Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you will :
- Develop your critical thinking about the selfies
- Know the difference between selfportrait and selfie
- Be aware of the concepts of self-exposure and publication
Selfies come from a long history of self portraits in painting.
Portraits in art history
Exemples of self portraits
Artists express their own visual identity through self-portraits.
Link : https://mymodernmet.com/famous-self-portraits/
The first Selfie
The picture considered by many to be the first photographic portrait ever taken was a « selfie ». The image in question was taken in 1839 by an amateur chemist and photography enthusiast from Philadelphia named Robert Cornelius.
History of the selfie
Until the 19th century, apart from their reflection in the water, most people never saw their face.
Mirrors have been around for thousands of years, but they were reserved for the bourgeoisie.
The massive commercialisation of mirrors and photography has changed the way we look at our faces.
The first identity photographies :
People even sometimes took the identity photo of someone else, as they didn’t know how they looked like.
The Art History of the Selfie
Selfie is slang for Self-Portrait.
The definition of the word today is : a photographic self-portrait taken on a mobile device with a front-facing camera and shared via social media.
2003 : Smartphones have cameras, and people turn them to take pictures of themselves.
2010 : Front facing camera allows more control of the picture.
2013 : The word selfie is in the dictionary.
2022 : Statistics today
- 92 million selfies are taken every day, accounting for 4% of all the photos taken (2.3 billion) daily.
- Over 50% of millennials have published a selfie at least once. Over 95% of young adults have taken a selfie.
- Individuals spend 54 hours a year (or 7 minutes a day) taking selfies.
- People smile in 60% of selfies.
- An average “selfie-taker” is 24 years old.
- Women take 1.5 times more selfies than men.
Questions ?
- How many Selfies do you take a week? What do you do with them? If you don’t take Selfies, why not?
- What, do you think, is the reason why taking Selfies has become so popular? Is there a downside to the taking and sharing of Selfies?
- What are the rules or conventions for taking a Selfie?
- Where do these come from? Is it OK to break these rules?
Analyzing a selfie
- Who is taking the Selfie?
- Where is s/he taking it?
- What is reflected in the astronaut’s helmet?
- What’s the bright object behind his/her head?
Analyzing a selfie
- Who is taking the Selfie?
- Where is s/he taking it?
- What makes this Selfie so special?
Analyzing a selfie
- Who is taking the Selfie?
- Where is s/he taking it?
- What makes this Selfie so special?
Analyzing a selfie
Link : https://floraborsi.com/selfie-1
- Who is taking the Selfie?
- Where is s/he taking it?
- What makes this Selfie so special?
Selfie as a visual language
Selfie dysmorphia
Objectives of the selfie
Self-exposure
Showing yourself to others, taking a self-portrait, asserting your identity.
Share a moment, a place, an action, to say « I was there, at such and such a time, with such and such a person. »
But also a direct communication tool !
For celebrities : bypass journalists and communicate directly with their audience.
The selfie is also used to make claims and convey strong messages.
In art
Express your visual ideas …. and do art !
#1 : My Identity Selfie !
You will think about your selfie : how to express your identity in a picture representing yourself.
- Where are you ? Who are you with ?
- How is the image composed ?
- What feelings do you want to share ? What part of your identity do you want to assert ?
- What do you want to show ? What do you want to hide ?
Bonus : Shoot it and share it with us !
#2 : My Action Selfie !
You will think about your selfie : what action do you want to take ? What problem do you want to show to the world ?On which subject do you want to raise awareness ?
- Where are you ? Who are you with ?
- How is the image composed ?
Bonus : Shoot it and share it with us !
#3 : Spooky Selfie !
You will think about your spooky selfie : which monster are you transformed in ?
- Who are you ? Who are you with ?
- How is the image composed ?
- What are the main colours in your picture ?
Bonus : Shoot it and share it with us !
