Explores New Approach of 

Recognizing Selves

在博物馆中探索“自拍”的奥义

In a celebration of self-portraits in the social media age, two American artists, Tommy Honton and Tair Mamedov opened the Museum of Selfies recently in Los Angeles – an interactive exhibition exploring the history and cultural phenomenon of snapping a photo of yourself.

为了纪念社交媒体时代下的自拍艺术，两位美国艺术家——汤米•洪顿（Tommy Honton）和泰尔•马米多夫（Tair Mamedov）近日在洛杉矶成立了一所“自拍博物馆”。这所博物馆采用互动式展览的方式，探索自拍的历史渊源和文化现象。

And for those who think if a moment wasn't photographed, it might as well have not happened – the good news is that at the Museum of Selfies, selfies are compulsory.

很多人认为某个时刻要是没有用相机记录下来，那就等于是根本没有发生；于这些人而言，好消息是：在这所自拍博物馆中，人人似乎都忍不住要自拍几张。

The exhibition begins with mirrors, perhaps the most basic kind of selfie. But Honton and Mamedov view the concept as something more than just a simple photo.

展览首先以镜子开场——镜子或许算得上是最基本的自拍形式。但是两位艺术家认为镜子的概念远不仅仅是一幅简单的影像。

Wandering through the museum, guests will be able to pose with Colette Miller's "Angel Wings" and a work by Darel Carey, who creates multi-dimensional rooms using plastic tape – a concept the museum describes as a "selfie magnet".

漫步于博物馆之中，参展者能欣赏到科莱•特米勒（Colette Miller）创作的《天使之翼》以及达雷尔•凯里（Darel Carey）利用塑料磁带创作的多维空间，博物馆形容凯里的创作为“自拍吸铁石”。

"The selfies have a surprisingly rich history, and go back as far as people have been making art," Honton explains. "Rembrandt did hundreds of self-portraits, Albrecht Durer five, Van Gogh dozens. I mean they did their portraits too, what's the difference?" he said.

洪顿解释：“自拍有着令人惊叹的丰厚历史，最早可以追溯到艺术初形成之际。伦勃朗给自己花了好几百张自画像，丢勒画过五张，梵高也画过几十张。这些伟大的艺术家也是在描摹自画像，这与自拍又有什么区别呢？”

The Museum of Selfies will be open in Glendale initially for two months. Its founders are open to extending its LA run and taking the exhibition to other places around the US, if not the world.

这座自拍博物馆将首次于洛杉矶的格兰岱尔市展出，历时两个月。创始人希望在洛杉矶的展览结束后，能将展览带向美国各地，甚至来一场全球巡展。

The History of Selfies

自拍的历史

Robert Cornelius, an American pioneer in photography, produced a daguerreotype of himself in 1839 which is also one of the first photographs of a person. Because the process was slow he was able to uncover the lens, run into the shot for a minute or more, and then replace the lens cap.

美国摄影先驱罗伯特•科尼利厄斯（Robert Cornelius）在1839年用达盖尔照相法拍了一张他自己的照片,同时也是第一批人物肖像相片之一。正因为那个年代成像的过程十分缓慢，他才得以完成将镜头盖揭开、在镜头前站立数分钟使胶片成像、盖上镜头这一系列动作。

The debut of the portable Kodak Brownie box camera in 1900 led to photographic self-portraiture becoming a more widespread technique. The method was usually by mirror and stabilizing the camera either on a nearby object or on a tripod while framing via a viewfinder at the top of the box.

1900年柯达公司推出了便携式的布朗尼箱式照相机，这使得自拍摄像成为了一项更被广泛使用的拍照技术。这种技术通常要借助镜子的辅助，用周边物体或三脚架固定相机，最后通过相机上端的取景器框景。

The introduction of cell phones with front-facing cameras instantly accelerated the popularity of selfies. Users can take as many photos as they wish and share their favorite ones online through social media. By 2013, the word "selfie" had become commonplace enough to be monitored for inclusion in the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary.

配备了前置摄像头的手机的出现，让自拍迅速成为了大众青睐的一项活动。手持一部手机，人们可以随心拍摄无数张自拍照，并选取最心仪的几张分享至各种社交媒体平台。到2013年为止，自拍的英文“selfie”已成为常用词，被提议收入在线版《牛津词典》。

VOCABULARY

compulsory: adj. 义务的；强制的

daguerreotype: n. 银板照相

tripod: n. 三脚架