Born Artist, Forced Influencer
Lifestyle plug - not sponsored: lip products not listed
Social media for artists is unpaid creative labor.
A couple days ago I was sitting at my favorite coffee shop in Lincoln Park, when I decided to tune into my natural surroundings by opening my…Instagram.
As I was cruising through my feed, being bombarded with boldly sponsored ‘ARTIST CALLS’ and ‘GRANT DEADLINE’ warnings framed in 1:1 ratios along with an influx of new work that artist-strangers seemed to be pumping out with ease, I wanted to chuck my phone across the cafe.
Why is there a new artists cohort dropping on Instagram every three business days? And if I wanted to join, I have to wait until 2027 when your residencies are over and tag 3 friends? Why are there 50 different deadlines for artist calls and exhibition auditions that claim to change the trajectory of your artist career? (Don’t get too excited, the gallery is actually located halfway across the country, with an offensive submission, shipping, packaging and materials fee).
I still have fun on social media. But times when I’m visually assaulted with reminders of everything I’m not doing, trying to keep up is a wild goose chase.
Today, everyone is a culture-producer, producing culture for more culture. While individual platforms keeps an artist free of corporate or institutional support, this strategy still relies on the generosity of a social network that may also be working with similarly limited resources. We’re continuously milked for unpaid time, with empty social media organizations instrumentalizing communities in exchange for insincere exposure.
Unless your dream was to become an influencer, as an artist, you’ll find yourself marking out time in your day to craft an SEO powered Instagram caption–only to be seen by a faceless audience on the other side of the feed that will miss the nuances of your work. At this moment you no longer have control of a target audience, and your art will be rendered illegible. I question the validity of filming ourselves fake-painting in an effort to fit the aesthetic of a satiated artist in a high ceiling studio surrounded by quirky ‘vintage’ bowls and potted plants. Seems more like lifestyle-bait to build a personal brand as a creative influencer.
I DON’T WANT TO!!!
Can I still get lots of views though, pretty please Instagram gods??
The most aggravating moments of scrolling through reels is when I see a shirtless man flying through an obnoxiously large canvas, splashing tubs of neon paint and captioning it as intuitive performance art, getting an annoying amount of likes just for flexing his back muscles. Not to mention when we see fit-pics in front of paintings where the artist is nowhere to be heard, popped into a Hinge profile or an Instagram dump. Yes babe, now, you seem cultured and very, very, not basic. Can you say thank you to Monet for getting you laid?
This blog post is definitely not targeted, and it is definitely not because I’m bitter about not being a nepo-baby.
What a tragedy of feeling unseen. In my magical, mysterious, hopeful world, all artists get compensated for digital labor and fair exchange.
But until then, catch me making reels and dropping new pieces coming soon on @emhanart on Instagram.
<3
