Is today's art less designed to be creativeand more about trying to go viral?
This is the hypothesis of an Australian artist and illustrator, Ruthlesswho presented his point of view in this Youtube video:
I think he makes some interesting points.
Many artists have achieved enormous success and gained access to audiences of millions if their work is shared, or even goes viral, on social media sites or distribution platforms like Spotify.
This can be a boon for many artists who, only a few years ago, were at the mercy of guards in an industry (book publishers, music labels, art galleries, etc.) to select them, distribute their work and help them find a large audience.
However, if an artist is successful, then there may be pressure to continue doing what made them successful.
Keep producing what they know the algorithms like and put out to more people.
The algorithm doesn't know what it sees. He just knows it's “content“, and judging by how people interact with that content, the algorithm decides whether it will benefit (make more money) by letting more people see that content, or whether it will push something something else that generates more engagement.
In artistic terms, this might mean trying to repeat what has worked before, leading to work so similar to what has been previously produced that it becomes derivative and boring.
This may not be what the artist wishes to produce.
They may even become frustrated or exhausted.
But they fear what will happen if they change what they create.
Or what would happen if they stopped creating for a while and the algorithm punished them for not constantly creating content.
Additionally, for many artists these days, their value to sponsors and record labels is directly linked to the number of followers they have on these digital platforms. So there's not only pressure to do nothing that might lead to a drop in subscribers (like not posting content for an extended period of time), but there's also enormous pressure to continue posting ” content” in order to continue gaining more subscribers.
Experimentation now poses a risk to their main asset – Struthless
Rather than using this time to create more impactful art.
This also shows the importance for artists to be in control of their own platforms.
If, as an artist, you depend on an algorithm or digital platform to distribute your creations and get views, let alone customers, then there will always be pressure to produce work designed to
And as we've seen repeatedly, the companies that own the platform often change the algorithm in order to profit more themselves.
This can make it difficult for an artist to focus on developing their own style, their own voice, and their own voice. individual skillsif they are concerned that the algorithm could change at any time.
True art, true creativity with an individual voice, takes time.
Not just to produce, but to evolve and develop in the identity of the artist.
And that can change over time.
Look at artists like David Bowie or Prince, who decided that what was important to them was to challenge themselves and change over time.
Even if your audience is smaller, if they truly love what you produce, you can have a successful creative career. Even if you only have 1000 real fans.
Art is much more than just “content”.
Creativity and Innovation Expert: I help individuals and businesses develop their creativity and innovation capabilities, so you can develop the next revolutionary idea that customers love. Editor-in-Chief of Ideatovalue.com and Founder/CEO of Improvides Innovation Consulting. Coach / Speaker / Author / TEDx Speaker / Voted as one of the most influential innovation bloggers.