The selfie gene: Putting on our best face
There is an ongoing debate whether selfies represent a low point of modern-day culture or not. Jerry Saltz, the Pulitzer-winning art critic disagrees. He says, ‘selfies are our little diaries that say ‘I’m here, look at me’’. Whether one agrees or not seems irrelevant in the face of a statistic that’s worth obsessing about: Over one million selfies are posted on social media everyday. These images are proof that ease-of-use has quickened the narcissistic impulse in us. The recent - and ironic - response to this phenomenon is a pop-up museum in Los Angeles
Curated By: Madhu Kapparath
FIRST SELFIE (Oct 1839)
The picture (above) is considered to be the earliest photographic self-portrait ever taken. The picture was clicked in 1839 by Robert Cornelius, an amateur chemist and photography enthusiast from Philadelphia. Silver plates were used in daguerrotype (a pioneering photographic process invented in August 1839) to produce a likeness on the plate. Robert, experimenting to improve the process in October, set up a daguerrotype camera behind his family store. He captured the image by removing the lens cap, getting in front of the frame and posing for a minute while the exposed lens burned his image onto the plate.
The picture (above) is considered to be the earliest photographic self-portrait ever taken. The picture was clicked in 1839 by Robert Cornelius, an amateur chemist and photography enthusiast from Philadelphia. Silver plates were used in daguerrotype (a pioneering photographic process invented in August 1839) to produce a likeness on the plate. Robert, experimenting to improve the process in October, set up a daguerrotype camera behind his family store. He captured the image by removing the lens cap, getting in front of the frame and posing for a minute while the exposed lens burned his image onto the plate.
