Dr Garcia pointed me to this post that has Sean Young’s polariod pictures from the set of Blade Runner (1982). I was struck my how much they resemble the selfie aesthetic of our current moment. It’s interesting to be reminded just how remarkable the Polariod technology was in the late 70s and early 80s, and it was both realtively affordable and very low barrier—O.G. point and click. There was a Huffington Post article back in January talking about Andy Warhol’s experimentation with the Polaroid might qualify him as the original king of the selfie —although ocne you make that argument there will always be an earlier example.
I love when the digital hearkens back to an aesthetic in analog technology (is this the opposite of the New Aesthetic somehow?), even if unwittingly given that it’s premised more on handheld immediacy than any real homage to late 70s, early 80s technology. And as a reimnder that I am the real king of the selfies, Noise Professor unearthed this early gem 🙂
