Art & culture
Lee Godie’s photobooth self-portraits
Clothing, props and added marks turn a repeatable portrait into a personal vocabulary.
A booth offers a fixed little stage; what enters that stage can be entirely personal. Lee Godie used photobooth self-portraits as part of her practice, with costumes, props and interventions that made the pictures more than routine records.
A collecting institution’s account
The Keen Collection describes Godie assuming different personas in booth portraits through painted faces, unusual clothing and props. The Treger Saint Silvestre collection also records ink on a unique black-and-white photobooth photograph among her works. These are accounts of specific artistic practices and collected objects.
Evidence: Collection record · Collection record
Portrait and presentation
Consider the difference between changing yourself before capture and changing the print afterwards. Clothing and props enter the camera image; ink acts on the resulting object. Looking for both stages makes a more useful reading than treating every unusual surface as a photographic filter.
Build your own vocabulary
Choose a recurring item you own and make several self-portraits with it over time. Keep notes about changes you make to copies afterwards. A distinctive series grows from consistent choices, not from copying someone else’s costume. Preserve the originals separately if the pictures matter to you.
Sources & further reading
Sources for the specific facts and product descriptions above. Our worked examples, interpretations and practical suggestions are original editorial guidance.
- The Keen Collection — Lee GodieCollection record
- Treger Saint Silvestre — Lee GodieCollection record