"Walker Evans: American Photographs" recently celebrated its 75th anniversary. Evans was renowned for his photographs depicting some of the most iconic images of The Great Depression. Evans' artistic portrayal of the times conveyed feeling as well as documentation. An article published by the BBC stated that, at the time, photography as an art form was a point of contention. Surely claiming social media as art would also raise a few objections. Upon a closer look, can social media in the right hands be a respectable art?
Social media is typically self centric. From the casual status update to the endless numbers of pictures showing one's day to day life, social media is a form of self expression. Consider every piece of artwork produced, in any medium, by all artists. Van Gogh's Starry Night, Michelangelo's David, and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas all have something in common. In some manner, each work is a reflection of its creator and therefore a form of self expression.
It is arguable that the doodle scribbled in a bored student's notebook during math class or the family reunion photo taken for posterity is revered as art. By the same outlook, reposting a meme or complaining about how rude the cashier was may simply be a knee jerk response to a random stimulus. However, if attended to with a purpose of creation or a predetermined method of execution, can't social media be considered one of the newer members of the art family?
One of the most critical aspects of social media as an art form is that the user has a great degree of control in creating their profile. The choice can be made to add, omit, or change things on a whim. The timid may choose to show pictures or share material that may lead the viewer to see a person of great ambition or adventurous spirit. While a deceptive profile may not reflect an individual's true disposition it can still be an indicator of their desire and thus expressing that aspect of a one's self.
The artistic waters get muddied when the likes of corporate branding is looking to jump on the popularity bandwagon. While there is purpose and coordination behind commercial efforts, the end result may lack feeling or be devoid of that certain genuineness that convinces the viewer that there is authentic feeling behind what has been created. Few would likely advocate a Xerox machine as an artist.
Walker Evans is known as an artist because of more than his ability to operate a camera. Likewise, in order for social media users to be considered artists there would need to be more than a working knowledge of Twitter or Facebook. If social media can be considered an artistic form of expression, how is the art distinguished from the aimless doodles?
Photo Credit: Social Media an Art?/shutterstock