October is here, and with it, National Art History Month. It’s the perfect excuse to dive into CPL’s art book collection and celebrate. This month, we’re turning the spotlight on photography and self-portraits. Since photography burst onto the scene nearly two centuries ago, artists have been snapping away, creating self-portraits that have evolved into the modern “selfie.” But these aren’t always just quick phone pics—they're deeper than you might think.
With photography, self-portraits can be more than a simple snapshot; they can be a carefully crafted performance by the artist. The medium's ability to freeze a specific moment in time gives us a direct window into their world, documenting it in a way that’s both immediate and enduring. Each picture is a rich archive of setting, pose, emotion, intention, composition and lighting, all of which contribute to a layered narrative about the artist's inner and outer life. This narrative carries on through the photograph both as it was captured in that exact moment and as it gains new meaning in each viewer's eye over time—months, years, even decades after being photographed, in perpetuity.
The art books below invite you to explore how photographers have used their cameras as both a mirror and stage. They reveal how self-portraits—or selfies, if you prefer—can be a true art form. Through themes of identity, performance and self-representation, these works offer insight into the artists’ psyches, the eras they lived in and how their selfies preserve not just a face, but a conversation between the viewer, the artist, their environment and the persona they unveil.
Take a look and discover how the fine art of the selfie can be a canvas for thoughtful self-expression, as well as a reflection on how changing social and historical contexts can impact the way we see or are seen by ourselves and others.
Consider, for example, the self-portraits of Vivian Maier, opens a new window, an enigmatic nanny and amateur photographer who has become synonymous with Chicago history. Known for her reclusive nature and deliberate privacy, Maier left behind a vast archive of photographs and undeveloped film not discovered until years after her death. Her street photographs documenting the everyday life of Chicago’s working-class neighborhoods are punctuated by the occasional self-portrait—often taken in windows, reflections, and shadows—as if quietly whispering, “I was here, secretly.” Altogether, her renowned images reveal both her elusive personality and the city's dynamic character, offering a special glimpse into mid-20th century Chicago. This book, in particular, presents 60 of what are considered Maier's least known self-portraits, perhaps bringing the viewer as close as anyone can possibly be to understanding who she truly was.
Where Is Ana Mendieta?, opens a new window features “Silueta,” a series of photographs in which the artist frames her body in relationship with the natural world, intertwining her physical form with the Cuban landscape she once knew as home. Through these images, Mendieta invokes a spiritual presence—of her own and of ancestral land—connecting notions of selfhood, feminism, nature and exile with transcendent resonance. This book offers a window into her work and life spent exploring the elemental bonds between body, mind and Earth.
Liberated: The Radical Art and Life of Claude Cahun, opens a new window is a graphic biography that illustrates the life of a Surrealist artist now known for being ahead of their time. It begins with a portrayal of Cahun's upbringing and encounters with antisemitism in France, then of their bold efforts to resist Nazi occupation alongside their creative growth in Paris during WWII and, eventually, over the rest of their hermetic life on the British island of Jersey. Throughout, the book showcases self-portraits constructed by both Cahun and their life partner, Marcel Moore. "Beneath this mask, another mask”—Cahun’s poignant adage on using the body as theater—serves as the culminating idea present in many of their photos, all of which provoke playful and tender ideas about using persona, gender, facade and performance as methods of both self-preservation and self-liberation.
Next, this collection of essays, opens a new window and interviews examine the photography of Carrie Mae Weems. With her camera, she navigates diverse settings—from the American kitchen table to the ancient landscapes of Rome—to question the social mores surrounding Black women within American culture. Among the photographs included in this book is "Kitchen Table Series," which narrates Weems's life as it unfolds within the private space of her kitchen. This setting acts as a backdrop to her connection with family, friends, lovers and self. Weems photographs herself as the protagonist in the images but portrays an archetype of a woman on a quest to redefine emancipating notions of love for women and people of color.
Lastly, this self-titled monograph, opens a new window celebrates the long career of Cindy Sherman, who is known for her playful and evocative performances meant to challenge conventional assumptions of female beauty and gender roles. Among many others, it includes her series of large, untitled color photographs designed to mimic the horizontal layout of magazine centerfolds. In these self-portraits taken during 1981, Sherman adopts an anxious but introspective demeanor to subvert the objectification of women typically associated with such imagery, especially at the time. By positioning herself in these familiar yet unsettling poses, she turns the viewer into a witness of internalized anxiety rather than a passive consumer of beauty. In doing so, Sherman both assesses the way women are represented in mainstream media and reveals the psychological toll these cultural ideals can have.
Sherman's series is on permanent view in the contemporary wing at the Art Institute of Chicago. Use your library card to reserve a museum pass, opens a new window and see the photographs in person!
If you were to celebrate yourself in a self-portrait, what telling details would you include in your photograph?
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