Take a BIG SELFIE, not a little selfie

An Art Break that taps you into the flow and something larger than yourself.

By Lisa Rasmussen, M.F.A.

Co-Founding Director of Art is Moving

 

FIRST, OMG Watch this Video

About the Video: Selfie Domino. A woman visiting The 14th Factory in Los Angeles tried to crouch down, pose in front of a sculpture, and take a picture. She accidentally leaned on it and the rest is history…$200,000 worth of art destroyed!

SECOND, Let’s talk about selfies.

A selfie is a proof that either we are very lonely or too self absorbed to ask others to take our picture. – Saru Singhal

Thanks to smartphones, pretty much everyone has a camera in their hand allowing us to take selfies, make art, and document our lives in near-real time on social media. And thanks, but no thanks to smartphones, we have herds of narcissists around the globe (this is just me talking) taking photos of themselves in front of everything and anything. You see it everytime you go into a public sphere. Art museums have become overrun with people taking selfies with art in order to update their Facebook profile pic. Is this a good thing? Personally, I am very cool with one shot, but I truly roll my eyes at the obsessed selfie takers. You know you have seen them. Usually a selfie stick is involved. Sometimes they’re in groups.  For me, I feel that in their self absorption, they are not really looking at the art or processing it. Sadly, they are missing the juicy benefits of art.

If you are new to the benefits of viewing and making art, this article is a great place to start.

The one thing that I do agree with is that “Selfies aren’t empowering; they’re a high tech reflection of the fucked up way society teaches women or (man) that their most important quality is their physical attractiveness.” as stated in the article Selfies Aren’t Empowering. They’re a Cry for Help.

Ok, let’s put it into context with art making and art breaking (so punny, right?).

One of my core world views about art is that it must be empowering. You are your own authority and creativity is your birthright. It cannot be about disempowering oneself. Art at its best gets one into the flow, a state of consciousness where one lose track of time, space, and your external self.

With that strong statement in mind, I challenge you to take a BIG SELFIE Art Break!

What is a BIG SELFIE?

First we need to define small self and Big Self. In the metaphysical world, the Big Self is based upon love and or the Little Self is based upon fear. Read more about the Big Self and the Little Self HERE.

From Understanding your many selves: big and little:

What is this smaller self? Generally, the small you shows up during times of stress or threat. This is the part of us that is self-focused, often with something of a victim stance, and tends to ruminate on the ways we have to defend something precious to us.

It is your biggest self, in contrast, that makes that new future possible. Your biggest self holds on to a vision for a better future and then figures out how to make it come true. Your biggest self orients to a larger We—our organisation, our community, our planet. Your biggest self has the space to be creative and compassionate, to work with others to build a new set of approaches.

Read more from that article HERE.

So for me, a BIG SELFIE is taking a portrait based on the Love and Radical acceptance of yourself. This love is based on your internal experience, not your external experience.  It not  based on your egoic self, but on your True Self. As Deepak Chopra states in his article Listening to your Ego or your True self, “The true self isn’t centered on the demands of ego but on higher values: love, truth, creativity, compassion.” To summarize the little selfie is based and created from your outer looks (your perceived physical beauty), your bling (the shiny things you own and covet), and or your status. The BIG SELFIE is about seeing yourself in the world, through a larger lens of “how do I see and embody compassion, love, and creativity within myself?”

Ok, let’s TAKE AN ART BREAK!

Take a SELFIE, not a selfie.

An Art Break that taps you into the WE, the flow and something larger than yourself. It empowers you.

The Recipe

I.  Plan and Prioritize

Schedule your art break.

• This Art Break can be done anywhere and everywhere.

Gather supplies

• Smartphone

Set a Take an Art Break Intention

• Find your flow and find happiness?
• Find Your Big SELF

II. Process

• Grab your smartphone and head outside for a walk.
• Reflect on these questions:
  • What do you love?
  • What brings you gratitude?
  • What takes you to something larger than yourself?
  • What really inspires you to be the best person you can be?
• Photograph what you gravitate towards looking at when you are pondering these questions.
• Take some photos of your BIG SELF.
• Capture something that represents something larger than your little self.

III. Reflection

• How do you feel?
• Did you feel a shift?
• Was it challenging to take a BIG SELFIE?

IV. Show us your Art Break!

If you dare, share. Share it everywhere with #takeanartbreak. We would love to see what you created and hear about your process!

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