I'm a Selfie
Petra Cortright has been known for pioneering the digital world. Before streaming video was a trend, or YouTubing was a verb, Cortright used the video streaming service for its ease of use. When assigned video projects in school, she found that using a webcam and uploading her videos to YouTube significantly cut down cost and the amount of equipment required. Little did Cortright know that she would help pave the way for the online persona and internet art. Cortright led a new kind of digital art by incorporating emojis and filters into her desktop experiments, long before Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and the other similar apps used today (Sayej, 2018).
““The technology has been around for a long time, so I’m really surprised it took so long. It’s not new technology, but it’s fun to play with and people love it.””
Cortright had mentioned that she creates her videos as self-portraits, rather than selfies. True Life: I’m a Selfie is a webcam video where she explored the selfie-culture. At under two minutes, the short video was likely shot in just one take, a technique Cortright has stuck to throughout most of her webcam videos (Sayej, 2018). The video was shot in what looks to be Cortright’s bedroom. Cortright’s seen front and center, with an unmade bed and side table in the background. The video began with Cortright making seductive, open-mouth faces. Just 13 seconds in, she began snapping flash photos of herself using the rear-facing camera of her phone, somewhat un-typical for a selfie. With her arm fully extended, she continued to take sultry photos of her smudgy eyeliner and red lipstick. Cortright changed angles and poses every few seconds, revealing her t-shirt that had been tucked up into a crop top. Jokingly, Cortright started photographing while sticking out her tongue. She danced throughout th shots, and began to drink from a bottle. Her moves resembled a drunk girl in a club, with music to match in the background. Cortright’s emerging ‘liquid courage’ sparked a final round of selfies before the webcam was shut off.
Image courtesy of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH2kgof7aYc&t=1s
While Cortright named her piece I’m a Selfie, she mocks selfie-culture. The differentiators between a selfie and a self-portrait are at play in the webcam video. To start, Cortright used the camera on the back of the phone, avoiding the obvious choice of a front-facing camera. Her rapid movements and change of poses do not allow her to capture a still photo worthy of sharing on the internet. Additionally her over exaggerated facial expressions represent a selfie extreme, polarizing a selfie from a self-portrait. While selfies often focus on face, ego, and body, Cortright argues that self-portraits are rather opposite. Selfies are taken by the 10’s and 20’s, until the perfect head tilt, hair style, puckered lips, and background are captured in a single shot. In contrast, Cortright’s videos are uploaded after a single take. Selfie-culture embodies perfectionism, where Cortright’s work does not.
““For me the difference is that self-portrait deals a lot with background and the entire composition, the mood. Whereas a selfie is a little bit more restricting, it’s usually made on a mass produced technology, like an iPhone, and it’s about how far you can hold out your arm or a selfie stick.””
Image courtesy of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH2kgof7aYc&t=1s
Selfies have become a somewhat acceptable way of repeatedly posting photos of one’s self for gratification, a sense of belonging, and/or boosting self-esteem. Somewhere in that mix, an intrinsic self-confidence is required to share the selfie on a social platform, opening one’s self, or one’s selfie to ridicule. Cortright’s work has been described quite differently, further separating her work from the selfie category.
““Cortright’s work is self-conscious, socially anxious, and rather sensitive. It is feminist, without being overtly so, and social, without being extroverted.””
Similarly to I’m a Selfie, i feel u takes an obvious look at self-image and the female body. As Cortright moved her body around the screen, the swirl effect on the screen showed her body in an ever-changing distortion. She positioned herself directly behind the swirl effect, moving her body to fit into the swirl in intentional ways. She exaggerated the curve of her lower back, protruded her breasts, and lifted her behind. Though the piece was uploaded in 2015, the piece is artistically dry in 2018. The webcam video uses basic, widely available features to produce a weak and obvious connection to body image. I’m a Selfie can be similarly critiqued. Though the piece was relevant in early 2013, webcam videos and mocking selfie-culture has become more normal. Therefore the piece has lost artistic credibility over the years.
Image courtesy of https://www.artsy.net/artwork/554e6c867261693b1cc50a00
With pieces such as I’m a Selfie, i feel u, Bridal Shower, and Mainbitch.mov Spring scrap, one could argue that Petra Cortright delves right into the body-image, self-esteem, and feminist categories. With a half dozen webcam videos pointing directly towards these issues, Cortright surprisingly does not like speaking about feminism and/or gender politics. Categorized as a ‘digifeminist’ artist, Cortright stated that she wouldn’t want her legacy to be “Was Petra Cortright a Feminist, yes or no?” (Plevin, 2016).
Similar to I’m a Selfie and i feel u, Mika Rottenberg’s The cardiao solaric cyclopad-work from your home as you get fit and tan takes an obvious look at the female body and societies expectations. Rottenberg’s piece resembles the fit, tan and DIY multitasking woman. With clear resemblance to Rosie the Riveter, Rottenberg does not shy from the feminist agenda like Cortright might. Oiled and smiling, the woman portrays expectations of a working female- tan yet loves to eat, and fit yet well endowed. While Rottenberg’s piece looks at many parts of society’s expectations of the female body, Cortright’s piece i feel u looks at shape and posture and I’m a Selfie looks at the portrayal of one’s self to society.
Image courtesy of: https://www.flashartonline.com/article/mika-rottenberg/
As a digital pioneer in the post-internet era, Cortright’s webcam videos have lost their sense of relevance over the years. Once a piece of art, these webcam videos have become another lost title in the sea of YouTube. Cortright’s work has evolved over the years. The webcam videos from the early 2010’s have been set aside, making time for digital prints and collaborations with fashion designers Stella McCartney and Robert Sanchez (Plevin, 2016).
Sources:
Ahwa, Dan, and Danielle Clausen. “Artist Petra Cortright's Digital Influence.” Viva, NZME. Publishing Ltd, 4 Apr. 2017, www.viva.co.nz/article/culture-travel/artist-petra-cortright/.
Eler, Alicia. “Petra Cortright: Post-Internet Art in the Social Media Age.” KCET, 29 June 2016, www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/petra-cortright-post-internet-art-in-the-social-media-age.
Kerr, Merrily, et al. “Mika Rottenberg.” Flash Art, 15 Aug. 2017, www.flashartonline.com/article/mika-rottenberg/.
“Petra Cortright | i Feel u (2015) | Available for Sale.” Artsy, Artsy, www.artsy.net/artwork/554e6c867261693b1cc50a00.
petracortright. “True Life: I'm a Selfie - (Fake True's Negativity Remix).” YouTube, YouTube, 18 Jan. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH2kgof7aYc&t=1s.
Plevin, Ella. “Petra Cortright on Selfies and the Feminist Question.” Sleek Mag, 5 Apr. 2016, www.sleek-mag.com/2015/02/03/petra-cortright-on-selfies-and-the-feminist-question/.
Sayej, Nadja. “Petra Cortright Turns Camgirling into Feminist Art.” I-d, i-d, 26 Feb. 2018, i-d.vice.com/en_au/article/kzpxvv/petra-cortright-turns-camgirling-into-feminist-art.
