The Metamorphosis of Self(ie)-Portrait : Between the Sublime and the Banal

Abstract

The analogy between the myth of Narcissus, referred to as the intrinsic symbol of painting by Leon Battista Alberti; the typological value of self-portrait as an ontological and statutory reference; its value while metamorphosis of reality; and the self-representative phenomenon that Selfi e translates – all this has to be established and requires due consideration. When dwelling on the contemporary Selfi e we need to consider also the salvifi c dimension of this kind of self-representation mechanisms that have always been there. The value of image while self-awareness mechanism compels us to question the fi eld of action where it is far more active – on social media. Its immanence is a true narcissistic affl iction. The intrinsic and immediate value of image thus overlaps sign and word. The mechanisms of self-contemplation thus produced translate into a clear ontological impoverishment of reality. The Selfi e does not prevent the subject’s Kafkian metamorphosis, but renders reality vulgar, making it acceptable through both similarity and integration. Self-portrait and Selfi e are thus the ancestral mechanisms of self-preservation. Its origin derives from narcissistic mechanisms that require a continuous desire to stand out socially. However, while the pictorial self-portrait translates into epistemic valuation of its author, Selfi e delights in the vulgarization of the repetitive and banal gesture. [Apoio FCT (ref.UIDB/04189/2020)]