The art selfie is here to stay. This global phenomenon, which is permeating the art world, testifies to the growing popularity of art within popular culture. The trend arguably peaked when global music superstars Jay Z and his wife Beyoncé posed in front of the Mona Lisa and posted the image to their social media accounts (see “Beyoncé and Jay Z Pose with Mona Lisa” and “Beyoncé and Jay Z Elevate the Art Selfie Into a Movement“).
The next level was reached when a clever Irish museum-goer sought out marble statues with outstretched arms at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork, and proceeded to take a series of photos in which the statues seemed to be taking selfies of themselves (see “‘Statue Selfies’ Are the Next Great Internet Art Trend”).
The Danish designer and marketer Olivia Muus has recently gone one step beyond, aiming her camera phone to a group of Old Master paintings, Bored Panda reports. Muus risked angry looks and reprimands from museum guards in Copenhagen’s National Gallery of Denmark, and created a funny series of images in which the subjects of classic portraits seem to engaging in the oh-so-contemporary act of taking a selfie.
Given the success of her exploits, Muus has launched the Tumblr blog Museum of Selfies, in which she invites to people to contribute to this nascent trend.