The Selfie as Self‑Portrait. Who Am I in the Images? – Self‑Representation Then and Now
Before people began photographing their own faces, they painted their own portraits. The practice of self-representation is almost as old as art itself, dating back thousands of years. While painting, by its very nature, allows for prolonged self-examination and the merciful concealment of flaws, photography does quite the opposite. Within a brief span of time, it produces a self-portrait that exposes the imperfections of reality.
