Facing the camera: Self-portraits of photographers as artists

Wilson, Dawn M.

Abstract

Self-portrait photography presents an elucidatory range of cases for investigating the relationship between automatism and artistic agency in photography-a relationship that is seen as a problem in the philosophy of art. I discuss self-portraits by photographers who examine and portray their own identities as artists working in the medium of photography. I argue that the automatism inherent in the production of a photograph has made it possible for artists to extend the tradition of self-portraiture in a way that is radically different from previous visual arts.In Section I, I explain why self-portraiture offers a way to address the apparent conflict between automatism and agency that is debated in the philosophy of art. In Section II, I explain why mirrors play an important function in the production of a traditional self-portrait. In Sections III and IV, I discuss how photographers may create self-portraits with and without the use of mirrors to show how photography offers unique and important new forms of self-portraiture.

Citation

Wilson, D. M. (2012). Facing the camera: Self-portraits of photographers as artists. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 70(1), 56-66. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6245.2011.01498.x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Feb 9, 2012
• Publication Date: 2012-01
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Journal: Journal Of Aesthetics And Art Criticism
• Print ISSN: 0021-8529
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 70
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 56-66
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6245.2011.01498.x
• Keywords: Philosophy; Visual Arts and Performing Arts; Music
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/465110
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6245.2011.01498.x
• Contract Date: Nov 13, 2014