If Frieze New York is any indication, using mirrored and reflective material is trending in the art world these days. Could the raging popularity of selfies have anything to do with this? Is today’s art just a reflection of society’s growing narcissism? It’s likely. Everywhere we turned at Frieze, people were snapping photos of themselves in reflective surfaces. See our ‘caught mid-selfie’ photographic series below. 

Gagosian booth at Frieze NY.
Photo by Mindy Bond

And then there’s the matter of Richard Prince’s work. For those not familiar, Prince has gotten into the business of “rephotographs”, where he appropriates Instagram selfies of famous and Internet-famous people. His New Portraits show at Gagosian this past fall garnered so much attention that the gallery devoted their Frieze booth to these inkjet prints on canvas. Almost all were purchased during the VIP day of the fair. Surprised?

In a recent twist, according to DIY Photography it appears Prince didn’t seek approval to use the photos and has been selling them for around $100,000. To date, none of the Instagrammers have complained or sought compensation.

Selfies do seem to be here to stay. Those annoying sticks, however, are another matter.