and materials used for creating traditional self portraits and selfies. Paintings take a lot of time, effort, planning, and capital (which is why portraits were usually reserved for the wealthy, or artists who could do it themselves). This is very different from selfies; most of us are able to snap 100+ selfies in no more than a few seconds of our time and effort. Both offer certain benefits - a painting is truly a testament to the skill and effort of the artist, it can have a lot of fine details that carry significant meaning to the artist. A selfie is more spontaneous, so it offers a more candid, possibly less romanticized version of reality.
Still, people are critical of selfies as an art form, because it does not involve the same time and investment capital that painting does. It is also an argument that the vast quantity of selfies one individual is able to produce consequently devalues them. I dislike both of these arguments. If every painting Van Gogh painted would have marginally decreased the value of his other paintings, should he have stopped painting? No ! The meaning attributed to one piece of art is not affected by other art produced because art is not a generic product subject - every piece of art is unique - there is good art and bad art, good selfies and bad selfies. It's up to the viewer to determine that. I think some are critical of selfies because they represent vanity or narcissism. But if that argument applies to selfies, it should also apply to traditional self portraits as well. But thats a ridiculous argument, because self portraits carry more meaning than just self representation.
Imagine if we criticized Frida Kahlo for “vanity” - this painting represents so much more than just depicting Frida - it is a symbol of feminism, challenging traditional expectations of femininity, and so much more.
This Andy Warhol piece is more than just a self portrait - it is a representation of the pop art movement as a whole
Further, selfies are by no means the same as painted portraits - but that doesn’t mean they’re not an art form in their own way. It takes skill to take a good selfie. If I compare the selfies I have taken this year in 2023 to the selfies I took on my first phone back in 7th grade - the later would be laughable, and a testament to their time period. Half were probably blurry, or way too close to the camera, or only showing half of my face. It takes time and effort to learn the best angles and lighting to photograph ANY subject, especially something as complex as a human face.
Moreover, I think selfies can be a good representation of the cultural context they were taken in - selfies can show a lot of things: What was the fashion/style like at the time? What was included in the photo ? (just face or any props?) What platform was the selfie shared on? What is the social/political climate at the time? What is that person experiencing in their life at that moment?
Seemingly trivial questions, but a selfie can say a lot more than meets the eye.
Let's look at this selfie :
20 years ago, this photo would mean basically nothing, just a picture of 3 men. But today, within our current cultural context, it has a lot of symbolic meaning: because we know who Kanye West is as an artist, and to an extent what he represents. We also know what the red Make America Great Again hat means in regards to the political climate in the US. If we do some more digging, we find the other two men are Lucian Grainge and Lyor Cohen, two HUGE executives in the music industry. This selfie is a seemingly innocuous picture that carries a lot of symbolism and meaning given the right context.
Another selfie that has meaning from the cultural context :
This picture of Former Danish prime minister, then-President Barack Obama, and ex-UK leader David Cameron in 2013 snapping a selfie at a memorial for Nelson Mandela. At the time it caused controversy - over their actions & Michelle Obama's annoyed look.
Heres another selfie, from makeup artist Ines, who used selfies to document her transformations using makeup.
Finally, even a simple selfie can have meaning. I just grabbed this picture off of Pinterest, but there's hundreds like it on every social media platform.
Seemingly ordinary, but there were a lot of choices that went into this picture. Every item of clothing was specifically chosen - the baggy khaki cargo pants & loose earth-toned knitwear paired with the super colorful and eye catching phone accessories, the symbol on her backpack, and the stuffed toys hanging from her belt and bag. They all have cultural significance and they represent something about the selfie- taker. This photo is a testament to today's youth and subculture fashion - a form a self expression and an art in its own form.
I think a lot of the hatred for selfies comes from the fact that they are so accessible. Nearly everyone and anyone can take a selfie, which might remove the sense of supremacy that has long been associated with the ability to capture ones likeness in a self portrait. If everyone can do it, it must be less special, and therefore not worthy of being art? But as I said before, every piece of art must be judged as an individual. There are good selfies and bad selfies - but that does not discredit the art form as a whole.
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