Opinion: A Ridiculous Clusterfuck of Totally Uncool Jerks
title and image by @barbarakruger45
(Note is one person’s take and not the opinion of LeagueOTO)
When you open Instagram, what is it that you see? If your feed is like mine, you’re probably seeing wide assortment of pristine, well lit photos that maximize every one of those iPhone pixels. They’re perfect to fill our short attention spans and tap that pleasure center of the brain. We quickly return the favor with a double tap or series of emojis that show we approve, but without all that annoying thought.
But if you’re on social media as much as I am, you’ve probably been struck by an undeniable echo chamber of sameness, void of creativity, perspective or inherent value. Sure, you’ll occasionally pause on a post that demands attention, but these seem to be few and far between nowadays.
These behaviors are prevalent in every category, but perhaps the most egregious are social media posts about collectable art.
Look up the definition of the word and you’ll find:
art /ärt/
The expression of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
Let’s pull out the operative words from this definition: Skill, Imagination, Beauty, Emotion. If we’re sharing our art, surely these posts should exhibit some of these characteristics, right? Well, let’s test this by asking questions for the most common types of posts.
Does reposting art information from the original source really take skill?
Does placing your collectable figurines in awkward arrangements and unnatural environments qualify as imagination?
Does standing in front of a painting while getting your fit off truly add to the beauty of the piece?
Does layering an assortment of rare and unrelated products in a colorful collage evoke some type of emotional power?
If you said yes to any of the above, you should probably just stop here.
For the rest of you, I challenge you to expect more. I challenge you to do more. Explore your creativity, dare to be different, share a different perspective. Support those who do the same. Don’t settle for the same shit, don’t follow the masses. If you’re going to share your art with the community, do it with conviction. That’s the only way we do the art justice.
What do you think? Is this take off base or right on target? Sound off in the comments below.
-J
@digitalemissions