vol.2
self-portrait
chief editor Sumarno Sandiarjo graphic designer Respati Ririt Pohaci photographer contributor Anna Di Prospero, Erica Simone, Julia Kozerski cover Anna Di Prospero
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SELF-PORTRAIT Self-portrait is not just about taking a beautiful and good-looking photographs of body or face. Today, we see from 3 artists who taing self-portrait photographs to respond to something. See the photographs from Erica Simone ‘Nue York’, which questions that sparked awareness: “What would the world feel like naked? What if we didn’t have clothing to portray who we want to be or feel as individuals? What if we couldn’t show off our social status to deserve the treatment we wanted from others? What if all we had were our bodies?” And many more questions from Erica. And Anna’s, she makes her photographs more interesting, where she has interaction with the new architecture building. And there’re photographs by Julia Kozerski, please feel free to see :) vOL 2: self portrait • 03
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Anna Di Prospero Erica Simone Julia Kozerski
urban self-portrait 2010-2012 by: Anna Di Prospero w w w. a nnadipro s p ero.c om
I am interested in new architectures because they are symbols of the present and my purpose is to picture myself as part of the era I am living in. I traveled around Europe and USA looking for the latest outstanding architectures, from the Gehry Buildings in Dusseldorf to the High Line in New York. With every of these works I explored the concept of body, space and interactions.
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NUE YORK
self-portraits of a bare urban citizen
by: Erica Simone w w w.er i c a sim o ne.c om
As once an Angeleno in Paris, and now a Parisian in New York, really my mind is stuck in the stars. Photography has become a true passion and within it, a never-ending drive to try and challenge everything, even if it means getting naked in the freezing snow... “Nue York: Self-Portraits of a Bare Urban Citizen” bloomed from an initial questioning about clothing and its importance in society today. Fashion and what we wear act as a language: they allow us to silently portray who we are or want to be, offering society an impression on us - whatever that may be. Fashion also tends to segregate and place us into various social categories as well as communicate a certain mood or particular feeling. This tool is quite precious to civil society and as most people, I organically use clothing as a way of portraying my own image. However, in a city like New York, the fashion industry has a massive impact: people tend to be very concerned with appearance and the materialistic side of it, which became very real while I was photographing Fashion Week a few years back. As I watched an image-absorbed union of people care more about the sales at Barney’s than the homeless people they step over on the street, I began to ponder: “What would the world feel like naked? What if we didn’t have clothing to portray who we want to be or feel as individuals? What if we couldn’t show off our social status to deserve the treatment we wanted from others? What if all we had were our bodies?” These questions raised many various issues and these
issues raised many various questions. From there, my photographic project was born. With a tripod and a couple ounces of adrenaline, I took to the streets bare to see what a typical New York day would be like. At first, I wasn’t so sure what was going to happen or what was going to come of it all, but as the collection progressed, more and more issues became aware to me. For example: “Why can we be arrested for being naked in the street, when as human beings, we are born naked?” I can understand that it would be socially unacceptable or morally discouraged, but for it to be in some cases prohibited by law…? This all seemed quite bizarre and really more so a violation of human rights. Another question that arose was that of sexuality. “Is nudity inherently sexual or is nudity just a part of being human? Why does society typically equate nudity to sex? And how does the variety of body types come into equation when asking that question?” Each person’s answer is different. To clarify, I’m not an exhibitionist or a nudist – I’m an artist looking to humorously poke at some interesting thoughts about society and question who we are and portray as human beings. It’s now up to the viewer to answer those questions, as he/she likes. From Houston to Hudson and from Bowery to the Bronx, photographing Manhattan has never been such a rush…. vOL 2: self portrait • 023
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TAG by: Julia Kozerski w w w.julia kozer s k i.c om
For decades, print and broadcast media have portrayed unattainable, idealized images of the body. Most times we would encounter these depictions of “perfection” while watching our favorite sitcoms or walking past the magazine stand. In those moments, when we were led to believe that we should strive for the perfect body, we always had time to stop and process the idyllic imagery before moving on with our own realities.
is primarily moderated and distributed by the individual user, which more insidiously and more effectively convinces the viewer that the unattainable is not only desirable, but is actually attainable. Because of this increasing access and active participation in the glorification of unrealistic standards, we have become a culture obsessed with appearance. Negative body image is rampant, and mental and health issues, such as eating disorders, are on the rise.
In recent years, however, the Internet has become the dominant form of media consumption and, at times, it leaves us mistaking fiction for fact. With live feeds, instant updates, and seemingly infinite scrolling, digital media has the ability to expose us to those same unrealistic images at broadband speeds. This immediacy truncates the time to consciously decipher the validity of what we are being shown. The Internet’s instant gratification has affected us on a deeper level than just the visual. Unlike commercial media, online content
The video and stills that comprise Tag are in dialogue with this influence of Internet mass media on the individual. Various representations of the female form were pulled from the Tumblr microblogging platform using simple keywords such as #beautiful, #sexy, and #perfect. Assembled in a slideshow, the images are selected at random and transition rapidly at a rate of 5 seconds; mimicking the thread refresh time. Projected onto my body, I frantically attempt to align myself with the idealized forms, in a futile effort.
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