History of self portraiture

Self-portraiture was popularised during the Renaissance and was brought about by the rise of individualism and the “heroic” status given to artists at that time. Since then, some of the most iconic works of art, from Van Gogh to Frida Kahlo, have been in the form of self-portraits. It was especially important for female artists during the Renaissance as it allowed them to present a story about themselves for public consumption, removed from the typical objectification of the female form as depicted by male artists. Then in 1839 Robert Cornelius took the very first example of a self portrait photograph in history. Ever since then they have been used to offer insights into the artists lives, surroundings, and their state of mind.

Self portrait

Consider the history of self-portraiture, and try to create an image that alludes to, (or evades?) your identity.

This self-portrait above evades my personality as I am a very loud and chatty person. This is juxtaposed by the hand covering my mouth showing that I am being silent and therefore not my true self.

Performance photograph

Captured vs Premeditated

A captured image isn’t staged and is a natural moment that is caught without any preparation/staging whereas a premeditated image is considered before the actual image is shot allowing time to stage and set up the image to create an intended outcome.

captured – premeditated

Photograph that engages the body with the physical environment

This image shows a girl lying on a staircase which shows her engaging her body with the environment around her as it is not usual to lay on stairs and most people just walk up and down without a second thought. So therefore by laying down she is showing that she is engaging with this location and seeing it from a different perspective than the average person.

This photo was inspired by Francesca Woodman, who took mostly self- portraits in black and white, using a slow shutter speed to blur specific areas of her body (especially her face). She also took many of her photos while being nude (like the one above), and I think it was a very interesting take on self- portraits. Her portrait consists of her leaning against a wall, her face blurred and she turned it to the side, completely nude. I found this a very inspiring photo as she posed in quite a vulnerable way, however it is obvious that she is in control.

I found her very inspiring and also thought she fit perfectly into the ‘femininity’ and ‘identity’ topics we have been studying, which is why she was my main inspiration. The composition of her photo is very interesting, as she isn’t completely centred in the frame which is unlike most (self) portraits. I recreated this, framing the camera in a way that allowed there to be more space on the right of me. I think this is effective as it creates a much more unique photo due to its composition. However, she has more of her torso in the image, making her a portrait shape whereas mine is a squarish shape. Moreover, her pose was one of the main aspects of the photo, therefore I recreated this by leaning against a plain wall, and propping myself up slight, looking similarly vulnerable (in terms of the pose). I like how this links in with the ‘femininity’ topic, as it presents me in a very stereotypically feminine way, looking weak and almost helpless. I do believe she didn’t try to convey that meaning across however, as I think despite being naked and being in such a position, she is trying to show how she is the one in control of her body and what happens to it. I also think her blurred face represents how society often only focus on a woman’s body, and I think she is attempting to mock this idea by hiding her face in a very exaggerated and obvious manner, incorporating it with her unique style of using a slow shutter speed. I liked the idea of this, and tried to recreate it by setting my camera to a very slow shutter speed (1/30) and slowly moving my head side to side, to create this obscured, smudged look. Furthermore, all of her photos are in black and white, which I think is very interesting since at the time, colour photos were already a technology used by photographers. I recreated this, and edited most of my photos in black and white. I did this not only as it is her style, but because I think colour would distract the viewer from the concept of the photo, which is a reason why Woodman did this herself too. Despite both being in black and white, her photo consists of much stronger white and black tones, having a more varied tonal range as well as having a heavier contrast. My photo is much duller and grey, which I think was successful in the way it made the photo look softer, however lacked the strong appearance and the way the background looked separate from Woodman’s body. I think this is something I could’ve improved on, in terms of editing the photo.

Overall, I think being influenced by Woodman created a successful outcome, creating unique photos that linked in with the idea of stereotypical femininity.

In her photographic practice, Clare Rae explores ideas of performance and gesture to question and subvert dominant forms of representation. Her work is inspired by feminist theory, and presents an alternate and often awkward experience of the female body.

“My aim with all my photographs is to subvert the dominant ways we depict women’s subjectivity.”

Inspired shoot

edited images:

Image comparison:

Although both images are set in different locations, there are still lots of similarities. This includes the unusual/awkward positioning of the girls giving both images a sinister and weird feeling. Also the way in which both images use hair and play with how it falls to add a sense of drama to the images. In my opinion, these images could be seen to represent death as seen in Clare Rae’s image (on the left) as the sitter is laying on a metal tray which could be seen to represent the trays they use in mortuaries and crematoriums for the dead bodies. The limp position of her body also adds to the idea that this image is a representation of death. This is mirrored in my image (on the right) as the girl is also positioning herself to look limp and lifeless giving a similar effect. Both images include some kind of metal element whether its the metal tray that the girl is lying on or the metal banister, this material is known for being cold to the touch which adds to the portrayal of death. Overall I think the images have many similar qualities and yet are still both original and unique outcomes.

Cynthia Morris Sherman is an American artist whose work mostly consists of self-portraits, showing herself in many different contexts and as various characters.

She has challenged identity by playing with the visual and cultural codes of art, celebrity, gender, and photography. She is among the most significant artists of the Pictures Generation which is a group that came of age in the 1970s and responded to the mass media landscape surrounding them with both humour and criticism, appropriating images from advertising, film, television, and magazines for their art.

Her works portrays the female stereotypes. Presenting as many different characters, she invents personas that highlight the construction of identity, the nature of representation, and the artifice of photography. To create her images, she takes on multiple such as photographer, model, makeup artist, hairdresser, and stylist.

“I wish I could treat every day
as Halloween, and get dressed
up and go out into the world
as some eccentric character.”

The image is taken from Cindy Sherman’s photo collection called ‘Untitled Film’ which is a collection of 70 black and white images which the artist posed in the guises of various generic female film characters.

This image depicts a stereotypical housewife in the 70’s, however the black and white filter and the dissatisfied expression on her face give of the feeling that this isn’t her true self and she is tired from having to put on an act. I think this is further presented by the heals she is wearing in somewhere where comfort is expected (the bedroom) showing how uncomfortable and ongoing this facade was. The white dress has connotations of innocence which correlates with the expectations of women especially during this time period while the bedroom setting and the way she is lying present to me that she is exhausted and is hiding away because she doesn’t want anyone else to see her exposed true self rather than the version of herself that is formed by societies expectations for women.

Justine Kurland is another person who has inspired me to do one of my photoshoots and her book Girl Pictures, she has inspired me to take photos in a similar style as hers, she shows feminism is a beautiful and majestic way, her photos also show youth within females as she shows girls running through fields and making daisy chains, things children did when they were younger.

Justine Kurland (American, b.1969) is a Contemporary Fine Art photographer who is known for her large c-print tableau pictures of childhood secret places and wastelands. She was born in Warsaw, NY, and graduated from The School of Visual Arts in New York with a BFA in 1996.

Kurland has become famous for her landscapes dealing with young children, men, and women, often mixing the purity of youth with its unbridled wildness. These works of feral and unsupervised children running amuck in a suburban wasteland formed the basis of her book Spirit West in 2000. She has traveled across the United States to create these staged photos, including to Virginia and California, but spent many months traveling through New Zealand as well. Her photos of utopian-esque communities in Virginia and California earned her solo shows in London and Vienna. Kurland is very in touch with nature and the primal impulses of humanity. In 2004, the book Old Joy explored men in the wilderness often unclothed as they experienced the true mystery of nature.

Kurland uses natural daylight to capture her photos and the visual element of her photographs make her photos look like they are taken on film due to the colour and the graininess of the photos, her photos are bright and almost include an aspect of nature in them.

The idea behind her photos are to include aspects of freedom and liberation within femininity

Many females look up to Justine Kurland and her work on girl pictures because of the relatability in an interview she says “The whole idea of this series was to have this imaginary place of protection for these girls.” and for many girls they don’t have a safe place so for the idea or thought of having one is comforting for them there for her work is a breath of fresh air and relatable. Kurland also believes and says that ‘to prove that this alternate fantasy life is real because it’s part of all of the other images that we’re navigating through”.

The image above shows the freedom and release of pressure that the people in the image have you can tell this buy the laid back and relaxed posture of the females, Kurland used natural lighting in this image as she is outside, this photo was taken on a cloudy day you are as the sky has a whit cast and is not blue this impacts the image due as is would have decreased the actual vibrance of the setting and wouldn’t have captured and the bright colours that there would have been, however the element of it not being bright makes the views this that it is like that for a reason and i could represent that there is something overpowering the image from being bright some views may believe it shows that the male patriarchy is still overpowering women and putting a dull cast of femininity.

My Interpratation