I wouldn’t personally text all my contacts to let them know I am taking a romantic stroll on the seaside, or that I put together a healthy and colourful breakfast. This very thought makes me feel hollow and obnoxious! So, why is it that even our self-gratification depends on the number of likes we receive online?
Things get even more upsetting when assessing the evolution of artistic beauty and creativity.
On Social Media we feel entitled to be the face of today’s aesthetics, without realising we are growing further from the original spirit of art. I believe even Warhol would shiver facing today’s Media hunger, seeing his 15 minutes of fame turned into 15,000 likes.
Some may call these tormented creative souls ‘a generation with single-child syndrome’, convinced by society that their point of view must be special and of great value to all. Needless to say, I strongly believe human beings are naturally creative in many different ways, but to create art is indeed a different thing. Many visionary creative minds on Social Media seem to intend their creations as a product, therefore produced for mass consumption.
New creatives will produce cute and inoffensive pieces, ready to be assimilated by the masses, see the millennial pink trend, just to see their status grow as artists. Others will rise above the likes and focus on elitist pieces that deny the appeal of aestheticism in virtue of their deep understanding of the world and their benevolent, as much as unintelligible, will to explain it to the public.
That’s the creative version of our catch-22.
Products that appeal the majority of people and label the artist as such, or unintelligible pieces that further separate the public from the artists?
The pleasure of creating something and receiving a positive feedback from others is undeniable. However, saying that we are all special is like saying none of us is. We are all creative but we can’t step on stage all at the same time and, sometimes, a romantic walk is truly valuable when it’s shared with only one person, and a breakfast is nourishing only if savoured.