The question at hand is, “Are Memes Art?” In my opinion, if we stop to think about the process of both memes and traditional art, we see that both forms of artwork require expressive thinking, inspiration, and imagination. Looking at it in this sense, then yes, memes are art.

The great thing about having such a strong opinion about this kind of topic is that many others share the same opinion- so I think my opinion is correct :D. An article published by The News Record also classifies memes as being art and even stated that that classification is not receiving as much recognition as it deserves. (The article was excellent, you all should give it a read!)

Professor Seslow asked if we thought that soon we would find memes in museums or memes being recognized as actual artwork and the answer, for me, is YES! Whenever I go into a museum, I look around and there are many paintings or 3D art pieces that make no sense to me at all and so because of that, it’s always so hard for me to enjoy museum trips. Because memes are so relatable and understandable, it would be so delightful to have a museum dedicated to memes where I, and many others, would be able to immerse myself into art that I can appreciate.

Also, officially recognizing memes as art would be a great way for current meme moguls to make earnings from something they genuinely enjoy creating. Over the years we have seen jobs become more creative- there are people that play video games for their income and even those that post pictures on social media platforms for their income. I think soon enough ‘meme-making’ will become a mainstream career and more people will be able to make money from something from doing something they already do. (According to the online business realm, you can already make money from making memes!)

My favorite thing about memes- and you guys can tell me if this is true for you as well- is that they somehow seem to find you. Not sure what I mean? Okay, look at it this way. Have you ever been thinking about something and then you see a meme that perfectly describes what you’re thinking? Or have you ever been feeling some sort of emotion and then you see a meme that’s basically describing everything you’re currently experiencing? Well, that always happens to me. It’s like the memes are just waiting for me to experience a certain feeling and then they come to find me. I know it’s strange to think about in that way but it’s always reassuring to me that someone else is relating to my current emotion- because someone had to make that meme.

I’ve always been interested in making new memes but never knew how to- yes, I know there are apps that make memes pretty easy to make but those apps seemed so easy…and I like a challenge. So I just wanted to give Professor Seslow a shout-out for presenting us with creative ways to make memes and for giving us the opportunity to tap into our creative sides. I’m really loving this class!

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