Selfie: The Changing Face of Self Portraits

Book excerpt: 'Selfies' are everywhere - from Kim Kardashian, queen of the selfie, to the Queen of England photobombing the Australian hockey team's selfie in 2014, you can't open a newspaper, or visit a news website, without seeing one. Recent technology, such as the selfie stick, and camera phones, have helped make the selfie a global trend, so you would be forgiven for thinking that this is a modern trend. But in fact, the first known selfies date from about 40,000 years ago and are hand stencils, discovered on a cave wall in Indonesia. Produced in conjunction with the Art Archive, Selfie charts the progress and the development of the self portrait, from Indonesian caves, through famous self-portrait artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso and the invention of the camera, to iconic modern selfies such as the 2014 Oscar photograph. It looks at trends, techniques and the tales behind some famous self portraits - do you know why Van Gogh was driven to cut off a chunk of his ear? Or how Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera's stormy marriage affected their painting? Which teenage member of the Russian royal family sent a selfie she had taken in a mirror to a friend in 1914? And how are Andy Warhol's photographic techniques still influencing selfie-takers today? Selfie has the answers to all these questions, and many more! Packed full of fascinating information and incredible images, this is a must-have book for selfie-lovers of all ages!