Why are people so fascinated with taking selfie photos? Three creative people Tommy Honton, Tamir Mamedov and Ablay Zhakashov researched why, and created an immersive and interactive museum, by gathering historical facts, art and building ten different installations.
Located within a twenty minute drive from downtown Los Angeles, visitors will discover that over a million selfies are uploaded to social media every day. Why? The roots of documenting a feeling, accomplishment or event to share with others dates back thousands of years ago.
Honton is a writer, game designer, and narrative experience creator known best for the escape rooms at Stash House in Koreatown. He is happy to give tours of his whimsical, spacious and fun museum. “Selfies are not a new phenomenon – it’s something that people have been doing for 4,000 years,” said Honton.
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Visitors start at a wall that has a jar of marbles and two holes. Place one marble in either the "love" selfies or "hate" selfies hole. By the end of the tour, if you dropped a marble in the "hater" hole, you might see selfies a different way and want to change your opinion.
The #Timeline art gallery begins 13.8 billion years ago during the Big Bang. There are over 40 descriptions of how selfie art evolved from cave wall drawings to the first animal selfie photo.
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Visitors have the opportunity to step into one of the best-loved Vincent van Gogh's paintings - The Bedroom. It was painted in October 1888, when the artist was living in the Yellow House in Arles. The museum recreated The Bedroom to every detail.
Nearby is a black and white photo studio, where guests can don hats and take an "old fashion" selfie.
The creative team did research to tabulate if more women or men take selfies? The #Selfiecity exhibit is a project of 120,000 photos from 5 cities that were randomly selected. They discovered that WOMEN WIN! 1.3 times more in Bangkok with 55.2%, 1.9 times more in Berlin and the most is 82% women in Moscow. Bangkok and San Paulo selfie takers smile the most, while Moscow selfie takers smile the least. Most people are young taking selfies, with Bangkok having 21 years old the average median age. New York City had the oldest average age of 25.3 years old. One interesting finding is Men's average age is higher that women at 30+ when posting selfies on Instagram.
The Museum of Selfies curates works from modern artists exploring the art of selfies. Whimsical portraits include Mona Lisa, American Gothic and Vincent van Gogh holding out a smartphone are all on display.
The “Narcissist” survey tallies the number of deaths from selfie-related accidents. Visitors have fun in this exhibit standing near replicas of famous statutes, and reenacting how museum visitors have damaged priceless works of art while trying to take the perfect selfie. You will see why selfie sticks are now forbidden in most museums, except The Museum of Selfies.
Another popular area in the museum is the #Finish Line Selfies. Learn why people take selfies to share an accomplishment, share joy and connect with others. Don DeLeon's photos are displayed.
Nearby is a photo of one of the most famous animal taken selfies. A Celebes crested macaques used the equipment belonging to the British nature photographer David Slater to snap his own selfie. The smile on this animal's face, seeing what he actually looks like reflected on the screen is pure joy.
Guests have the opportunity to take rooftop selfies; infinity box selfies and three dimensional selfies in visual artist Darel Carey's white room with black tape.
Be sure to sit on the selfie stick and smart phone throne, a favorite for Game of Thrones fans. It symbolizes the ongoing battle for dominance in the limelight. Nearby is painted rubber from tires that have been recycled and turned into artistic angel wings.
Whle exploring The Museum of Selfies, you are the star of your own journey and the hero of your own story. Be sure to snap a favorite selfie and tag it #iamaselfieartist and #themuseumofselfies on Instagram. In 30 seconds a photo sticker will be downloaded and printed. Stick it on the wall and you will be part of The Museum of Selfie photo mosiac wall until this Pop-up leaves on May 31, 2018.Just