Whether you love or loathe the act of selfie-taking, it has become quite the art form over the last decade. Gone are the days of holding our non-selfie-friendly Canon PowerShots away from our bodies, hoping that our entire face actually fit in the frame. With top-notch front-facing cameras, the invention of the selfie stick, photo filters, user-friendly editing tools and apps like Instagram and VSCO, the possibilities for selfie-taking are seemingly endless.
A new pop-up affectionately called the Museum of Selfies opened in Glendale, California this week, and aims to explore this cultural frenzy by displaying artwork centered around the craft of selfie-taking. It invites visitors to take as many selfies as their hearts desire while exploring the exhibits -- in other words, smartphone-bearing patrons become an integral part of the museum itself.
Founders Tair Mamedov and Tommy Honton curated the museum in order to uncover the mysteries of the selfie craze and show patrons how art has evolved in the digital age. “The relationship between people and art has changed,” Honton said. “Now people don’t want to be just a silent consumer; they want to be part of the art. There are way more selfies with the Mona Lisa than the actual Mona Lisa.”
Apparently, selfies have roots dating back 40,000 years, way before cameras or even classical portraiture existed. At the museum, you can learn all about the evolution of the selfie and how it originally came to be.
“We tried avoiding making the museum about the surface value of selfies and more about the selfie phenomenon embraced by the human race and how universal it is,” says Horton.
Some of the highlights of the museum include photos of “Mr. Selfie” with household names like the Dalai Lama and the Pope, the world’s largest selfie stick and even a "Game of Thrones"-inspired iron throne composed entirely of selfie sticks. In addition to being king or queen of the selfie throne, you can also take unique pics with supersized food, pose in an optical illusion that looks as if you’re on top of a skyscraper and in a recreation of Van Gogh’s painting of his bedroom in Arles, France.
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The museum’s Instagram page is full of manipulated portraits of historical figures like Freida Khalo, Vincent Van Gogh and even some very abstract Picasso figures taking their own selfies with smartphones.
The Museum of Selfies will be open from April 1 - May 31 and tickets cost $25, which you can purchase ahead of time here.