National Gallery bans 'selfie sticks'

Amour-propre (French, "self-love") is a concept in the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau that esteem depends upon the opinion of others.

Narcissism (noun) means : inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity.

What do people do when they are in groups ?  what do they do, when they are in an important place or scenic location or nearer celebrities ... simple – take ‘Selfie’ and immediately share them on social networking sites !  Selfie is ‘át arms length’ – meaning one can only extent the camera or cellphone to arm’s length and contrive an angle to take a photograph !

How good are you in taking a Selfie ? do they make the cut ?  - read now that  City Lit, a 96-year-old adult education center in central London, is offering a four-week course this winter called "the art of self-portraiture." The center has thousands of classes available, for everything from app-making to yoga.  For about $200, students in the class will "improve their critical understanding of the photographic self-portrait, as well as a platform to develop ideas towards the creation of a coherent body of work.  "In addition to improving their photography skills, they'll also be talking about "notions of identity, selfhood and memory."

Away in the "selfie capital of the world", the Philippines has an art museum that, instead of keeping you away from art pieces, encourages you take selfies with them and share your pictures with the world. The Art in Island in the Philippines's capital Manila uses three dimensional replicas of paintings and is rightly dubbed the planet's "first-ever selfie museum". The museum not only encourages its visitors in selfie-taking in the premises, they are also invited to touch, play with, and climb on the paintings and sculptures, The Creators Project reported.

For those enamoured with selfies, and keen to perfect the art – came the selfie stick which is criticised by some as associated  with the perceived narcissism.  A selfie stick is a monopod used to take selfie photographs by positioning a smartphone or camera beyond the normal range of the arm. The metal sticks are typically extensible, with a handle on one end and an adjustable clamp on the other end to hold a phone in place.  Some have remote or Bluetooth controls, letting the user decide when to take the picture, and models designed for cameras have a mirror behind the viewscreen so that the shot can be lined up.

The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.  Unlike comparable museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or princely art collection. It came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein, an insurance broker and patron of the arts, in 1824.

Last month came the news that National Gallery has banned ‘selfie sticks’.  The  selfie sticks, the extendable rods used by people to take photographs of themselves with mobile phones, though popular with tourists,  have now been banned in the National Gallery. The move followed bans in galleries in France and America – including the Palace of Versailles and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  The National Gallery, which allowed cameras for the first time last year, is expelling the gadgets because they fall under the category of ‘tripods’, which are already prohibited.

Esther Saunders-Deutsch, a spokeswoman for the gallery, said: 'Photography is allowed for personal, non-commercial purposes in the National Gallery – however there are a few exceptions in order to protect paintings, copyright of loans, individual privacy and the overall visitor experience. Therefore the use of flash and tripods is not permitted. 'Our gallery assistants and visitor facing staff are fully briefed and instructed to ensure we are striking the correct balance between visitor experience and the security and safety of works on display. 'Therefore they will use their discretion on a case by case basis in preventing photography which puts the safety of the collection at risk or obstructs other visitors.'

The rods were one of the most popular Christmas gifts last year and Boris Johnson, Beyonce and Barack Obama - who used one during a video promotion at the White House - are among those seen with the devices.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

13^th Apr 2015.