Selfie: A Purely Narcissistic Phenomenon Or A Way Of Communication And Personal Empowerment
The selfie has become a phenomenon of our time, and the act of taking it has become an art form. But what is the reason behind posting a selfie? In today's selfie consumed world most people would consider someone's excessive visual social media use as narcissistic, conceited or vain. On the contrary, many individuals believe a selfie is the modern way of self-exploration. Used as a means of conveying emotion, storytelling or simply showing off a new beauty look, selfies have become the pivotal form of digital self-expression. Through comparing early depictions of self-photographs to the modern-day selfie many examples are proving that the selfie should not just be seen as narcissistic but as a way of communication and also self-empowerment.
It is undeniable that the selfie craze has caught on and is taking the world by storm, with over 17 million selfies being uploaded every week to social media platforms worldwide. The term Selfie was first introduced in September 2002, despite the first-ever selfie dating back to 1839. Robert Cornelius an American photography enthusiast took the first-ever daguerreotype photograph of himself at the back of his family's chandelier shop, thus making this the first known selfie ever taken.
Artists have always utilised similar ideas to the selfie through the work of self-portraiture. Famous artists such as Picasso, Dali, and Halsman all produced self-portraits composed to tell a story. Similar to the new age selfie-taker who might post a picture documenting a holiday, take time composing a background or attaching a filter to portray a certain mood. These techniques can all be linked in connection to the artists mentioned above. Referring to the modern-day selfie as a way of communication; by simply adding a filter helps portray a certain emotion. Much like Picasso's own self-portraits, the contrast in the two can be distinctly seen through the use of colours, tone and brush marks clearly showing a change in mood between the two paintings. The left image shows a blue/grey colour palette being used, thick dark jacket and pasty skin tones whereas the right image has a much more vibrant palette, orange scarf, and a more tanned complexion. His blue period painted depicted on the left was painted shortly after the loss of a close friend. Much like the more recent equivalent to adding a filter to modern selfies, this conveys how Picasso was feeling. In reality, Picasso wouldn't be there to tell the story therefore similar to the up to date selfie the change in mood in the paintings is communicated through simply a change in colour.
However even more closely related to the new age selfie would be the composed photographs of Salvador Dali. Dali knew how to set up a shot and worked alongside Philippe Halsman to produce 'Salvador Dali A (Dali Atomicus)' depicting the true characteristics behind Dali. Halsman said, 'A true photographer wants to try to capture the real essence of a human being'.
The inspiration behind the shot was Dali's painting 'Leda Atomica, (1949)' which can be seen at the back of the shot. The photograph shows a scene of levitating objects in which the true spirits of the surrealist artist is really captured through an absurd composition. Through well-arranged backgrounds and surroundings, this much like the current day selfie is used as a way of showing the viewer documentation and self-expression
The late 1960s saw a variety of approaches to selfies with photographers such as Vivian Maier and Lee Friedlander using the art of the selfie to photograph themselves and their surroundings. These pictures not only show a bit of what life was like at the time but shows an individual point of view intricately tied to the person taking the picture. When compared to Diana Mieczan's more modern photographs these selfies are very similar. They are all composed in the same way, the static figure in the middle of the image and the busy street shown in the background. What makes these selfies different from the ones above is the fact these are reflections. The photographers have all taken these selfies in a window and these document and give insight behind the photographer's day. Mieczhan's selfies prove that modern-day selfies can be just as artistic as those taken in the 1960s and shouldn't be seen as narcissistic.
A selfie is a way of self-expression and puts the individual in control of how they would like to be perceived. Besides, selfies have been the answer for empowering condemned groups such as women, people of colour and the LGBTQ+ community. These groups are now able to send a certain message throughout their selfies thus being able to express themselves making them feel empowered. Robert Mapplethorpe was just one of many photographers who in the early 1980's used the selfie as a way of exploring sexuality and gender roles. Mapplethorpe did two side by side photographs, one as seen on the right in a partial drag look where the other gives this very masculine greaser aesthetic. The contrast between the two obliterates gender norms and sheds light on the LGBTQ+ community empowering the selfies of today.
Whether to encourage controversy, take a stand for something they believe in or simply show off their latest outfit celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Laverne Cox, and even Michelle Obama have been using selfies to make a statement since the dawn of social media. Much like Mapplethorpe, today's celebrities use selfies as a way of reaching out and supporting groups of people such as the LGBTQ+ community. Miley Cyrus as pictured to the right uploaded this selfie during pride month of 2016 taking a swipe at Trump's slogan with replacing the word great with gay. The near makeup-less selfie looks to be taken impromptu proving it wasn't taken out of vanity but to get the main point of the cap across, take a stance, and show support for the LGBTQ+ community. Academics at the Australian National University found that 90% of selfies today aren't posted to be vain but to keep relatives and friends in the loop of individual’s whereabouts and movements.
Over the years social media has also helped in smashing beauty standards by giving women and men from different backgrounds, abilities and gender identities a platform of expression. Through the sharing of selfies that show their individual beauty people around the world are using them to express who they really are and what's important to them. This selfie to the left depicts the first four women to pass infantry military training. It is a prime example of how the modern-day selfie can be used to display an important moment in history. This documentation is to show that for so long women were prevented from doing combat military training before this selfie was taken. This photograph shows the courage and determination these women have to participate and complete the training which was once seen as a masculine course.
The ease in which we can take pictures of ourselves and share them online is astonishing and above is only a brief sampling of the enormous history behind selfies. Nowadays accessing devices to take selfies has changed dramatically when compared to those taken in the past, but the motivations and potential for expression have stayed the same. Not to say that all modern-day selfies are art but there's no real difference in nature when compared to those photographic self-portraits made by an artist in the 1960s and the 21st-century selfie seen today. Selfies function in many different ways but ultimately they put the control in the hands of the subject and is an important way for an individual to take a stance for something they believe in, tell a story through documentation and above all else used as a way for criticised groups of people to feel self-empowered.
