If you’ve ever been on social media, you’ve probably seen it before. A time lapse of an artwork, an emotional story, a day-in-the-life of the artist. As our world grows more digitised, it is no surprise that self-promoting online has become an indispensable tool for many artists to make a living — specifically using short-form content, the popularity and wide-reach of which makes it a common medium for self-branding. However, its fast-paced nature means artists often need to pander to influencer culture to catch the viewer’s attention, shifting the focus away from their art.
This manner of marketing raises concerns about meshing the artist as a person with their promotion, especially when videos have to be catchy, emotionally charged, and personal to compete for the viewer’s attention. Here is an example I came across after searching ‘Painting’ on TikTok:
A video presenting an AI generated rendition of the Mona Lisa wearing a spiderman costume. The artist claims this ‘painting’ won a contest, while their artwork got last place. It cuts to them turning the canvas around, revealing their significantly more skilful painting for the sympathy and indignation of the audience on its creator’s behalf.
The post received 1.6 million views and over 70 thousand likes. It is one of many videos fishing for attention in the algorithm by fabricating false narratives, many of which aim to purport authenticity by posting the artist’s life. The process of making art cannot keep up with the ceaseless stream of content online. So, to remain in the algorithm’s favour, artists are often forced to produce content about their personal lives between posting their work, especially since including your face in content drives more engagement.
Professor Sophie Bishop at the University of Leeds explores this very idea of involving the self in artistic promotion as ‘influencer creep’. She argues that influencer culture has infiltrated the art world, becoming essential for the artist’s successful self-branding as well as shaping the way we make art. Depending on an online presence can lead to a focus on creating artworks that do well on social media— artworks that are visual, colourful, and bold stand out. Not only does social media threaten the homogenisation of art, but the way in which we make it.
Time-lapses may be the most common and successful form of posting about art. To film these, artists often wear a camera on their head. Those interviewed in the article found it limiting. Their movement, and therefore the process of creating, was affected.
With the growing importance of social media in society, the online sphere can be a lucrative and cheap way to advertise art. Unfortunately it is also often the only option, and apart from placing the artist in an awkward position by making them play the role of the jester, self-branding online has the potential to homogenise art, making it a controversial way of promoting art.
Illustration by Lucy Wellington for The Student