The Instagram Effect

I was out to dinner with a great group of friends along the route of the Downtown L.A. Artwalk last week.  We were talking about art, life, entrepreneurship, and how it all mixes and mingles with social media. We’re living in an age that has advantages of connectivity unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, but with that comes unique side challenges as well.  In this conversation we were focusing on the emotional elements of being so connected. People speak of depression and anxiety that goes along with seeing people’s well curated, best versions of themselves and the comparisons that naturally get made. Welcome to the future.  Here’s my version of it.

Pre-Instagram

Before Instagram I was ignorant to how big the world of art truly is.  I was only aware of the Great Masters that I had studied, the major artists that made worldwide headlines, and the regional and local artists that were showing in the galleries I visited.  It seemed like a large group of people, but really I had no idea.

In this grouping of people I felt like there wasn’t that far for me to go to get to the top.  If it was a world of art gladiators, then I wasn’t all that many artists away from the Roman Colosseum (Oh how naive I was…).  And that’s how I saw it, me against the art world. And I actually felt a competitiveness toward other artists. It was as if there were only so many positions in galleries available, only so many art sales available, and I needed to establish myself and take my share.  It was the entrepreneur viking mindset.

Introduction to Instagram

Then a few years back, my brother told me about this thing called Instagram.  It was an image based space on your phone or online where you take cool photos of what you’re doing at that time and place, there were cool filters and everything looked awesome.  He said that as an artist I should definitely be involved. I felt like I was already going on FB, so I didn’t really want to at first, but then I acquiesced.

When I dove in, it was like I had entered a new visual universe.  It was awesome, eye opening and earth shaking at the same time.

Insta-Depression

And then came the sense of overwhelm.  I started following artists, galleries, art content curators, art fans and I began to understand the depth of the art world.  There was so much more than I thought. There was so much talent, so much quality, and so many amazing ideas. There were artists from all walks of life, with every style imaginable, at every skill level.  There was just so much.

And with all of this, who was I and how was I going to be able to rise to the top of all that?  I felt defeated. I felt lost in a crowd. If I’m just a drop of water in the ocean, how then can I actually make a wave?

I wallowed in this place for a few months.  I think this time period actually coincided with a self reflection / realization that much of the reason for my creating past artwork was from an egoic space.. An affirmation that I mattered, that I meant something, that I had something to offer to the world.  I was making art for others to enjoy but really it was a way of bringing energy back to me. (I’ll dive deeper into this concept in a future blog.) The combination of this new personal awareness and my new view of the art world I felt sunk.

Insta-Neutralization

Then at some point I neutralized.  I had hit the bottom of the cavern of artistic despair.  The jig was up. I felt like a failure, but from this space of total humility I was hit with some realizations.

I realized that I’m just a human who enjoys the acts of drawing and painting.  Nothing more and nothing less. I’m not here to compete with anyone, I’m not here to become a “Great Master.”  If success and fame come to me then that’s awesome, but it doesn’t matter. My art making shouldn’t be about getting attention or energy, it should be about the quality and the essence of what I create.  It’s about the message, about the way that it touches, interacts and inspires others. What I really care about is the magic and the beauty of artwork, from the conceptualization, the collaboration, the process, the art itself, and the after effects of it.  That is what art is. This is why it is essential and important to us as human beings. This is my essence, mission and impact as an artist in this life. It’s not about me. I’m not the music, I’m the instrument.

Insta-Celebration

From here, the clouds parted and the sun came out shining.  The magic of art flowed through me. The artistic damn broke free and the flood waters of creativity poured over everything I was doing.

I noticed I felt differently toward other artists too.  Instead of any sort of competitiveness I only felt compassion.  Being an artist is hard. Between the self doubt, the doubts imposed by others and the sheer challenge of making a life from something that isn’t included in Maslow’s hierarchy, It’s definitely a swim upstream.  I now know that everyone else feels this way at one time or another, or on some level whether they acknowledge it or not. No matter what level we are at, there is always another step and a whole bunch of artists who are at higher levels than us, with a whole world full of artists trying for success of their own.  Where I used to see this situation negatively, I now see it as a beautiful thing. We’re all just humans adding beauty, mystery, love and ideas to the overall scheme of it. We should celebrate each other, we’re all on the same team, trying to express to the world with the realities and fantasies of this human existence.

My art changed as well.  I feel more neutral about it.  I don’t worry about judgements of it as much.  I have a faith that if I put my heart and soul into it, it is “good” enough.  Our artwork is an expression of our inner world, and the only true judge of this is ourselves.  If we are true to our own personal standard of excellence, quality, beauty and concept, then we can never be wrong or less than.

My takeaways are these..  The only person to compare oneself to is oneself, especially in the world of creative pursuits (and life in general can be counted here).  No matter how many other people are doing what we are doing, there is always room for us, the fractal of creative flow always finds new nooks and niches.  We are all in this together, we should celebrate and cheer each other on. With all this connectivity, there is more room for everyone than ever! In this contemporary world of connection, technology, globalization, and all the challenges we face as a human race and as a planet, art and artists are are on the side of humanity, love and positivity.  We need all of us to burn bright.

So that’s my advice.  Focus on the light of your own fire, and stoke it with everything you’ve got.  Everyone and everything else will work itself out.