ARTD2038 Introduction to Visual Culture
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Added on 2021-01-08
ARTD2038 Introduction to Visual Culture
Added on 2021-01-08
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1ARTD2038Introduction to Visual Culture27253449Shao-Chi, WuSelf-expression-From Self-portrait to Selfie
2ContentHistory of self-portrait.................................p.3 Contemporary Portrait Photographs.....p.4The Rise of Selfie................................................p.5 Filtered Reality..................................................p.6Selfies on Social Media..................................p.7Controversies....................................................p.8Funeral Selfie Nude Selfie CatfishingJoan CornellàConclusion........................................................p.10Bibliography.....................................................p.11
3History of self-portrait Self-portraiture has a long history in portrait art. It was a form for artists to create their own image in a wide variation. Self-portraits, for artists of the modern era, are name cards to showcase their characters and spirits, which were usually regarded to be motivated by commercial and self-promotional purpose. Therefore, self-portraits in a way were also infused with emotional elements.One of the oldest and an iconic self-portraiture is the “Self-portrait in A Convex Mirror”, which was created by the Italian artist Parmigianino in approximately 1524 (Rettberg 2014). The artist used oil paints and painted the reflection of his portrait showing in a convex mirror from a barber shop, instead of painting the actual subject of him. Parmigianino painted this art work on a hollow side of a wooden ball, to imitate the curve of the convex mirror. Due to the distortion of the convex mirror, he painted the hand that he placed in the foreground in a larger proportion. Although the “hero” of this work is the painter himself, the focal point that grabs the audience’s attention would be the protruded hand (Mirzeoff, 2015).According to Leonardo Da Vinci, “a painter is supposed to be like a mirror, which is transformed into as many colours as are placed before it, and in doing this, he will seem to be a second nature” (Bambach et. al., 2003). In the piece, Parmigianino looked directly and firmly to the audience. The reflection of the con-vex mirror was how Parmigianino saw himself; as an ambitious and confident 21 years old artist. Nowadays, human adapt digital devices and social media to observe and take records about fractions of daily life. Just like the convex mirror and oil paints to Parmigianino, technologies reflect a version of who we see we are.The “Self-portrait in A Convex Mirror” was donated to Pope Clement VII afterwards (Viola, 2007). This indi-cates that the work of portraits and self-portraits are for sharing. To a certain extent, this as well established the concept of selfie is for phatic communion and to be sociable.Figure 1: Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror (Parmigianino, 1524)
4Contemporary Portrait Photographs Self-portraits were limited to affluent and powerful group in the modern era (Mirzeoff, 2015). In 1839, with the invention of photography, this has replaced portrait oil painting considerably, which is a new genera-tion of self-portrait in visual culture (ibid). The development on creating affordable portrait photographs has influenced the portrait art. In addition, the decrease of volatility of self-portrait has rapidly tackled down to the mass. This results into the emergence of multiple legendary photographers in the 20th century.Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) is one of the most prestigious British Portrait Photographers of the 20th century. His contribution to the portrait photography field has flown over 5 decades, and his work has influenced multiple contemporary photographers such as David Bailey and Mario Testino (National Portrait Gallery, 2016). The sitters of Beaton’s portrait photographs catered for various fields of celebrities, from world lead-ers to film stars. Beaton devoted himself as a fashion photographer and had a tight connection with the fashion magazine Vogue (Davies, 2010). He had created an array of renowned celebrity portraits, including Twiggy, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn (National Portrait Gallery, 2016).Beaton has a distinctive and unique image of his work being elegant but glamourous and decorative. He has been described having “brutally honest” opinion when taking photographs, since Beaton observed his subjects deeply meanwhile holding a critical point of view (Lindsey, 2014). Although being harsh, that was because Beaton was always prepared to capture the best moment of his subjects. A portrait can never be flawless, however, putting endeavour on the shooting angle, lighting fusing with emotions, it can minimise the drawbacks, and create a coherent overview. The editor of Portraits and Profiles Hugo Vickers stated that “Beaton observed faults and then worked to eliminate them” (ibid). Beaton was sophisticated that he could convey the message his subjects were attempted to demonstrate through his photographs, and uttered the outfits on his models at the same time. Therefore the characters Beaton had can always lift his work up.Figure 2: Marilyn Monroe (Beaton, 1956)Figure 3: Twiggy (Beaton, 1967)
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