It happened a long time ago – or did it ?
Consider this what if, towards the end of the Medieval Period there was a shift from Illuminated Manuscripts to the use of Kirlian Photography. Everyone would be taking self portraits, well those who could afford the latest app, ………
The self-portrait, what is its purpose/message ? An affirmation of one’s sense of existence ? An expression of one’s hopes and fears made manifest, and then conveyed in an image to the world ? Or have we reduced our image to media content that is incorporated into a constructed reality and then have it consumed and repurposed by the viewing audience ? Do we illuminate and reveal ourselves or attempt to hide behind a manufactured context ?
What is the true story of the text ?
That’s clever – really engaging imagery and a very thought provoking text. I like the idea of creating texts that are open ended. The viewer cancreate their own meaning from the clues embedded in the text by the author. Using this idea yourvarious self portraits convey different moods and states of mind.
Thanks very much Suzanne. Comes from my teaching days when I would try to engage students and break them of the expectation of the answer is in the textbook, as opposed to creative & analytical thought. 🙂
You must have been a very stimulating teacher
On my better days. 😀
Interesting selection of self-portraits, Joseph. I think yours are revealing and have a message, if I’m correct. In terms of the power of colour, I do lean towards the first one.
Thanks very much Olga. Sometimes we reveal intentionally, while at others times we do so unintentionally. All mass media contains intended and unintended messages. 🙂
So true!
You raise good questions, Joseph.
Thanks. My Media Literacy hat gets stuck on sometimes. 🙂
I don’t mind one bit 🙂 There are worse hats…
Long time since I’ve heard the word “Kirlian” your aura looks good 🙂
Thanks. It wasn’t doing so well this weekend. 😀 Feeling better today, even with the almost forgotten dental checkup. 😀
illuminate or hide, the selfie explained nicely
Yes, unfortunately social media can breed insecurity that either leads to “see me please please” or fear of ridicule & wearing masks/roles.
Reblogged this on My Choice and commented:
Joseph P. Kanski : the purpose of a self portrait. I really like his work!
Thanks very much for the support. 🙂
Hey this is a very interesting series, No 2 and No 5 are my favourites here. Isn’t it interesting how by exploring your own image as an object you can discover things you didn’t know, I have a group of self-portraits and found unexpected aspects, some good, some were things i’d perhaps not wanted revealed. but it was exciting and good value to me at least. i hope you continue with this theme for a while, would love to see where you go with it.
I have a few. There is a Halloween post, “Soaking up moon Rays” on Dark Pines Photo. With Liz’s various theatre pieces all about the house, I have been playing with shots. 😀
Wonderful, fascinating images, and thought-provoking post.
Thanks very much Lemony. Just trying to keep this retired mind active. 🙂
Oooh! Joseph! May I, may I, please share this whole post on ‘strata of the self’?
I would be most honoured. Strata and your own self portraits encouraged me to play about with the images. 🙂
Thank you, Joseph, on both counts. It’s a great post. 🙂
Really interesting and great to see you, Joseph.
Thanks very much Richard. I was working on a Halloween portrait for the Dark Pines Photo blog – along the way in the process the idea of Medieval Illumination and Kirlian Photography came to mind.
Gorgeous pieces, full of character *and* stories, and the post is both thought-provoking and just plain a good read! Well done. The questions will never be answered, will they; whether we wonder if we’re conveying what we believe or intend, whether viewers and readers and participants interpret or suss out those messages, and certainly whether we can ever uncover all of the clues ourselves!
Cheers,
Kathryn
Many thanks for stopping by to comment on this post.
We are forever unravelling ourselves – reconstructing our memories. Self portraits and the all too ubiquitous selfies are artifacts of how how we see ourselves.
Only conscious effort and awareness can allow us to deconstruct our media output to gain insight into our inner workings. Then again, we may just prefer to construct a reality that confirms our values, beliefs and ideologies, leaving others to decipher the inner workings of our hope & fears. 😀
I hope that you won’t mind my linking back to this post today! Too beautiful not to share it. 😀
No problem. 🙂
If you haven’t visited Ashley’s blog Strata of Self , make sure to check it out. It is all about the representation of self – numerous contributors.
https://strataoftheself.wordpress.com/