Abstract
With minimal self-awareness, I’ve put myself in many of my photographs. I now appreciate that doing so has produced visual evidence of where I have been and, to the extent that any medium can, confirmed my existence. With mindfulness regarding interconnection, a more inclusive definition of self has emerged. A hypothesis in sociology known as the Looking Glass Self Theory, proposes that we come to know who we are from the reactions of other people towards us. This means when we look at other people’s faces, we’re also looking at ourselves. Consequently, a portrait can also be a self-portrait. Positioning self-portraits within historical and contemporary photographic practice, my presentation illustrates a more inclusive, or reflective, definition of self-images. Despite my best intentions, however, bestowing visual representation to a hypothesis is challenging.
Presenters
Roddy MacInnesProfessor of Photography, School of Art and Art History, University of Denver, Colorado, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
SELF-PORTRAIT, SOCIOLOGY, AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORY-OF-PHOTOGRAPHY, CONTEMPORARY-PRACTICE
