IG Museum
Why do I browse through Instagram everyday?
Why, inspiration, of course!
I lied. It seems that my browsing patterns betray masochism rather than tendencies of self-improvement. Every time I get off the platform after expressing hearty (hah) appreciation for others, I am disenchanted with my work. Is this the inspiration I’d been looking for all along?
I do not particularly like museums or art galleries. However, I sometimes come across an art piece and experience a heightened sense of inspiration, as if from the heavens themselves. A few more of these revelations and I usually hit the cap for the day, and must take my leave.
I feel nothing with Instagram. Even extremely experimental and expressive accounts on the app fail to light any sort of fire inside of me. It isn’t just Instagram, though. Behance, Dribbble, and the like also leave me feeling nothing, if not a little disheartened. So I thought about it. Here’s where the problem seems to lie.
What is a Gallery?
Think back on when you’ve walked through an art exhibition. It had probably been curated according to a certain theme. The space had been thought of to create a mood. If the museum had been set up well, the mood created would have complemented the art. As you walked through, perusing the works, you subconsciously interacted with your surroundings, through the peripheries of your senses. I’m positive that this matters for the formation of an idea—the tangible experience.
I’ve been to quite a lot of exhibitions, and in none of them have I encountered a voting system for the art inside of it. Sure, some super-famous art does have a significantly higher crowding around it, for the bragging rights of having seen it. None of them, however, have had any system where you can publicly express your approval for individual art pieces.
What is an Instagram?
I don’t expect a ‘tangible’ experience from Instagram, or any other app with an aggregation of creative work. It’s foolish to hope for something tactile from a visual medium. Yet, I don’t think this is the only reason the two curations of content are worlds apart. Even if I do scroll through an Instagram feed that is curated according to a specific theme or style, it is only as though I were browsing a collection of an artist’s work as a book.
Secondly, in platforms like Instagram, it is impossible to look at a creative piece without unavoidably glancing at its approval rating. This has probably created a tick in my mind; one that has kept a bird’s eye view on all posts that have high and low approval ratings. Before I upload something to Instagram, I even find myself trying (without acknowledgement of the fact) to fit into a framework. A framework that this tick has created.
What is a Solution?
Instagram and a museum are two different platforms. There’s nothing more to it, to be very fair. Neither of the two parade around as the other, and if they do it would be prominent. It is also true that Instagram is largely democratic and personalised. Many museums and galleries have airs of eliteness. However, there are forms of safe expression possible only in an artistic environment, that are largely censored on platforms like Instagram.
The solution is for me. I need not lie to myself when I say that I am looking at artwork on Instagram for the inspiration. Truth be told, I’m addicted to what the algorithms feed me. Plus, I must be aware of my own form of expression. By looking at the popular vote on Instagram, I’ve definitely tried more than once to be the cool kid that is ‘liked’ by all. I should, instead, start looking at my work to see if it produces the same emotions that I look for in a museum or art gallery. Does it invoke an emotion? Could it inspire questions? Could some others build on it their own stories?
