Artistic Persona
How much does an artistic Instagram profile have in common with the actual person standing behind it? As I wrote about digital identities in general, now I would like to focus on artist’s digital identities. It seems that nowadays the process of art making is accompanied by making a persona. Artists share their artworks on Instagram and other platforms as it is the easiest way to reach a mass audience. The Internet serves as a platform for artistic exchange, sharing ideas and connecting people. However, it is essential to remember that the profiles are not equivalent to an actual person. The digital artistic identity is only a fragment of the artists’ process.
JODI, Joan Heemskerk, Dirk Paesmans. My%Desktop. 2002 | MoMA
Finding an Identity
Following the thought from my previous post that through the digital layer, people can understand themselves better I would like to point out how the sense of agency over the content created contributes to this process. Artists curate their Instagrams in a way where in most cases they do not share the majority of their artistic process. Through a selection of works they decide to share, they can understand which ones are the most valuable for them. As this process can be helpful for artists, the audience might miss something because of it. It results in a limited set of works exposed to the public. Compared to a studio visit it excludes works that could be potentially interesting to some.
Finding Audience
The process of sharing art on the internet not only allows artists to understand themselves better but also the audience they want to reach. Leading an artistic Instagram account lets artists reach a broad audience, they can cross any distance in the world. By getting feedback through likes, comments or re-shares, artists can observe to whom their art is appealing. If one work gets a like from someone they look up to they can take it as a cue for further making.
However, works that exist on the internet have bigger viewership they can get less attention. One should remember that their work is probably not viewed with detailed analysis therefore they should also use means other than social media to convey their messages.
Galleries’ Attention
The audience viewing works shared online is not only a public that watches the art for their pure enjoyment, it is also a group of people that could offer one an exhibition or purchase their art. The Internet allows us to communicate on a local and global scale, so it widens one’s possibilities. Therefore Instagram can be a strategic medium for networking and through it presenting work outside of the Internet bubble.
Leading an artistic account requires a lot of work and frequent activity. Sometimes artists have to adjust to what is expected of them in order to gain popularity on social media. As it can serve as a platform for finding one’s artistic personality, it can also result in getting lost in it. The Instagram profile becomes a representation of the artist, it becomes a public identity presented to both local and global audiences.
It definitely is easier to reach more people with your art when posting on social media, especially if your style is really niche. But thank you for saying that sometimes artist have to adjust the style in which they are creating in order to reach a wider audience. Definitely social media give more possibilities to up and coming artists.