I will
tell you right-out that I am no authority on art or art theory but when a friend sent me the pieces presented in this post, I was so pleasantly provoked
that I was compelled to try to articulate my reaction. The following is 1) me
navigating something new and strange for myself, and 2) a chance for me to share
the work of a friend and an artist who is making sense with territories that
are new to all of us.
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My
reaction to Dave Douglas’ work was quite visceral; it struck me as aesthetically
pleasing, funny, and wonderfully strange. But as it sat with me for a while, I came to think of it as an earnest appreciation of any and all selfie-ers, while also
confounding "high" and "low culture" stereotypes. (It may
come to no surprise that the artist also has a strong appreciation for Amanda
Bynes concerning her recent performances on Twitter.)
The word "selfie" is interesting. While it's not (as this blogger mentions) "GPOY" (gratuitous picture of yourself), which always came across as faux-self-deprecating and is inherently degrading, "selfie" has, for whatever reason, made for an easy target for anyone willing to take shots at those who post photos of themselves. Perhaps it's the cutesy sound of the word that invites subtractors, or maybe selfies are just a new development that takes time for curmudgeons and skeptics to acclimate to. For instance, it wasn't that long that the discourse surrounding the rise of the blog was resoundingly negative.
The word "selfie" is interesting. While it's not (as this blogger mentions) "GPOY" (gratuitous picture of yourself), which always came across as faux-self-deprecating and is inherently degrading, "selfie" has, for whatever reason, made for an easy target for anyone willing to take shots at those who post photos of themselves. Perhaps it's the cutesy sound of the word that invites subtractors, or maybe selfies are just a new development that takes time for curmudgeons and skeptics to acclimate to. For instance, it wasn't that long that the discourse surrounding the rise of the blog was resoundingly negative.
To share
an anecdote from my own experience as an example, I remember being out to
dinner back in 2009 and one of my acquaintances said the following during an
Internet-related conversation: "I hate anyone with a blog." I had an
mp3 blog at the time, but this specific situation (as well as my cowardice)
relegated me to a non-confrontational social contract, so nothing juicy came
out of the exchange. But the point is, that sort of sentiment is beyond silly
just 4 years later. That sort of skepticism masked as assured negativity is
exhibited in reaction to selfie postings, right now. The negativity seems to be
similar in that people are wary of the idea of sharing, of social networking,
of the abundance that comes with a major paradigm shift in avenues of self
expression. This attitude has propagated what I posit to be a plume of
justifications in selfie hashtags, such as:
#bored
#sorryboutit
#sorrynotsorry
The last
one, my favorite, isn't a justification but rather a recognition of such absurd
etiquette that would request a justification for sharing your own face. Either
way, an Instagram search using any such hashtag invariably yields a wealth of
selfies.
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As I
mentioned, I really appreciate the way Dave's work disorients notions about
what is "high" and what is "low culture." The prejudice I
just described undeniably sets selfies comfortably in the construct of low
culture. Although I'm sure it's more complex than that, I'm sure performances
such as Amanda Bynes', using selfies to obliterate an easily understood and
well maintained pop culture persona, have contributed to and gone hand-in-hand
with people's already apprehensive perception of selfies.
And one of
the bastions of high culture is art; painting and such artwork is one of the
most well respected mediums, not to mention, more specifically, self portraits
have been some prolific artists' most coveted work. Wonderfully, what we
have with Dave's work is a composite of each of these denizens of both high and
low culture.
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Being
the annoying and typical grad student that I am, I happened to be reading John
Berger's "Ways of Seeing" just hours before coming across Dave's
selfie art, and thus I couldn't help but go back and put the work in the
context of some of Berger's opening thoughts about seeing. He says that
"every image embodies a way of seeing," and "It is seeing which
establishes our place in the surrounding world." As Berger continues, he
says that an image has just as much to do with being created as it does being
seen. So according to these passages, a selfie may be interpreted as starting
the conversation. In other words, by creating an image of ourselves and placing
it on a social networking site, one interpretation would be that it is one's
way of coming to the party, or running into you to say "hi." By the
same token, it is also a way of inviting others into your own world. But that
is just concerning the act of selfies. Thus, we have Dave's perspective, which,
to me, is a beautiful tribute. It's a portrait of a portrait. I like to think
of it as an unauthorized self portrait (...more than simply labeling it "meta"). Dave's work is a remediation that moves
toward the older medium, presents a new and pervasive kind of mediation through
an ancient medium to deconstruct the much maligned kind of self-expression.
Lastly, there is my perspective, which is present throughout the bumblings of
these paragraphs. Basically, I see this art as a simple, inventive, and deft
bit against selfie backlash.
The aforementioned blogger who previously spoke out againstselfie backlash described the selfie prejudice as a way of taking the moral
high ground against acts of narcissism. I concur. They even went so far as to
say those (participants of social networking) who refrain from posting selfies
are the narcissists. I don't think I can go that far. I don't think it's that
simple. As a person who doesn't often share selfies, I can say putting yourself
out there isn't always easy. Being a certain kind of shy, the possibility of
being fodder for criticism (however foolish or off-base) isn't exactly
inviting. For similar reasons, I didn't speak up at that dinner in 2009 to
defend blogging as a useful medium. In an effort to put those reservations
behind me, here’s to
enjoying this new way of participating, coming to the party, and inviting
others to my world.
For
more of Dave Douglas’ work:
