Watching the Watchers: A typology of Instagram art photos
Kiss the art selfie goodbye and meet… drumroll… the artwatcher, a photo genre that places you right there in the gallery.
Shoulders calmly lowered, neck slightly bent and attention squarely focused on well-lit works of art. The artwatcher has recently emerged as an Instagram subgenre, its adherents committed to revealing all the ways we can interact with art, be that art ever so traditionally, and untouchably displayed on a museum wall. Let’s quickly glance at a few examples and then discuss the sometimes underrated virtues of the format.
Want more? Profiles like artwatchers_united an art_watchers have got you covered while more specialized feeds like rockthatmuseumkid are helping to perfect the form.
OK, so it’s people in galleries. What’s so attractive about the artwatcher photo (at least to some of us)?
It’s basically three things.
First, an artwatcher photo provides human context. It grounds more or less abstract art in a human scale helping you instantly decode size and form.
Second, it provides identification. The artwatcher lends you her eyes and you can easily imagine seeing the art through them. As the artwatcher is often an abstract figure you can readily project yourself into the space and while it’s obviously different from being physically present, your imagination is asked to work much more constructively than when offered the average art selfie.
Third, artwatcher photos are, by definition, difficult to do and thus impress with their exclusivity. I’m not referring here to the aesthetics of composition and editing — even though topping some of the genre’s top practitioners is no mean feat. Artwatcher photos are difficult because you actually have to be in the gallery. You can’t just find a JPG of the artwork online and post that — which (while an entirely honorable undertaking) is something everybody on Instagram could do. Also, you generally have to be in the gallery with someone (or ask for help or work some tripod magic) further adding to the complexity.
Incidentally, it seems that framed paintings are seeing something of a breakthrough on Instagram these days — again indicating that we like to see context and that exclusivity is a bonus (since while you can do these solo, you still need to be in front of the actual work).
Okay, so artwatcher shots have many things going for them. What’s fun — at least in the art museum geek sense of the word — is how the genre is dividing into a myriad of subformats. Apparently it’s true what art museums are always telling us — there are truly many ways to appreciate art. Ladies and gentlemen of Medium, I give you: The open-and-sure-to-be-expanded artwatcher photo typology…
The full-on symmetric
As you will have readily guessed, the full-on symmetric places its artwatcher subject squarely in the center of the artwork. It’s a relatively rare format for two reasons: 1) It obscures the art, opening it to all the tired old criticisms of the art selfie and 2) Most of us shun the centered motif as it tends to make for static, highly formal compositions.
But the full-on symmetric also has its virtues as it can make for an almost graphical simplicity and thus has a certain art museum-like aesthetic. Particularly when paired with the traditional square format of the Instagram photo. Use it for artworks that are in themselves symmetrical for maximum effect.
The curious lean-in
Not an easy one to get right, the curious lean-in surprises by having the artwatcher spring from the border/corner of the photo in an exaggerated stance. It’s not obvious why someone would actually enjoy their art this way and thus it becomes a tongue-in-cheek comment to the photographic situation as it’s really a way to avoid having the watcher cover the artwork.
The imitator
Museumgoers imitating art is actually a whole different genre but it sometime inspires more classical artwatcher motifs. It ranges from the overblown (which can be both mocking and well-meaning) to the subtle where it seems almost an attempt to better understand the artwork.
Make it really subtle and the viewer may need a second or two to actually make the connection, which makes for a much more playful relationship.
The cipher
The cipher is an everyman, an empty placeholder for your identification pleasure. With no, or very few, identifying characteristics the artwatcher becomes less of a person and more of a size marker and a vehicle for projection.
As in the full-on symmetric the effect can be almost graphical as details disappear and the artwatcher becomes a living pictogram.
The walk-by
The walk-by and the drive-by are beloved staples of many an Instagram feed where people bike or walk endlessly by walls and buildings for much enhanced dynamism.
It’s a slightly curious format in an artwatcher context as passing by tends to indicate dismissal and to not respect the calm reverence found so often in the genre. But breaking those well-established expectations are of course the very charm of the walk-by. Found most commonly with static works of art.
The art swimmer
In an act of total immersion the art swimmer is awash in an ocean of art. Here the watcher stands close to a large painting (for instance) and the photographer gets close enough to avoid showing anything outside the artwork. The effect is often mysterious and dreamlike as the “grounding” effects of the artwatcher are eliminated. The viewer cannot know the actual size of the painting nor the closeness of the crop. Ideally, this form creates a kind of suspense, a longing to see the whole thing.
The metagrammer
In the metagrammer format, the artwatcher is #caughtgramming as it were as the photographer catches the watcher taking a photo of the art. This can create an interesting double effect as the art is shown in two formats at once and also an fascinating sense of depth.
It adds dynamism as the watcher is caught actually performing a focused action and a curious implied perspective as you (contrary to most artwatcher formats) know exactly where the watcher is looking.
For added surprise effect, make sure it’s elderly watchers doing the gramming.
In the end, artwatcher pics can be awfully pleasing in their own right but — to me — the ones that subtly tell a mini-story or make an implied comment are the very best. Whether you bring your own model or go all-out paparazzi, the telling moment (where opposites meet or where life unwittingly imitates art) can occur without warning, so keep that lens clean and start watching those watchers. I’ll be curiously checking your feed.
