Selfies: now and then

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Art Bulletin of

Nationalmuseum

Stockholm Volume 21

Selfies: Now and Then

Margareta Gynning

Curator

15 May – 31 August 2014

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4 Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 21, 2014

Photo Credits

Nationalmuseum Image Archives, from Domenico Fetti 1588/89–1623, Eduard Safarik (ed.), Milan, 1996, p. 280, fig. 82 (Figs. 2 and 9A, pp. 13 and 19)

Elke Estel/Hans-Peter Klut (Figs. 4, 5B, 6B and 7B, pp. 14–17)

The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo (p. 28)

Rohan.pdf, 2015-09-21, (p. 40)

© Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie Dessau (pp. 138–139)

Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, is published with generous support from the Friends of the Nationalmuseum.

Nationalmuseum collaborates with

Svenska Dagbladet and Grand Hôtel Stockholm.

We would also like to thank FCB Fältman &

Malmén.

Cover Illustrations

Domenico Fetti (1588/89–1623), David with the Head of Goliath, c. 1617/20. Oil on canvas, 161 x 99.5 cm. Purchase: The Wiros Fund.

Nationalmuseum, NM 7280.

Publisher

Berndt Arell, Director General Editor

Janna Herder Editorial Committee

Mikael Ahlund, Magdalena Gram, Janna Herder, Helena Kåberg, Magnus Olausson and Lidia Westerberg Olofsson.

Photographs

Nationalmuseum Photographic Studio/

Linn Ahlgren, Olle Andersson, Erik Cornelius, Anna Danielsson, Cecilia Heisser, Bodil Karlsson and Sofia Persson.

Picture Editor Rikard Nordström

Every effort has been made by the publisher to credit organizations and individuals with regard to the supply of photographs. Please notify the publisher regarding corrections.

Graphic Design BIGG Layout Agneta Bervokk

Translation and Language Editing

Gabriella Berggren, Martin Naylor and Kristin Belkin.

Publishing

Ingrid Lindell (Publications Manager) and Janna Herder (Editor).

Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum is published annually and contains articles on the history and theory of art relating to the collections of the Nationalmuseum.

Nationalmuseum Box 16176

SE–103 24 Stockholm, Sweden www.nationalmuseum.se

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131 Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 21, 2014 exhibitions/selfies: now and then

Selfies: Now and Then

Margareta Gynning Curator 15 May – 31 August 2014

Rembrantd Harmensz. van Rijn (1606–1669), Self-Portrait, 1630. Oil on copper, 15.5 x 12 cm. Nationalmuseum, NM 5324.

Images of the actress Ann Petrén from her slide show on stereotypes and body language.

Gustave Courbet (1819–1877), Jo, the Beautiful Irish Girl, 1866. Oil on canvas, 54 x 65 cm. Nationalmuseum, NM 2543.

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132 Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Volume 21, 2014

exhibitions/selfies: now and then

social conventions, it recalls the practised pose we adopt when we view ourselves in a bathroom mirror.

Selfies: Now and Then therefore focused on stereotyped visual structures and portrait conventions. As part of the exhibition, a slide-show on body language by the actor Ann Petrén was shown, interacting with our portraits and with our visitors, who could post their own selfies on Instagram and which were then incorporated into the exhibition.

We got a great deal of attention from the press and feedback from our visitors when we explored what these kind of images actually represent in relation to gender, ethnicity, class and age, and the meanings of different codes and norms in the past and present.

Exhibition curators: Margareta Gynning Exhibition design: Joakim E. Werning Lighting design: Jan Gouiedo

Exhibition technology and installation: The Technical Department at Nationalmuseum, under the supervision of Lennart Karlsson Chief conservators: Britta Nilsson, Maria Franzon and Nils Ahlner

Exhibition manager: Anneli Carlsson Exhibition coordinator: Lena Granath Education officer: Helén Hallgren Archer Exhibition catalogue

Highlights: Kända och okända konstskatter från Nationalmuseum (Swedish edition);

Highlights: Famous and Forgotten Art Treasures from the Nationalmuseum (English edition)

Nationalmusei utställningskatalog nr 671 (Nationalmuseum exhibition catalogue no. 671) ISBN (Swedish edition): 978-91-7100-849-7 ISBN (English edition): 978-91-7100-850-3

cissism, but the longing for recognition is

also a way of connecting with the collec- tive. From infancy, we understand how crucial it is to establish contact with those closest to us, to interpret our parents’ fa- cial expressions, and vice versa. Portraits therefore have an unusual ability to touch deep layers of our subconscious, and the encounter with another face can thus give a sense of affirmation that is interlinked with the origins of self. Being seen with an affirming gaze is an important part of forming our own identity. That is the basis shared by the older tradition of portrai- ture and the images posted on today’s so- cial media.

Artists paint their own portrait by look- ing themselves in a mirror. This is a process marked by slowness, depth and introspec- tion, whereas the modern-day selfie, with its cropped, from-above perspective, seeks to give the impression of being the work of a moment, improvised and laid-back. And yet, both as a pictorial construction and in relation to body language, fashion and

Museums are an important meeting

place for discussions about our entire visual culture, and not just about what is defined as Fine Art. As part of the Highlights: Famous and Forgotten Art Treasures from the National- museum exhibition, the Museum therefore wished to contribute to the current debate about identity and what are called “selfies”

– self-portraits taken at arm’s length using the camera of a mobile phone. Drawing on the Museum’s collection of portraits, we wanted to identify parallels between Now and Then and discuss how people have wanted to be seen down the centuries. We asked if a selfie is simply an egocentric fa- cet of contemporary life, or if it first and foremost is an expression of our need for mutual recognition and an instrument of social communication.

Selfies: now and then

Art Bulletin of

Nationalmuseum

Stockholm Volume 21

Selfies: Now and Then

Margareta Gynning

Curator

15 May – 31 August 2014

Selfies: Now and Then

Margareta Gynning Curator 15 May – 31 August 2014

social conventions, it recalls the practised pose we adopt when we view ourselves in a bathroom mirror.

We got a great deal of attention from the press and feedback from our visitors when we explored what these kind of images actually represent in relation to gender, ethnicity, class and age, and the meanings of different codes and norms in the past and present.

cissism, but the longing for recognition is

According to relational psychologists,

the most basic human drive is for contact –

we actively engage and create ourselves by

connecting with others. Certainly, we live

in a neo-liberal, consumerist culture that is

centred on the individual and fosters nar-