Everyone seems to be taking selfies these days - politicians, celebrities, sporting icons, ordinary Joe Soaps and even academics!  However, selfies are not a new phenomena.  Humans have been making self-portraits for hundreds of years, yet contemporary selfies do represent something new.  The word selfie itself has become incorporated into many vernaculars.  The origins of the modern day selfie are intertwined within the development social media websites and their ever-increasing popularity.  Selfies and 'profile pics’  have become an important identity display and form of communicative interaction for many.

However, my interest in selfies rests within their aesthetic value, and the degree to which they may be called art.  In fact I would argue that selfies represent an artistic revolution.  What other art form or medium has attained the same level of social saturation?  

Many might argue that selfies are not art, but I will happily argue, very many of them are.  Art is after all but a social construct.  The artist Marcel Duchamp took everyday objects back in the early 1900’s and exhibited them, forcing us to question the difference between art and life.  We ourselves dictate what is art and what is not.  It is the artist’s act of choice and the value placed on such creation, which transforms objects into art.  Skill and mastery are important but are not always requisite for a creation to become art.  However, there is a hierarchy of aesthetic that is dominant.  A set of rules that if applicable make some creations more ascendant than others.  This aesthetic is culturally bound.  

We now live in a culture of instantaneous everything.  Everything is getting faster and more accessible.  In the past self-portraits were labour intensive and may have been limited to those with artistic skill or those owning specialist photographic equipment.  Now most people have an entire art and photographic studio in the software contained on their phone.   It is the combination of the availability of equipment and software on people’s phones, in addition to the phenomena of online identities that has produced selfie-mania! 

But back to my argument – selfies are art, maybe not all of them but a very many.  The difference for me between the two types of selfies lies amongst those that have involved the act of choice and those that have not.  Those that have not involved the act of choice are communicative and often spontaneous; they present a message about a particular time and place, they are simply photographic.  However, it is the selfies that have involved the act of choice, that I argue are art.  It is the selfie that has been posed and considered.  The one made with intention to look a certain way and communicate a specific meaning.  It is the one that has been made with the intention to display.   It may have involved the use of props or the application of photographic filters.

Either way selfies represent new and interesting artistic and social phenomena, worthy of more discussion and greater enquiry.  The contemporary popularity of selfies is unquestionable.  A recent song by The Chainsmokers, entitled “SELFIE” which is displayed on Youtube, had at the time I watched it an incredible 142,806,057 views.  

So if you haven’t yet, I think may be it's time … come on and take a selfie!

© Clay Darcy, June 2014

Surprising as this might be to some, I had actually never been on a stag before; this was to be my first.  It was only a little stag mind you, as the main event had been a weekend earlier, which I was unable to attend due to a big college deadline.  To be honest, I was anxious about going to the little stag.  I imagined ridiculous drinking games, shots after shots of alcohol, strip clubs, displays of machismo and general rowdiness.  But in reality it was not like the movie “The Hangover”, it was just like any other night out, the only real difference … it was a men only affair.

I had to work late on the night in question, so I arrived to the stag just after 10pm.  This may have been my saving grace, as the group had met earlier in the afternoon, so at time of my arrival they were well oiled.  I received a very warm welcome and within a few short minutes, I had a pint of the black stuff in my hand and the conversations began …

Irish men are traditionally known to be stoic, hiders of emotion and unable to express what emotion they have.  However, this was not the case on the stag.  The conversations that unfolded were open and honest, there was nothing hidden or held back.  These men were affectionate to each other, albeit with a good dose of slagging in the mix.  What was evident from this was the inherent trust that existed between the men.

I was enjoying myself, the black stuff was good and the conversation was mighty.  One of the men felt it was time to do shots!  He asked me what shots we should get?  Both of us felt very old in that moment, as neither of us knew what shots were in vogue as they say.  “I haven’t a clue what to order, the last shots that I did were Slippery Nipples … or were they Baby Guinness?  Ask the bar man what shots are in at the moment” I said.  I continued on chatting and drinking.  The shots arrived; he had gone for a traditional choice – Sambuca.  We cheered and toasted as we drank back the sticky liquorice alcohol. 

Soon the conversation moved to “what are we doing next?”  There were many jestful suggestions from the men: 

“Lets go to a casino-strip club”  ...   “Do they have casino strip-clubs in Ireland?”   ... "Let's do a line of coke"

“Lets get a tattoo” …  “Yeah let’s get a tattoo” ... "No lets get a line of coke tattooed into us!” 

In the end we very happily settled for heading to a different pub around the corner and having another pint!  At this stage we were all successfully talking rings around ourselves, and the manly displays of affection were becoming more frequent and overt.  Group hugs and man cuddles were dished out.  One of the men, who had consumed more than a few alcoholic drinks, was dancing in what can be only described as an interpretive style and he was receiving attention from many women.  Note I just said attention …  it was not necessarily good! 

Having filled our bellies with more beer that question came up again … “What are we doing next?”  With general consensus achieved we stumbled into a taxi and headed further in to the city centre.  The taxi ride was interesting to say the least.  We lost a few good men along the way but eventually arrived at our next destination.  What then unfolded was a continuation of the conversations that took place earlier, maybe with a little more depth, or maybe it was just repetition?

My stag experience was fun and interesting.  It was a lot less wild than I imagined, it was a night like any other really.  However, there was depth to it, an additional layer of meaning in the interactions that took place during the night.  It was both a celebration and a farewell.  The stag himself may have been teased and made fun of, but there was an over-riding sense of affection between the men and a closeness that would not have been evident in a normal night out.  Some of the men told each other how much they meant to each other, and although the big “L” word was never mentioned, other expressions were uttered, such as “I’d die for him and he would die for me”. 

One observation that struck me, relates to the affection and emotion between the men on the stag.  Although affection and emotional expressions were evident throughout my time at the stag party, I wonder would these have occurred without the lubrication of alcohol?  I believe not and this suggests to me that stoicism remains entrenched within some men’s constructs of masculinity.  In Ireland, alcohol provides “legitimate” means for men to express emotion and affection.  However, it’s a pity the cloak of alcohol is necessary for this to take place in the first instance. 

None-the-less, the stag party is a significant ritual and life event.  It brings men together and irrespective of the means, provides an opportunity to display affection, and reaffirm bonds and friendship.  It is an important narrative in the wedding process.  Although alcohol is deeply entwined in the stag ritual, however, it is by no means the most significant part.  Equally as important the men spoke about the other things they had done as part of the main stag event; they ate together, bantered, talked and played many sports.    

Unfortunately my time at the little stag had come to an end, the boss was on the way into town to collect me.  So, with a take-away pint of Guinness in hand, I bade the men farewell and I took flight up through the bustling streets to find my carriage home!  My first stag may have only been a little stag and may well have been tame in comparison to others.  There were no facial tattoos, no strange little monkeys, dodgy drugs or tigers in the bathroom; only a group of men drinking and chatting, doing dodgy dance moves, singing favourite jingles and sharing sneaky cigarettes in the beer garden!  But say nothing to no body about the sneaky cigarettes because .... what happens on the stag, stays on the stag … unless, of course you are writing a blog about it!

© Clay Darcy, June 2014