Are Internet Memes Art?

Memes are big in internet culture. It’s a good way for people to interact and communicate online. With the rise of online communities and social media platforms in the early 2000s, the current concept of internet memes began to evolve. Memes were mostly text-based in the early days of the internet, and they frequently took the form of inside jokes or running gags inside certain online communities.

If you’ve been on social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram then it’s very likely that you’ve seen a meme before. Reddit is another huge place for memes but Reddit can also get pretty toxic so I’m not on there as often. Nowadays you don’t even need to be on social media to see memes. A friend or family member probably sent you one before through messages.

If a banana taped to a wall is considered art why can’t memes be considered art? Art can be used to express one’s creativity and imagination, transmit ideas and feelings, and provide an aesthetic perspective. Memes often use creative aspects such as visuals, language, and comedy to convey a message or idea, which can be interpreted as artistic expression. Some memes are also purposefully created to be visually appealing or thought-provoking. You could also compare memes to Pop Art. Pop Art uses a lot of inspiration from the internet pop culture which is something memes do as well (spokenvision).

I believe memes are good for art AND communicating…depending on your intent behind them. According to Forbes, memes can help you express ideas in the most simple way. The most common meme is an image or photo with a funny or sarcastic remark written across it so it’s not that hard to understand. Just look at this:

…working on assignment #4 AS WE SPEAK.

People say memes can tell stories, but, have you heard of someone teaching something with memes? I found this video of a guy teaching English with memes. And I feel this is a smart way to educate people because people love memes.

Speaking of memes here are some of my favorite memes.

This is an ICONIC meme. This is also probably one of the first memes I’ve seen on the internet. Kind of reminds me of the vine days. Now that I think about it, Vine was another platform that introduced making funny short videos that were turned into memes. So sad it got shut down.

Bernie dropped the hardest picture and didn’t even notice. After this photo was released many memes were made and shared across so many platforms. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook? You couldn’t escape it.

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