A Psychological Selfie Portrait
The selfie is so ubiquitous these days that even iPhone have “selfie” modes! The subculture of the selfie exploded with the onset of the mirror camera mode- and now, it would be difficult to find anyone that has a smart phone that does not know what a selfie is.
However, this practice has been around for hundreds of years, and was previously identified as a “self-portrait”. The earliest that I can identify are from as far back as the Renaissance (1500’s). Not all artists worked in this mode, however this is when we see artists reflecting back on themselves, some more often than others (Rembrandt).
For this week’s summary, you are going to create a psychological self-portrait that is influenced by an artist from the textbook, and analyze it as an art historian might, or someone with a trained eye might, (like yours!).
A psychological self-portrait gives us an insight into your emotions and feelings. It tells us of where you are at mentally and emotionally. Color, size, iconography, how much space your image takes up in the composition: these elements together tell us the story of you, in that moment.
Here are the Requirements:
Composition, Vantage; are you central and up close? Significantly small and off center? Zoom in! Or out!
Up close leaves no mystery, as opposed to far away
Central gives you the dominant role, off center may indicate a role reversal of central importance
Color; black & white, color saturation- vivid, faded. Use your phone’s camera settings to adjust the colors to suit the psychological interpretation.
Bright saturation may indicate a false intensity
Faded colours may indicate lack of emotion, loss
Black and white can tell of loss of vigour, or create extreme drama
Iconography: Props, clothing
Objects and types of clothing must add to the story of your mental and emotional status and lead to an interpretation.
composition
colour
iconography/objects