Can Selfies Be Art? Here's the Art History Behind Them

An education for the Kardashians of the world.

The term “selfie” is relatively new, however the concept is not – photographers and artists have been taking self-portraits since the invention of the camera. Though first taken for testing camera equipment, learning and technical experimentation in the beginning, the selfie eventually evolved into an artistic expression. The above video clip takes us through a history of the art form, with examples from Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Ai Weiwei and Robert Mapplethorpe to name a few. As many artistic selfies exist though, it still doesn’t mean every selfie is art — far from it.

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