From this blog on bellydance.
Self-portraiture is not something I do a lot, but it is something I think about a lot. And when I think about it, I wonder about those things... where would I come to rest in the balance between "reality" and constructed reality (regardless of whether the final product depicts me in a way I like)? Given that the finished product has a life of its own, does my state of mind in creating it matter? I don't know...
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I, too, often think about this. How can we not? For people who make photographs, it's a natural question, not just about the self (though the self is usually tied into notions of vanity as well). I was reading this from Baudrillard today:
ReplyDelete"[T]he visible machinery of icons substitute themselves for the pure and intelligible Idea..."
So the machinery of the self-portraits (as a collection especially) substitute themselves for the actual self (in reality and in representation).
I love your blog, by the way.
Suffering from a fit of internet shyness, I was so flattered by your comment that it took me a month to respond, but thank you! I love your blog as well, it's constantly inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that I hadn't considered the symbolic power of self-portraits, given the decidedly semiotic turn my thoughts have lately taken. It's hard to separate the image of yourself from the highly loaded knowledge you have of yourself in reality and let it be a physical object on the level of any other.