What do I know about self portraits in art and photography? Self portarits are photos or drawings that are of yourself that you have taken or made. They are usually just of your face but can be if you whole body.
Artists and photographers make self portraits for many different reasons, maybe they find it interseting to study there own face, sometimes it because it helps them understand and notice small details on themselves with they can look for in other people, some artist and photographers might just want to create something of you themselves, everyones reason is different. Ive never really drawn myself, I have taken selfies and pictures of myself though. I think it would be fun I have just never properly thought about it. I would describe a selfie as a picture you take of yourself that is not on self timer or anything, you click the button of the camera and the picture is taken, thats how I would try and define a selfie.
Vivian Maier:
Vivian Maier was an American street artist, most of her photos involved people, she would take photos of everyday life. Her photos were discovered in 2009, all of them in black and white. She took thousands of photos from 1950’s-1970’s but hid them away in a room she allowed no-one to enter. She was very poor and a very private person, through out her life her main job was a nanny, she would photograph the children a lot, especially when they were out as she often had a camera on her.
I chose these six photographs because I feel they are the most interesting, she captured a moment of a strangers life without them even knowing. All these photos tell a story that we will never know but it’s nice to imagine what could have been happening.
My interpretation:
These are the photos that I took inspired by Vivian Maier, I made them all black and white, because all of hers, I also took photos pitside because none of hers are inside. I used mirrors and reflections because thats a big part of her work.
A genre of ‘the selfie’
I chose these images to base my photos of because I think they are the most interesting, when thinking about selfies you think about a picture of someone however its really interesting that these images of peoples faces are covered, makes you wonder what they have to hide?
I have actually found taking the pictures inspired by the others really difficult, this is the only nice one i got. I used light and shadow to create an effect. I really like the way it turned out. Im going to have another go later.
These are 10 more images I have taken, linking to the genre i chose. I found this quite difficult as i wanted each picture to be unique and I had to think of lots of creative ideas. I like the third one, I think it is the most unique and I also like the seventh one because it is simple but effective. I dont really like the sixth one, it is boring and could have more detail.
This video was about the lack of representation the national portrait gallery display of people with different ethnicities, races etc. Its a really important subject to talk about because its not fair, why is there barely any pictures or paintings or even artists of people with different ethnicities? The national portrait gallery should use itself to show the beauty of everyone being different and how thats a good thing.
This video talks about different people perceptions and ideas on selfies and self portraits, it displays people ideas on how the two differ, many people said that they think self portraits are alot more deep and usually have alot more meaning. Wich I agree with, selfies can be someone trying to take a photo remeber a certain time or they can just be vanity however self portraits make you wonder.
Frederick Douglass:
Who was Frederick Douglass? Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, gaining note for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. What is a Daguerreotype? The daguerreotype is a direct-positive process, creating a highly detailed image on a sheet of copper plated with a thin coat of silver without the use of a negative. The process required great care. The silver-plated copper plate had first to be cleaned and polished until the surface looked like a mirror. Why might Douglass have wanted portraits of himself? I think douglass wanted portraits of himself so people could remember and think about everything thing he had done. He wanted slavery to be over and by having so many pictures of himself I think he hoped people would begin to think about that when they saw him, and maybe start making a change. How is Douglass represented in the image above? In my opinion, he looks very serious and concerned but also very interesting, he is dresses nicely and looks very presentable however he also looks like he has got alot on his mind.
Who is Omar Victor Diop? Omar Victor Diop (1980) is a self-taught Senegalese photographer whose conceptually-rich work is in demand around the world. He lives and works in Dakar. What does the word ‘Diaspora’ mean? Diaspora means Jews living outside Israel. Why might Diop have wanted to create a self-portrait ‘disguised’ as Frederick Douglass? Maybe he wanted to help spread awarness aswell. Or he might have wanted the attention. What details in this picture do you find interesting? I find it interesting that his suite and bow-tie match the background exactly, I wonder why he did that? He is also holding what looks like a whistle, thats very interesting and unique. Why is the picture circular? To be honest i dont know the answer to this but maybe the artist thought it looked better that way, more professional.
I find this picture really intersting, Jean has clearly tried to copy the photo on the left however with abit of a twist. Instead of a statue next to him, he has a basketball, wich makes me wonder why? He has done very well at recreating the outfit and scenery so why would he change this? Is it to make a point, or just for abit of fun?
I really enjoyed this terms project ‘the selfie’ it made me think about different creative ideas and was alot of fun. Overall I am happy with my result, an area for me to improve on would be recreating the images, I think I could pay more attention to detail. I think I did well at taking pictures of myself even though I found it quite hard.