Representation in Self Portraiture This is a blog to keep track of my dissertation research and to help develop ideas in an organised manner.

Dissertation Question: To what degree can a self-portrait be taken to be an accurate representation of whom it portrays?

Dissertation entire plan summary:
chapter 1 - introduction, define terms in question, suggest problems facing answering the dissertation and how we might overcome.
chapter 2 - Van Gogh - illustrate the conscious vs unconscious creation of self-portrait, illustrate the difficulties (make a parallel with Berger, ambiguity of the image)
chapter 3 - Photographers with conscious actions in mind in creation of their work.
chapter 4 - Freud and the unconscious to suggest things beyond our control in creating work (but still this presents us with a problem in representing ourselves does it not?)
chapter 5 - THE SEER, switch focus from the photographers creation to the seer, the interpreter of the image (death of the author)
chapter 6 - Freud analysed his dreams, this will anaylyse my self-portrait project (400 images) which will lead on to suggest chapter 7 nicely.
chapter 7 - social media (to support the claim, later) This will develop my conclusion that the representation is 'seer' dependent and the more seers there are there greater the accuracy of meaning will be, context dependent (coherentism) etc.
chapter 8 - If I have words and time to develop some thoughts, possible worlds, personal identity (Locke) + Parfit....
Conclusion

longer version from December: http://simonjohnsondissertation.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/16th-december-revised-dissertation-plan.html

Chapter 2 summary (so far) how to lead into chapter 3:
-begins to address problem if the artist consciously manipulates an image.
-suggest they would, human nature
-may be an unconscious choice
-painting a good choice to discuss this problem - slowed down, likened to photoshop
-can't help relating Goghs work to the life

-Gogh's work seemed more spontaneous, could be painting feelings, or influenced by them
-this suggests not consciously manipulating images, but still problem of not being in control of outcome??
-prove the unconsious has more affect than we care to admit
-Gogh chose to start self-portraits - conscious choice
- maybe intentionally chronicling his mental state, possible to be misinterpreted?
-Paris, seemed happy and his paintings changed (with his mood)
-then near the end diminished
-pint why would someone paint themselves unflatteringly? subjective. ALSO, not well known artists, these were perhaps just for technical development and not really meant to be seen.
-still suggests consciously choosing (even if it is to manipulate)
-V.Goghs incident with Guagin, his ear, and then portrayal of it.
-last self-portraits , first glamourous, determined... one shows perhaps his mental stability.


----> So with this in mind have talked though this and ultimately we do not know do we exactly what coheres with what, we can only suggets (come back later for chapter 7) ... now need to look at photographers in relation to this, those who perhaps may be influenced in their work/photographs, but surely not all steps of the process, the output, book making, image selection etc etc and so need to discuss how much they may be portraying truth in their images.

Suggested photographers: Cindy Sherman for created identities (untruth)
                                          Lee freidlander? (to contrast not being present in the photographs...)
                                          John Coplan for naked portraits (truth)

Previous research from other blog posts:

LEE FRIEDLANDER oaxaca, mexico 1995 + anza-borrego state park, california 1997
'self-portraits of photographers are usually arrogant affairs, representations of confident, prescient artists, often seen seamlessly wedded to their mechanical 'eye'. Rare indeed is the self-portrait in which the photographer admits to a decline in his powers with age, or lays bare his fatigue with the world. Here, however Lee Friedlander faces up to his imminent demise, a weary soul resigned to a slow dissolution back into nature'
Unflattering, perhaps has more meaning and significance than mine, mine is in a period of manipulation, power and that relfects my age. - FACE [book]

No portrait is ever really taken, rather made
Is Cindy Shermans portraits as opposed to self-portraits because they do not represent herself do they... what If I put on an elephant costume inside a box it is no longer a self portrait of myself is it? most of the light reaching the camera dfoesn't come from myself does it!?

Entire blog post about Freidlander: http://simonjohnsondissertation.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/self-portrait-photographs-by-lee.html 

John Coplans - seems to have a lot of self portraits... naked ones
1992 / 1990 diptychs / triptychs 






Also I want to read: Susan Sontag - on Photography
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Simon Johnson www.thephilosophicalphotographer.co.uk