WHAT LINKS THEM?
Both use TRIVIAL things to make an argument about what is important or unimportant in human life. Both suggest that objects
are expressive of identity, and both are arguably ambiguous about whether or not this is a good thing.
Your job is to take some of the artfulness and thoughtfulness of the vanitas, and some of the playfulness and drama of the selfie to create a new kind of (trivial) artifact.
Whatever you compose, your photo should have an argument; it should demonstrate rhetorical awareness. The essay you write to accompany your photo will help viewers perceive this argument—indeed, you will spell it out for us in a traditionally thesis-driven document—but
the photo on its own should do a lot to suggest your rhetorical motivation.
Additional homework for today: come to class tomorrow, Tuesday, with a rough idea of the argument you want your vanitas-selfie to express.