"Self-Confidence" - Performance Selfies Inspired by Marina Abramovich (Nicolette Capua)

Nicolette Capua, Self-Confidence, 2022

        Self-confidence is a feeling of one's qualities, abilities, and judgment. We must own who we are to be confident in ourselves. The way we see ourselves is the way others will see us if we aren’t happy in our own skin. Marina Abramovich's first performance art was when she tried to break her nose on her bed so she could get a nose job. Her plan was to put pictures of Bridgett Bardot in her pocket, break her nose on the bed and when she would go to the hospital she could show them the picture of the nose she wanted. She was self-conscious about it and her mother would slap her every time she asked to get a nose job. She figured breaking it would allow her to get it done. Her nose made her feel ugly and insecure.

    The first picture in my series is showing a girl contouring her nose. She is doing this to change the shape of it to look smaller. The second picture is the girl covering the bump on her nose with her finger. She is covering the bump to see what she would look like without it. The third image is of the first looking down with her hands covering her face. She is very overwhelmed and frustrated. She doesn't feel beautiful and hates the way she looks. These pictures reflect Marina Abramovich's first performance. This girl is upset with the way she looks and will do anything she can to change her nose.

The Art of Self Invention

By Joanne Finkelstein


Chapter 4 : Advertising

1- “Advertisements have to be arresting. If they address us in embracing terms then we are drawn into their universe” (Finkelstein 147).

    Advertisements need to be addressed to a specific audience to draw them in and get them hooked on what they are promoting or selling. They have to be very specific in the advertisement in order to engage that certain audience they are looking for. We are drawn into their “universe” if they use distinct terms that we are attracted to.

2- “Commercial entertainments and modern advertising have structured a globalized communication system crossing linguistic, politics, economic and cultural barriers. An international community of like-minded individuals thus comes into existence” (Finkelstein 151).
    

     Entertainment and advertising has changed the way we communicate across social media. When these advertisements are put up, it is meant to target a specific audience of people who have many common traits. The idea is to promote and select a certain audience so your product or business will get more engagement. Social media is a great way to advertise your business. This way you can get more followers and people will see what you are up to.


Chapter 5: Fashion

1- “The birth of fashion coincides with other changes in society and heralds an era in which individual desires are made into realizable pursuits” (Finkelstein 192)
     

    Fashion is always changing. There are new trends everyday that people follow. Different eras of clothes are always coming back into fashion years later that people want to try. Once a style of clothing is starting to trend then that will be the clothes everyone wears since everyone likes to copy each other and follow what others are doing. Pursuing a certain fashion statement is your choice and you should be able to express yourself through clothes anyway you want, not just by what's popular.


2- The same attention to detail is applied to celebrities in the modern era who are captured by the paparazzi in unflattering poses and then described as too fat or too thin, possibly pregnant or anorexic, drug-addicted, unhappy, lonely, and depressed. Every detail of their presentation comes under close security that forces a conceptual collapse between identity and appearance” (Finkelstein 195).

    Celebrities are the ones who get the most hate with anything they do. They are always criticized by how they look, what they wear, what they eat, how they talk, etc. Fashion is very popular in the celebrity world and if you ever have one off moment where you don't look good, the paparazzi will get a picture of you and write something terrible about you. You always have to look presentable and wearing the latest fashion designs as a celebrity. Fashion will never stop being important and it depends on you if you want to stay up to date with it or not.

Khan Academy Performance Art: An Introduction

1- “These performative approaches to making art built on philosophical interpretations of Abstract Expressionism, which held the gestural markings of action painters as visible evidence of the artist’s own existence” (Khan Academy 7).

     Artists are very deliberate when making performative art. There is intention behind the lighting, visual effects, movement of the camera, etc. These performances help bring these arts visions to life and express an even bigger meaning behind it. They are great for making people more interested in their work and engaging a larger audience.

2- “By effectively calling attention to the hum of fluorescent lights, people moving in their seats, coughs, whispers, and other ordinary sounds, Cage transformed them into a unique musical composition” (Khan Academy 8).

     Everything used in these performances have a purpose towards the meaning of these artist's work. They are able to even make their work into musical performances that raise larger questions and bring more awareness to their art. Being able to make their art into performances helps their stories come to life.