The Baroque period was all about intricate detailing. The Impressionist movement preferred abstract washes of color. Surrealism distorted reality into often gruesome but eye-opening images. Now, technology has brought a new cultural movement to the hands of whosoever possesses a smartphone or camera.
Take a quick look through your Instagram feed. Open the VSCO app. You’re sure to see some products of this new movement, which if you’re versed in social media, you’d probably call “artsy.”
According to the dictionary, artsiness refers to a kind of pretentious interest in art, but I don’t think such a definition is fair to the various facets of its presence as a movement. There’s more to artsiness than photos on social media feeds; certain fashions and lifestyles can be considered artsy as well. In an effort to define the extremely vague idea of what is “artsy,” I compiled a short list of questions to help you decide if your lifestyle and/or social media feed are reflective of this elusive concept.
1) Do you cultivate a theme on your preferred social media account?
Are you an exclusive devotee of the VSCO M5 filter and its subtle neutral tones, or do you go for the bolder, bluish Clarendon by Instagram? Do you decide which photo to post based on how well its tones complement or coordinate with the rest of your page/feed? Filters are a quick way to bring a coherent look to your social media presence, but it’s easy to fall into the trap of choosing the most similar photo to the rest of your feed instead of the objective best. Themes are most artsy when they are composed of visually distinct posts united in their overall aesthetic and photographic quality.
2) Do you put more thought into your photo captions than your English papers?
It’s amazing how much it takes to come up with some clever words to caption that photo of you posing dramatically in front of a distressed barn door. (I know, I’ve been there too.) I’ve even been involved in committee meetings to discuss such things, typically resulting in a clever pun, tasteful combinations of emojis, a few alliterative words or some fitting song lyrics. If there’s anything to be said for the presence of artsiness in social media in these instances, it’s that at the very least it causes users to consider carefully how their words present their image to the rest of the world.
3) Do you consider your fashion choices hipster, retro or vintage?
Here’s where it gets even more complicated. Not all clothing in these categories takes on the moniker of “artsy,” and the status of a particular piece of clothing depends greatly on its use in an outfit. Creative use of otherwise commonplace objects is especially encouraged, and flowy skirts in particular seem to have great artsy potential. If it’s going to look great in an Instagram post, it’s probably artsy, although this is certainly not a limiting factor.
4) Do you look at everyday objects and occurrences as an opportunity to create?
Does the foamy swirl on a warm latte from Barefoots or Modero strike you with inspiration? Do you snap sunset photos from creative vantage points so your Instagram story won’t look exactly like every other Union student’s around 6 or 7 p.m.? The challenge of being truly artsy is to engage with these commonplace things in more creative and visually distinct ways. Angles, lighting, styling and even added text or accents can contribute to artsiness.
Ultimately, artsiness isn’t so much about producing art as it is about finding creative ways to look at ordinary things and reflecting that in your lifestyle. “Artsy” has become the cultural term for pictures, fashions and habits that showcase the potential beauty in everyday objects and occurrences. An artsy photograph may not be something we’d call “fine art,” but it can still cultivate and communicate its maker’s unique perspective in an aesthetically pleasing way.
