Lee Friedlander
[Photographer, b. 1934, Aberdeen, Washington, lives in New York.]
At first, my presence in my photos was fascinating and disturbing. But as time passed and I was more a part of other ideas in my photos, I was able to add a giggle to those feelings.
Cindy Sherman
[Artist, b. 1954, Glen Ridge, New Jersey, lives in New York.]
Everyone thinks [that my photographs] are self-portraits, but they are not meant to be. If I photograph myself it’s because I can push my own limits to the extreme. I can make from each shot a work as heavy, as clumsy or as stupid as I want.
Ralph Steiner
[Photographer, b. 1899, Cleveland, Ohio, d. 1986, Hanover, New Hampshire.]
By showing a picture, you’re showing an x-ray of your heart.
Penelope Umbrico
[Photographer, b. 1957, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, lives in New York.]
In the act of making, sharing, and consuming images, it seems like the more one shares images of oneself, the less one exists in the world.
Kim Kardashian
[Television personality and socialite, b. 1980, Los Angeles, lives in Hidden Hills, California.]
Since choice or chance gave me a way of life without privacy, I’ll violate my privacy myself, and I’ll have a good time doing it, too.
(On publishing Selfish,
a 450-page book of selfies.)
Lucas Samaras
[Artist, b. 1936, Kastoria, Greece, lives in New York.]
At any rate, when I began photographing myself, I could place myself in poses that had not been investigated by other artists. It was an area other artists hadn't touched. Then, I went on from there. I manipulated my image—distorting it, brutalizing it. People thought I was mad, but I felt I had to tell these things. It gave me a kind of excitement.
Roger Ballen
[Photographer, b. 1950, New York, lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.]
You need to travel deep inside yourself to create a good picture.
Orlan (Mireille Suzanne Francette Porte)
[Artist, b. 1947, St. Etienne, France, lives in Ivry-sur-Seine, France.]
I make myself into a new image in order to produce new images.
