The Essay: Mug Shots

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The Essay: Mug Shots: Know Thy Selfie

Know Thy Selfie

Mug Shots

BBC Radio 3 - The Essay, Mug Shots, Know Thy Selfie

Polly Coles reads the first of her essays on portraiture and our obsession with ourselves.

Writer Polly Coles reads Know Thy Selfie, the first of her essays on portraiture and our obsession with ourselves.

Writer Polly Coles reads Know Thy selfie, the first of her essays on portraiture and our obsession with ourselves. She looks at five different aspects of portraiture and makes the case that portraiture is the most intimate artistic conversation of all. Face to face with another human being, no other art form investigates and reveals more richly what it is to be human. Portraits can promote exploitation and self-aggrandisement, but at their best, they are instruments of honesty, love and profound attention. 

Polly suggests self-portraits are acts of radical self-exposure, whilst selfies achieve the opposite, constructing an image. 

Produced by Melanie Harris of Sparklab Productions
Photo by Ella Gradwell

You can find images of some of the paintings by artists referenced here: 
Jan van Eyk: bit.ly/Jan-Van-Eyck 
Tracey Emin: bit.ly/TraceyEminCBE 
Jonathan Richardson: bit.ly/JonathanRichardson 
William Utermohlen: bit.ly/WilliamUtermohlen;
Claude Cahun: bit.ly/ClaudeCahunSelfPortraits
Cindy Sherman: bit.ly/CindyShermanNPG
Greta Sharp: bit.ly/GretaSharp
The BBC is not responsible for the contents of the sites listed.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Writer Polly Coles looks at five different aspects of portraiture.

Writer Polly Coles looks at five different aspects of portraiture and makes the case that portraiture is the most intimate artistic conversation of all.

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