Narcissism is the defining pathology of the twenty-first century, but what if it is not self-obsession that defines us but a need for self-transformation?
Narcissus in Bloom is a short history of the self-portrait, beginning with Renaissance painters like Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt and Caravaggio, through to photographers and celebrities like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, Lee Friedlander and Hervé Guibert.
Analysing the ways that so many artists have regarded their own image, how might the age of the selfie be considered as a time of transformation rather than stasis? By returning to the original tale of Narcissus, and the flower from which he takes his name, this book offers an alternative reading of narcissism from within the midst of a moralising subgenre of books that argue our self-obsession will be the death of us. That may be so. But what will we become after we have taken the watery track, and rid ourselves of the cloistered self-image given to us by late capitalism?
"Narcissus in Bloom is a real achievement ... it marks a return to a now lost tradition: big-picture cultural theorising that speaks to and illuminates present-day anxieties in unexpected ways, spoken in the vernacular of contemporary popular culture, of the likes of Richard Hoggart, Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall and more." - Dan Taylor, author of Spinoza and the Politics of Freedom
"Relating one's emotional self to those around us is at the very heart of Colquhoun's queer critical and political project. Narcissus in Bloom is ambitious, moving, inspirational and loving... a purposeful and universal work driven by the author's passion for photography." - Dr. Michael Waugh, Lecturer in Media, Communication & Cultural Studies at Newcastle University
"Rather than see the selfie as a sign of self-absorption, this engrossing volume understands the selfie as expressing a longing for a kind of self-transformation. Elegantly and stylishly written, this book is the best kind of cultural criticism, sweeping away the worn- out cliches of the familiar for the freshness and wonder of the truly new.” - Jon Greenaway, author of Capitalism: A Horror Story
'Narcissus in Bloom is a fascinating alternative genealogy of our modern obsession with the photographic self-image. With characteristic heart and sensibility, Colquhoun examines the philosophical and art historical roots of narcissism. Mining his emancipatory potential and rescuing him from his liberal individualist sequestering, Narcissus is recast as the fraught, forlorn and fractured face of contemporary subjectivity. To bridge the impossible gap between how we see ourselves and how others see us, this is the paradoxical and panoptical status of the self portrait today that Colquhoun rivetingly gets to grips with. You'll never look at a selfie the same way again.' - Isabel Millar, author of The Psychoanalysis of Artificial Intelligence
Matt Colquhoun is a writer and photographer from Hull, UK. He is the author of Egress: On Mourning, Melancholy and Mark Fisher (2020) and the editor of Mark Fisher’s Postcapitalist Desire: The Final Lectures (2021). He is currently based in Newcastle upon Tyne and blogs at xenogothic.com.
Narcissism is the defining pathology of the twenty-first century, but what if it is not self-obsession that defines us but a need for self-transformation?
Narcissus in Bloom is a short history of the self-portrait, beginning with Renaissance painters like Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt and Caravaggio, through to photographers and celebrities like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, Lee Friedlander and Hervé Guibert.
Analysing the ways that so many artists have regarded their own image, how might the age of the selfie be considered as a time of transformation rather than stasis? By returning to the original tale of Narcissus, and the flower from which he takes his name, this book offers an alternative reading of narcissism from within the midst of a moralising subgenre of books that argue our self-obsession will be the death of us. That may be so. But what will we become after we have taken the watery track, and rid ourselves of the cloistered self-image given to us by late capitalism?
Praise
"Narcissus in Bloom is a real achievement ... it marks a return to a now lost tradition: big-picture cultural theorising that speaks to and illuminates present-day anxieties in unexpected ways, spoken in the vernacular of contemporary popular culture, of the likes of Richard Hoggart, Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall and more." - Dan Taylor, author of Spinoza and the Politics of Freedom
"Relating one's emotional self to those around us is at the very heart of Colquhoun's queer critical and political project. Narcissus in Bloom is ambitious, moving, inspirational and loving... a purposeful and universal work driven by the author's passion for photography." - Dr. Michael Waugh, Lecturer in Media, Communication & Cultural Studies at Newcastle University
"Rather than see the selfie as a sign of self-absorption, this engrossing volume understands the selfie as expressing a longing for a kind of self-transformation. Elegantly and stylishly written, this book is the best kind of cultural criticism, sweeping away the worn- out cliches of the familiar for the freshness and wonder of the truly new.” - Jon Greenaway, author of Capitalism: A Horror Story
'Narcissus in Bloom is a fascinating alternative genealogy of our modern obsession with the photographic self-image. With characteristic heart and sensibility, Colquhoun examines the philosophical and art historical roots of narcissism. Mining his emancipatory potential and rescuing him from his liberal individualist sequestering, Narcissus is recast as the fraught, forlorn and fractured face of contemporary subjectivity. To bridge the impossible gap between how we see ourselves and how others see us, this is the paradoxical and panoptical status of the self portrait today that Colquhoun rivetingly gets to grips with. You'll never look at a selfie the same way again.' - Isabel Millar, author of The Psychoanalysis of Artificial Intelligence
Author
Matt Colquhoun is a writer and photographer from Hull, UK. He is the author of Egress: On Mourning, Melancholy and Mark Fisher (2020) and the editor of Mark Fisher’s Postcapitalist Desire: The Final Lectures (2021). He is currently based in Newcastle upon Tyne and blogs at xenogothic.com.
