09.07.2015

From photographic self-portrait to work of art

09.07.2015

From photographic self-portrait to work of art

The photographic self-portrait is commonly referred to today as a #selfie, an #egoportrait or an #autophoto. From the White House to astronauts in space, from the ultra-connected teen to the wired grandmother, the term #selfie designates a solo or group self-portrait taken with a #smartphone, a digital camera or a tablet held at arm’s length, generally for the purpose of publishing it on social media. That’s nothing you didn’t already know, right?

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Vision | iPhone 4S | Snapseed | 2012

My point of view on this subject is simple, and I’m just repeating it now. Let yourself go, and once again, don’t hold back! Have fun!

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Madame Moustache | #Camera+ #Snapseed | iPhone 4S | 2013

If you explore my tag #tizziautoportrait, on #Instagram, you’ll see its progress over 4 years. From the most basic to the most elaborate, I have always had fun behind the camera lens, and I have explored every type of expression possible.

http://instagr.am/p/jRx5s/
Hair unkempt | iPhone 4S | Snapseed | 2012

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Under the water | iPhone 4S | Snapseed #PSExpress | 2012

And of course, there are selfies, and then there are Selfies! You get better as time goes by.

There are two fundamental rules I follow when taking a successful self-portrait. One: never shoot from below or you’ll give yourself a double chin. Two: for maximum resolution, for two years now I never use a frontal camera. That’s right! … so we’re talking about a blind selfie! With #Hipstamatic, you don’t have a choice in any case because this App doesn’t have the frontal camera function.

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Vanilia | iPhone5S | #Hipstamatic #Tinto1884 #BlacKeysExtraFine | 2015

From the birth of the pictorial self-portrait, which has been around since Antiquity, it became a fixture in the Renaissance and then with the birth of photography, the precursors of the #selfie were already around from the beginning of the 20th century. For the painter, it’s a tool for introspection, and the characters I have created with my mobile phone camera align with this same tradition. This is my other self; @tizzia, the artist who moves her creative spirit around without being locked up within a limited and determined artistic technique. On the contrary: she wants to express her idea through any possible technique, taking advantage of the progress offered over time by these resources.
The Mosaic of Woman is my self-portrait and she appears reciting a role or an idea. Narrative ambiguity parallels the ambiguity of the self, because @tizzia both creates and acts in this photo. Femininity in its various facets, giving one an idea of the surface in its depth and totality; women should not remain prisoners of this image. My job as a portraitist, putting #tizzia into action also becomes a kind of parody of the image of woman that media peddle.
Here are some examples of my work in this vein. It’s a self-portrait composed of hundreds of images of myself. All of the women I carry around inside of me.

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Geishatiz | 100×100 | Plexiglas | 2013

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Sainte-Exupertiz | 100×100| Plexiglas | 2013

I would like to conclude the magnificent adventure that this blog has afforded me by thanking Manfrotto for inviting me and giving me the opportunity to express myself. As I mentioned a month ago in the first contribution I made, explaining one’s work isn’t always easy, especially when you’re talking about something that comes from the heart and which isn’t always “mental”. So, finding words for such things can be a difficult exercise. It has been a pleasure to share my universe with you and I hope it has been a nice experience for you too. I would like to conclude with this final #tizziselfportrait and this line from the work of Antoine de St. Exupéry: “You can really only see clearly with your heart. What is truly essential can’t be seen with your eyes.” Now it’s your turn…

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Vision of Heart | iPhone5S | Hipstamatic Tinto1884 BlacKeys Extra Fine | 2015

Tiziana Vergari

My name is Tiziana Vergari. I am Swiss-Italian. I was born in Geneva and now I live in the heart of the Swiss Alps. I am a painter and artist. I have loved photography since I was 15 years old. I’ve been on IPhonographe since 2010, and I’ve been signed up on Instagram since 2011, under the name @tizzia. I love getting behind the window of my iPhone and gather what the world has to offer. Taking and editing photos just arouses my curiosity. I take photos of what I love and love what I photograph. I’m a Storyteller through images, and I regularly travel to explore cultural, artistic, and historic spaces. My photos are also awarded prizes and published in magazines, as well as in photo festivals. My work has been exhibited in contemporary art galleries around Europe, including Lugano, Milan, London, and now in Pietrasanta.

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