Art, Influence or Both? #CREATE
Art has always been a reflection of society. Even going back to the composers of the romantic era, their music was a mirror image of the society they lived in. Their music a return to traditionalism after the breaking of rules in the era before. Our artists now a days are closer to us than ever, with the help of social media, and their “art” isn’t necessarily what is influencing us. Everything they do and show through social media is analyzed, criticized and copied by the population who follows, giving them an ease of power that artists of generations before would see as infallible. So with this power, that goes beyond their art, how do (or don’t) artists shape the world around them through social media?
One of my favourite views on social media and celebrities comes from the comedic relief of Bo Burnham. He rose to fame on YouTube, creating and sharing his content on social media to lead to his success. His comedy special what. calls out society in many forms, one for example in his song Repeat Stuff, he criticizes the music industry’s intentions when selling music to a young impressionable consumers. As a comedian he uses his content to get listeners to not only laugh (of course) but to question the things happening around them, to ask why, and to see how messed up aspects of our society are. He also points out in his song We Think We Know You, how his introspective material isn’t what management and the people around him found desirable or profitable, which he most obviously rejected.
This leads me to the question of Artists ability to shape the publics opinions through social media, their influence. I have always believed the power of art, music in particular, but when we are talking social media, what medium are we actually speaking about? If it is in reference to Instagram we’re talking primarily visual, but if we’re talking Spotify isn’t it the same medium musicians have been using in the past? Are we in this case considering social media art? Perhaps the power that comes with social media is the marketing, a message, that people can not only hear but see. Opinions of artists can be heard and broadcast faster than ever, much faster than it takes to write, record and produce a record. So if an artist’s influence over public discourse is coming through social media and not in the form of art than they are not acting as artists but influencers. I see them as too different things, although one person can be both. Ed Sheeran sees himself as an artist, saying that he won’t be a person to “tell somebody else what to do” (Independent 2017) and that “nobody buys [his] records” (Independent 2017) to hear his political opinions. His doesn’t want to be political, and as a musician he isn’t. A musician can be an influencer, through their art, but an influencer isn’t necessarily, and now a days is rarely a musician. I believe the way in which artists shape public discourse, make statements, and influence the public hasn’t changed all that much, it is simply the speed and accessibility of social media that has changed it.
Social media has given artists the ability to share their art through different and more accessible platforms. It has changed how we consume art, and perhaps how we feel about it. Our generation has had vast exposure to people opinions, so is the ability for us to be influence deflated? Maybe, but for the young and impressionable youth I think not.
