Participatory Culture in Art: Artwork Admiration or User Self-Gratification?
In today’s world, museum goers have found ways to go beyond the gallery — they go to the Gram (Instagram, that is). While not all artists aim to create art that is interactive, a newfound sense of participatory culture is becoming apparent in art museums where users want to share their experience with their followers. However, is this trend more about admiration for the artist or self-gratification for the user? Let’s take a selfie… I mean a look, at this further.
To start off, I want to include a comprehensive definition of art by author Dustin Kidd; he defines art as “disciplined, creative work that may be performed by both artistic professionals and outsiders or amateurs [that] is distinguished not by its sacredness, but rather by a sense of integrity of the process,” (Kidd 6).
Art should be accessible and engaging for everyone for different reasons. No one person sees art the same way — it’s subjective. Much like art, participatory culture in museums allows users to find their own creative way to become a part of the art. I argue that participatory culture in art allows for both admiration of the artist and self-gratification for the user.
Defining Participatory Culture
According to media scholar and professor Henry Jenkins, participatory culture is defined as: “a culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations, and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices… members believe their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connection with one another,” (Jenkins 3).
Since social media platforms are already fundamentally participatory in nature, users are already accustomed to sharing content. With Instagram, we share pictures or videos from our smartphone that normally include the highlights from our lives. When museums allow viewers to take photographs, we now have the ability to easily and accessibly share our experience, which has the opportunity to encourage others to visit the museum, too! However, are we sharing these photos to show how much we like the artist’s work or how much we want to be liked?
Demonstrating How Art Plays a Role in Participatory Culture
According to Jonathan Jones, “Art in Island is a museum specifically designed for taking selfies, with “paintings” you can touch, or even step inside, and unlimited, unhindered photo opportunities. It is full of 3D reproductions of famous paintings that are designed to offer the wackiest possible selfie poses,” (Jones).
In this instance, participating is about getting likes for creativity of your selfie or photo — and admiring an artist’s work in a fun, creative way! At places like Art in Island, we receive gratification from the number of likes we receive on our posts — and the experience itself.
selfie noun
self·ie | \ ˈsel-fē \
an image that includes oneself (often with another person or as part of a group) and is taken by oneself using a digital camera especially for posting on social networks
However, not all art works well for this culture of participation. In my opinion, art has to be immersive in a visual way to capture the attention of social media users. The artists that to the best create art that “[combines] dramatic, highly photographable visuals, immersive experiences and perfect selfie opportunities, is seemingly tailor-made for the Instagram age,” (Sokolowsky).
Explaining How We Build Community with Participatory Culture
Most importantly, participatory culture through art builds community. According to Ingrid Langston, “These are new ways to create community and share excitement in a really organic way; that’s a really positive thing. And it’s a way for people to share something they love or an experience that they have that is really powerful to them,” (Sokolowsky).
This culture requires that 1) you have a cell phone that can share a photo to Instagram (or the social media platform of your choosing), 2) share your creation aka your personal experience interacting with the art, and 3) follow the lead of others to see how they share art to get the most engagement on social media.
In the traditional art world, participatory culture might not seem like much. However, in the modern art world, this community allows an experience of social connection. These meaningful contributions can get people talking about art — in a way that other users are drawn to it so much that they to go see the artist’s work for themselves!
References
Jenkins, Henry. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. The MIT Press, 2009.
Jones, Jonathan. “The Selfie Museum: Why Big Art Galleries Should Take It Seriously.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 30 Mar. 2015, www.theguardian.com/culture/jonathanjonesblog/2015/mar/30/museum-selfie- sticks-banned-photography.
Kidd, Dustin. “Social Media, Art, and the Network Society.” Social Media Freaks: Digital Identity in the Network Society. Westview Press, 2019. 1–30. Print.
Sokolowsky, Jennifer. “Art in the Instagram Age: How Social Media Is Shaping Art and How You Experience It.” The Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company, 16 Nov. 2017, www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/visual-arts/art-in-the-instagram- age-how-social-media-is-shaping-art-and-how-you-experience-it/.
