Why are self-portraits so powerful? I suspect there are many answers to that question, but here is one answer that I have recently been thinking about.
I’m reading the first essay in John Berger’s book Ways of Seeing. It’s a very interesting piece that it’s going to take me a while to digest, chock full as it is of philosophical questions such as the relationship between what we see and what we know, between seeing and language and between what we look at and ourselves.
Specifically, Berger makes the point that the act of seeing is something we choose to do, and moreover that the act of seeing is reciprocal – if I see you, you can see me. Thus when we turn the camera on ourselves, we put our self on both sides of the very intimate relationship that seeing is, and become both the viewer and the sight.
An image, Berger goes on to say, is ‘a sight which has been recreated or reproduced’, So when we put our self portraits out there, we display the result of the act of seeing our selves, and we are in complete control over it. This is a simple conclusion, but it is equally a powerful explanation for why a self portrait often will be truer to the person depicted than a portrait, where someone else chooses how to see you.
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I’ve been browsing the flickr pools for selfies, and I want to tell you that we Muses see you, and we see that you are beautiful.
Drawing My Bath by annamarcell
a trip of the mind by sidemtess
~All the best from Jenny.
Jenny-. As
A huge fan if the self portrait, I am often asking myself why. Why does it have such a powerful effect? How is it possible I have been able to grow so much from this process?
Your thoughts and words help answer the questioning a bit.
I also really like this quote :
“Only through art can we emerge from ourselves and know what another person sees.”
-Marcel Proust
Thank you, Vanessa! That quote says it all – how do we succeed in reconciling our self-image with how others see us? So many people (myself included) would be so much happier if that was easier to do I think.
Jenny, this is such a powerful post. I love it when you make me think about things.
Thank you, Kirstin – I appreciate you saying so!
a beautiful post…that book sounds interesting. much food for thought!
Thanks, Christy!
I have a hungry mind sometimes, and I’m glad to have found others who appreciate the same type of food for thought 🙂
I love these words Jenny, though-provoking and so true. And a good place to point someone who doesn’t understand the art of self-portraiture. xo
Thanks, Holly 🙂
I’m not sure I completely understand the art of self-portraiture myself to be honest, but it seems I’m slowly working my way into it anyway, through specific moods – the fourth person – and specific edits.
hmmm, truer than a portrait? or a truer version of what the person in the selfie WANTS you to see or how they want to be seen. great food for thought.
I like your thoughts on this Cara. Do you think we do the same thing when we take a portrait of another person? We are capturing what we want them in themselves and are telling a story of some sort to others about them.
its possible, yes.
i’m a self-described selfie-skeptic, though, often, so that’s where my commentary is rooted.
My first thought is that if we capture another person in a photograph the way *we* want to see them, it makes portrait photography a very selfish practice, like the old myth about photographs steeling your soul.
But on the other hand, maybe you can gain something from seeing how others see you in a portrait? It’s only that I have very rarely experienced that personally – I dislike having my photo taken and very rarely shoot other people, so I guess that’s colouring my thoughts on this.
mmm, I like that thought too. What a great discussion.
I think what I meant by my comment was, so often people don’t see themselves as we as a photographer see them. knowing how to capture them in a way that they might actually see their beauty is a gift. helping them share a story that they weren’t sure how to visually tell. If that makes sense…
I feel that when I show you a version of myself in a selfie, that version is truer to me than what another person can manage in a portrait. But of course that presupposes that I am being true and truthful to myself in the first place.
Food for thought indeed – thanks for making me think further on it!
some people are true in their selfies, and some use it as a way to show you the person they want to be and maybe not the person they really are, which also says something about them at the same time. i’m not making any judgments as to who does or doesn’t, no criticisms at all. just an observation as to the power of selfies as a tool for expression, be it self expression in a true form or otherwise. the same way we create an online identity by defining ourselves, our “likes”, our “causes”, etc…
Oh, I didn’t intend any judgement either – I’d say fair play to those who create personae through their selfies, since it can be very important to have a place to be someone else for a while.
yes, a place to be someone else for a while… isn’t that what art is about?
I surely get lost in my self portrait work. I am never quite sure if I am putting my heart on my sleeve with the images I take of myself or just trying to tell a story that hits me at that moment and I feel the need to capture it before it slips away… I suppose it is a mix of the two.
this is such a tremendous piece–so much to take in and ponder!!! i have such mixed emotions when i do a selfie, but, ultimately, it has brought me more self-acceptance than i thought possible!
i will definitely be re-reading this and absorbing the conversation spurred by your insights!
thank you so very much for including my photo with this group of beauties!!!
xxxooo
I am more than a little ambivalent about selfies as well, but as you say – the potential for increasing my self-acceptance is tremendous. So that makes it worth doing I think!
It was a pleasure including your photo here 🙂
great choices!
tulad tayo ng gym bag! :Di also just realized na kenlagan ko na simulan ang balik alindog project ko since I’m 25 na. mejo napabayaan ang body this past few years dahil sa madaming buffet sa metro.let’s do this! good luck to us! 🙂