First off let’s get clear on what is the definition of art? According to the google dictionary, art is the “expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form.” Now that we understand what art is, what is a meme? Well according to the google dictionary, it means “a humorous image, video, piece of text, etc., that is copied (often with slight variations) and spread rapidly by internet users.”
Okay, it is really not much debate that memes are a form of art and they are here to stay as the professor mentioned. Still, some may argue that it doesn’t follow traditional art formats like drawing, painting, etc. This is nonsense. I like what this girl said about memes being art. “This is simple, art imitates life. Therefore, when we see memes that highlight humanity and therefore imitates life, it is 100% art. This can also be turned around in saying that memes are also life.” – Madison Wakefield. However, they are many various questions or how memes fit into art culture, I am ready to debate about this let’s go.
Art in all forms is constantly evolving. Memes are a new evolution of art in the 21st century. It is absolutely great for art as it gives us humans more ways to express our ideas, feelings, and creativity. It even sometimes serves as a better communication than words themselves. How many times have you seen memes being thrown out in text messages? Probably a lot, that’s because it is a form of communication.
In the youtube video “Are LOLCats and Internet Memes Art?” the guy quotes the literary giant Leo Tolstoy and he notes that Leo said that art is to “To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds, or forms expressed in words so to transmit that feeling that others experience the same feeling, this is the activity of art.” Memes transmit feelings of similar experiences we have all been through, often through the use of humour. I think the humour in the art is what separates memes from other forms of art, its very unique.
I thought it was pretty awesome cool that the Grumpy Cat meme recently “inspired an art exhibit with over 30 studio artists working to create Grumpy Cat-themed artwork, which was then sold at an auction out of the Lowe Mills Art Gallery in Huntsville, Alabama.” as stated in “Are memes the pop culture art of our era?” article. The article is a great read as it dives deep into different articles of memes and it’s relationship with art.
Spiderman gets it.
Although memes are a great way of self-expression, it is much more. A good meme is often spreading fast throughout the internet. As humans, we are all facing similar challenges and experiences throughout the day. As a result of this, relatable funny memes are always spreading throughout the internet. Memes are a representation of life itself. Anyways here’s my meme. Enjoy 🙂
While I was looking for assignments, I immediately went to “Web Assignments”. I did this because I love working in anything related to the web, since I’m a web developer. To my disappointment, all the assignments were entry level, but I was looking for something more complex. It took me a couple of minutes to choose. Because they were really simple, and I think that was the main drawback. But I understand since this is an entry course, I only wish I could code in this “Web Assignments”.
I always wanted a 3D printed, sadly they are expensive. So I know that I don’t have the requirement tool or either the knowledge to operate the machine. By the end of the semester, I would like to learn how to work with one of this. I choose to Mash It and Make It as my first assignment.
The reason why I choose the Digital Tool Assignment is that I always find myself using them. I love how the web is growing and application are moving little by little to the web where they are easier to use. As a web developer I always find myself needing to change an image color to make it match with a particular website, remove background or find a specific HTML color of an image. All these tools are in Photoshop, but I find it annoying to have to open it and do all of this when I can simply copy the image URL and do this on the web.
LunaPic is a simplified version of photoshop on the web. The web application have different use, but today I want to concentrate in the change color feature. This feature is one that I use the most because I don’t always get the color that I need for a certain project.
First, we need to click the image in the middle to directly upload the photo we want to change, or we can also put the link of the image below. Then we need to get to the change color section here.
Zooming in we can see where we will put the color we would like to change to image to (we can choose the color in HTML like #000 or #fff).
I’ll be using the image below and the color #f44336 to change. Now that we have the image and color, we will need to click on the image to see how intense we want the filter to apply.
Here is how:
When we are ready to save the image, we look down and choose the best option for what we need. You can download it, share it in social media or the must likely outcome, sent it to imagur and have the link instantly.
Writing is a specialty of mine and my strongest attribute. I enjoy writing and thinking creativity which leads to putting the pen onto paper. When going on the ds106 assignment bank, there were many choices I could have chosen, but the one I’m familiar with is writing. After clicking on the writing assignments, I looked through the newest, but didn’t find anything of interest until clicking the ratings tab. This assignment caught my attention because it was unique and fun to think about. I decided to remix it and put the assignment into poem form.
I can be messy, I can be dirty, I can be whatever you make me be.
I wake up when you wake up.
You need me to hold you
As you gaze upon the stars.
I am heavy so be careful
You cannot lift me by yourself.
Sometimes I struggle and pain is what I felt.
I can come crashing down if not screwed right.
Mess me up and I won’t be the same.
I can be comfy the most.
Or hard as a rock.
Place a pillow on me
No door, but you are going to knock.
Morning or Night
Whichever one you like.
Give me sheets and a mattress
It’ll be a Good Night.
The reason that I chose this item/tool is because it’s comfortable and helps me do the activity I always do. It’s a very useful tool and thought it would be fun taking its perspective since most people use it as well. I am also not a big poem guy so this is all just my interpretation of what a poem would look like. I made the item obvious, but thoroughly enjoyed writing this poem due to the mystery aspect within it, which is what I usually invest in.
I chose this assignment because after seeing what was done during class, I felt inspired to give it a try. I have messed around with photoshopping a long time ago, but it was very mediocre and I did not know anything. I was young at the time and loved wrestling, specifically World Wrestling Entertainment or in short, WWE. I loved it to the point where I found a community that also favored the product and roleplayed as their favorite wrestlers. I decided to join in and roleplay as my favorite wrestler “Randy Orton” known for his finishing move, R.K.O. which is his real life initials. In doing so, I would grab photos of him from google images and photoshop things such as a championship belt or him talking on the mic. It was sloppy and wasn’t very well done, but it was an attempt at photoshopping without knowing how to do it. Now I’m more older and I see this as an opportunity to gain photoshopping skills by taking on this assignment which seems very simple based on the description.
I think a project of this stature will probably require at least 2 or 3 times in order to learn how to photoshop. 1st time will obviously be your first attempt and it’ll help you learn from your mistakes once you do the 2nd one. It’s like a draft and then a final draft. I think photoshopping skills are important because it brings the creative flow out of people and helps them think of many ways that they can pair whoever and whatever together. For example in Avengers Endgame, people could photoshop the X-Men into the scene with all the heroes and it would be cool to see. On this website, they go into further detail on why photoshopping is important.
Assignment# 3 To MEME or not to MEME- The Art of MEME’s
Let us begin this discussion with a simple question are you an internet person? This question will answer this post’s central question of whether Memes Art is Art or not. Many older adults, especially those not into social media, will disregard the question and move on. Therefore, you must be an internet user to know something about memes. So if you’re not an internet user please get some guidance from my boy up there.
MEMEs have become one of the biggest game-changers throughout all social media applications. Yes, the Internet has changed our lives completely. Most people have heard about vines which were 6-second videos that got so popular throughout the Internet, and of course, now MEMEs had taken over. But what’s most important is do we consider MEME as Art?. First, let’s look at the definition of Art; Art is “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. Of course, as the definition of art, stated it is an expression that includes imagination to send out a message through beauty and emotions. The meme has been here for so long as mention how to geek, “The first published case of the word meme, dates back to Richard Dawkins’ 1976 book.” Dawkins indeed figured that “term because he was trying to figure out whether there was a measurable unit describing how ideas spread and propagated through generations.”
if this consider art why not memes
MEME’s is not only a picture that includes a burst of laughter but is indeed a way of communication and expressing persons feeling throughs MEMEs simply using images and simple text. Memes provide people with ideas that express their opinions using an easy concept most people will understand at their first peak
So now let’s see what the world thinks about memes. According to the Harvard Crimson, “It’s time to reevaluate the artistic thinking, definitions, and limitations around internet culture: Memes are art, and they’re here to stay.” The writer of this article concluded his article by stating that memes are art, and they’re here to stay by demonstrated why and how the meme should get recognized as art. He started by using Wikipedia’s definition of meme A meme is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. The writer then explains how the text and graphics connect to send out messages. The text and graphics need each other, bridging the gap between our very human gravitation toward language and our love for anything else that we perceive as visual.”
Memes require a little attention from the viewer to get the main idea behind them. It indeed requires “out-of-the-box thinking and the ability to capture and project an idea outwards”
Now, let’s look at what the video thinks about memes as art. Rugnetta, a Youtuber famous, states that art is creating images and sharing them with strangers for the purpose of communicating their personal experiences?… that’s art”. He indeed concluded his opinion about memes as art not because of his love for memes but by bringing top thinker definition of art like literary giant Leo Tolstoy says “to evoke in oneself a feeling one has experienced and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements by lines, colors, sounds or forms expressed in words so to transmit that feeling that other experience the same feeling this is the activity of art. However, if you still think memes are not art, look at how many people share the meme and get the messages immediately, and I believe that the whole purpose of art is to send out a message.
I firmly believe that memes are art, and they’re here to stay no matter how you cut them. As long as the mems are enjoyable, ideals, and shareable, I strongly consider them art. Why do I believes in a meme, yes my friends, as long it communicates with people and sends my message and opinion, I consider it as art, and of course, art was created to motivate others and transmit a sense of humor, and that’s what I encounter in the meme.
Memes are not just a form of self-expression. Still, indeed they are a form of communicating you believe with others in the community, just like what we have seen lately, it has been used to in politics. Many people reshare the memes because they somewhat agree with the message behind them. They share their opinions using funny memes.
Have you heard about memes sells in the auction, yes my friends, there is consideration of opening a museum especially for memes. If you want to find out more, have a look. Are memes the pop culture art of our era? The grumpy cat has recently turn into a meme, and it has inspired many people. “Grumpy Cat recently inspired an art exhibit with over 30 studio artists working to create Grumpy Cat-themed artwork, which was then sold at an auction out of the Lowe Mills Art Gallery in Huntsville, alabama. Memes have also turned old art into a meme.” Memes can blur the line between content and art, but certain pieces that begin as art can also take on the qualities of a meme.”
The article concluded by bringing an essential point to whether you think memes are art or not “there for the people and by the people; the democratization of art without rules and ample creative license.”
if you want to learn more about the museum of memes have a look at Victor Pimentel’s post last minutes with Gif, she shared links about the new museum in Hong Kong.
Finally let’s not forget about the king of memes, Dogecoin, a meme that made people super-rich with a market cap of $30,704,784,677 as of this moment.
I selected this assignment because I thought it would be really fun to make. I had taken AP art history back in high school so I thought it would be cool to take a classic painting that I liked and make it come to life. The painting “The Two Fridas” (1939) by Frida Kahlo shows a bond by the vein that connects both Fridas. One is weakened by an exposed heart and still yearns for her lost love while the other is strong and clamps down on that figurative and literal tie with a hemostat. There are so many small details within the painting I think that’s one of the reasons I picked the assignment.
My first outcome for this assignment is posted above. I used Giphy to do the assignment, since we have used it before I thought it would be great to work with it again. I was very satisfied with the outcome because it looks like the idea I had in mind. Giphy is quickly becoming a very useful tool and anyone can learn to use it which is great. There were so many stickers that I could choose from which I liked.
This assignment also seemed very fun to do. But I just know I can’t do it right now because first I have to learn how to cut clips and then put them together. I’m still having difficulty remembering every step to make a good post, although it will definitely take some time. I think I will learn how to complete the assignment. Thinking ahead of time I think I’ll do the movie Coraline since it’s one of my favorite stop-motion animated movies. I think I should do at least one of the assignments for each category, they all have different tools needed to complete them which would help me figure out different types of methods. I think these skills are important at least to me because they are online. In other words, as we saw through the pandemic almost everything was moved to online. I think the skills could be useful for my career as a journalist and also could be useful to get into different hobbies.
I think I can successfully complete the assignment that I have hyperlinked above.
I am trying to tell a story using a common belief believed by brown parents. Can you guess the story?
I have chosen to complete this assignment above because firstly, I think I have acquired the skills to complete it successfully. Also, this is a digital storytelling course and I thought let’s tell a story by using GIFs.
As I was browsing the two websites, all the assignments seemed interesting and fun to do. Above, I have completed an assignment I already knew how to do. But I would love to learn how to complete this assignment. It looks really interesting!
I think these skills will be greatly useful for us technology students in future. But as I am new to learning technologies, I am not sure which skills are necessary to complete this assignment successfully. There should be a particular software that we can use. These skills are important to have because we are here to learn communicating using technologies. And I think this should be an useful skill for a Communications Technology student to have how to replace the audio of a music video with different audio.
On my first day of CT101, I was really nervous. I took bus 201 two semesters ago and I really had a terrible experience with the class. So I thought CT101 was going to be the same.
Me before joining the first zoom meeting of CT101.
I like what I was hearing at the first zoom meeting. The entire semester will be taught online. No textbook, quizzes, exams, or mid-terms. Also, students can work at their own pace.
Me after the zoom meeting.
So far this class is amazing. The assignments are interesting and fun, unlike my Bus 201 class. I really enjoyed doing my first blog. I love using Giphy now.
This how I feel about CT 101 !
I believe CT101 can help me improve my computer skills. Also, it is a good course to put on my resume.
I like this project called “Creepy Anime Eye” because I’m a fan of anime and I watch regularly. I love anime eyes and I always imagined how people would look with anime eyes. I choose to complete this assignment in full because I find it fun to play with filters and use image editors. I took a picture of my younger sister with anime oversized eyes.
The completed version of the ” Creepy Anime Eye” assignment on my little sister.
Mastering how to execute digital storytelling projects can help students become more effective storytellers and multimedia designers. Students can learn technical literacy skills and possess a greater understanding of all aspects of the curriculum by working on these assignments.
We should at least do five of these projects during this semester to build efficient storytelling skills while using new tools.
Digital storytelling abilities are significant because they involve successful technology integration and learning. It also creates an emotional connection while boosting the ease with which content can be shared. Digital storytelling improves students’ analytical thinking and multimedia skills. Learning digital storytelling skills is important because they are a unique type of self-expression that may also be utilized as a marketing technique and raise awareness of global concerns. Having these skills can help you express your feelings about things and encourage them to think about topics in new and exciting ways. Using social media to engage with consumers in innovative ways that resonate with your market and set you apart may benefit your organization.
Picture this: you’re walking through the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. You walk into a room with a crowd of people, pushing and shoving and stretching their necks to see the main attraction of the whole exhibition which is this :
(MEME OF LEONARD DICAPRIO FROM A MOVIE SCENE, THE TEXT ARE LYRICS TO A VERY TRENDY 21ST CENTURY SONG CALLED “ICON” BY JADEN SMITH)
This brings us the question: is a meme a piece of art?
(THIS IS A IMAGE OF FUTURAMA FRY AND I AM JUST EXPRESSING HOW ANNOYING IT IS TO TAKE A COVID TEST EVERY WEEK IN THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK BECAUSE VACCINATION CARD TAKES 3 WEEKS TO PROCESS THROUGH CUNYFIRST)
VS
(Frida Kahlo’s 1939 oil painting “The Two Friends”)
Some of her artistic themes were highlighted in “The Two Fridas,” a 1939 oil painting that shows two seated Kahlo’s holding hands. Near-mirror images, they reflect love and loss and ideas surrounding beauty.
Can Memes be considered art??? My first initial answer to this question was absolutely not but after doing research and watching some videos I am definitely more open minded to this theory. Firstly I had to dissect what a meme is. According to google a meme is “is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. … Memes spread through the behavior that they generate in their hosts.”
According to wix.com “The original “meme” was a term coined by Richard Dawkins to describe how cultural information spreads. However, unless you’re wandering through the halls of the nearby sociology school, when someone mentions the word “meme,” they’re probably referring to a funny image or a video being shared on social media. The common use of the word “meme,” usually refers to the “internet meme,” a subset of the general meme concept.
I do agree with these definitions and interpretations. Furthermore I think the most important fact is that memes are something that is fueled and revenant by a culture. For example, most likely the memes that are relevant and intriguing to my 4 year old little nephew about roblox and Minecraft will be more difficult for me to understand.
On the other hand, I do believe that memes are considered art, because they communicate a message or evoke a feeling (in most cases it’s usually laughter and humor) to make the viewer feel some emotion or form an opinion or different perspective. I believe memes can be meaningful because it is used to spread their personal experiences or an idea. For example, If I were to make a meme about my experience in CT101 it would be like this:
(IMAGE OF PIKACHU, THE TEXT IS MY INTERPRETATION OF EVERYONE’S REACTION WHEN THE PROFESSOR MENTIONED ALL THE COOL THINGS WE WILL BE TRYING THIS SEMESTER)
Memes can also be very inspirational and they can allude to a bigger meaning. Furthermore, after watching this video in class I do notice there are many similarities between art and memes. Although many of my past art professors would disagree. They’re both used to spread joy and make people smile and laugh.
I created all the memes in this blog post using imgflip
Now that we are getting comfortable with publishing blog posts to our class website, crafting narratives, embedding media like images, GIFS, videos and hyperlinks, its time to push things further with digital tools and content creation. Its also time for you to decide on “how” you will go about it.
Prof. Smith wrote the following in a blog post from a previous semester;
“In CT-101 you will have the opportunity to create many, many different pieces of media throughout the semester. Inspiration for these projects can come from a number of places. Two sources are websites that inspired this class and are hosted by a digital storytelling class at the University of Mary Washington.
One example is their ds106 assignment repositorywhich has project prompts that are categorized by a variety of media types to choose from – (visual, design, audio, video, mashup, writing, fanfic, and animated gifs). You can browse through and sort by most examples completed, most viewed, newest, and more..
The second is also a site known as the daily create which gives a daily project prompt to “make something” using various forms of media. Finally you can also find a particular site that has a media piece and/or project type of interest to you (Tumblr and/or Reddit can be fun for this – Photoshop Battles is a favorite of mine.
Browse through these sites and find two projects that you think you would like to do. One that you believe you already have the skills to do or you believe you could figure out on your own. And another (hopefully of a different media type) that you don’t know how to do yet and would like to learn.
*The ASSIGNMENT (#4) – In a New Blog Post – working from the DS106 or the Daily Create website select, describe and hyperlink to two assignments/projects that you like and tell us why you’ve chosen them. You will complete one of the assignments in full.
What do you think you’d need learn to do them? How many of these kinds of projects do you think you should be doing in this semester so that you might learn and build both emergent storytelling skills and use new tools to create them? Why do you think these skills are or are not important?
*Be sure to actually complete one of the assignments and add it to your blog post.*
Also, be sure to leave a comment or two on one or more of your classmate’s blog posts! Prof. Seslow will go over a example in our class time and screen record the process.
First day of CT101, seemed a bit fancy for me. I was so used to taking structured courses that being in a class that focused on the creative aspect of technology was a bit weird.
My exact facial expression when I heard the terms ‘GIFs’ and ‘memes.’
I forced myself to like coding but in reality some things are just not meant to be.
Although I was relieved, I am still super nervous about this class. This is a class where I want to retain the new skills that I learn so I can use it in the real world. Not only that but I want to witness my growth.
Momma told me to use every opportunity to learn something new so I can be one step ahead.
Growing up as a girl in a South Asian family, I did not get the chance to explore my creativeness so I used to get very jealous of kids who knew how to draw, sing, or dance. Everything in my life was always so serious. I come home with a drawing for Father’s Day, my dad be like:
So I catered to that expectation of always taking the serious classes in college that required a midterm and final exam.
I mean, God forbid my parents find out that I making memes during class!
The class has been therapeutic for me since I work 4 days and have 0 days of fun. I usually start writing the post by playing my current fave Bollywood song , light a candle, review what is being asked for in the assignments and then get down to work. None of my other classes allowed me to sit back and have a little fun with the work I’m doing. This course makes think outside of the box and use a part of the brain that we don’t ofter get to use.
Since we were given two platforms to find GIF’s and memes (GIPHY and Imgur), I realized that I like using GIPHY better, sorry Imgur. I’ve noticed that GIPHY has a larger selection of what I am looking for whereas Imgur’s results are not relevant to what I was looking for. As presented below:
GIPHY
I searched for a GIPH that says/expresses “that’s on period” and got 8,000 options to choose from.
VS.
IMGUR
Whereas Imgur only presented 5 options that were not relevant to me
Memes are here to stay, and they are very much pieces of art. I really like that memes can be made from anything and can be used to lift a persons mood within the first look. Even though they are fun to look at and are very creative I feel like it’s very hard to make a good meme but for some people it might just be something they dreamt of and some just need an idea in their brain and once they have an idea of what to make putting it into meme format is very easy.
One of my favorite moment from spongebob but in a CT101 meme form…
With a quick search on YouTube for “are memes art?” I came across this video of Shia LaBeouf’s answer to “are memes art?” and I think he put it in a good way in which a lot of people can relate to that “anything that moves you is art” and memes tend to do that. I believe that memes are good and tend to be for most people but from this article by Sudipto Roy, they make a good point about memes being used for something Disruptive; “An ironic and light-hearted treatment of a fragmented subject, memes is now seen as a form of ‘everyday conceptualism’ in the modern world.” Some people do tend to see memes in a bad way but memes are in a way universal and while some can really like something others might not. But for me and my friends memes are great way for us to share good moments with each other and have a good time.
Here are a few memes that I really like:
This is from star wars and there are a group of people called the Jedi and they are not to have any relationship because they believe that it can be harmful for the person as it leads to “jealousy and fear of loss, and ultimately the dark side of the Force,” dark side being the exact opposite of everything the Jedi believe in. Of course because of this the above meme was made and I think its a really good one as it uses the pikachu face for the moment perfectly.
As much as I love the Harry Potter movies it still blows my mind that the main character of a film series that has 8 movies did not cast a single spell. This is a movie series about wizards going to school for the sole purpose of learning and controlling their magic. Still love the movies/books.
I love storytelling so when I was looking for classes to complete my schedule digital storytelling intrigued me.
My exact expression when I read the class description
I wasn’t in the first class because I had to work. 👎🏾 However, on my first day of CT 101, I felt that this was going to be my favorite class this semester. I thought it was going to be great to be part of a creative class with my fellow peers.
When I heard about what this course is about and the creative content I was hyped. I felt this way because I love exploring new and different ways to be creative in self-expression. It’s a great distraction from the million other things we all have to do and a way to express our feelings.
What really stood out to me was when professor Seslow said that his goal is to have us learn and grow throughout the semester. This impressed me because most professors just want to feed us information and give us a grade, nothing is about learning anymore. Then as students, all we are worried about is completing assignments and getting a good grade. I felt that this increased especially during the transition to online learning during the pandemic. It is not a fun way of learning.
Thank you, professor. 🤝My lil dance I made when I heard about the class creative content.
The use of Imgur and GIPHY is definitely a new experience for me to find gifs as the only time I really used gifs was imessage. After using both my favorite website to find gifs has to go to GIPHY. The interface is better and it’s just easier for me to use. When you searched for a specific gif it made it easy for you to find where Imgur would give you gifs that didn’t even apply to your search. The main feature that I like the best compared to Imgur is the stickers feature. You could download gif stickers to your phone to send as text messages, I already downloaded a few.
This class compares well to the other classes as I am taking film studies where we analyze movies and education in technology where we are learning on how to effectively use teach with technology.
However, this class is definitely going to be unlike any class I have taken. I see the potential of this class is going to be growth in storytelling and creativity. Maybe some viral memes come out of this class and one of us gets famous. 😏 Just don’t forget about us when it happens.
Looks like even if you aren’t already in love with pop art, at the end of this semester you’ll be in madly love with it. CT 101 is making me realize that half of the time me and my friends are laughing together online, are by sharing memes, gifs from the internet.
Host from The PBS Idea Channel Mike Rugnetta emphasized that anyone around the world can stay communicated by creating and sharing memes on the internet. Isn’t that awesome? According to this show, British historian R.G Collingwood said that, “Internet memes are the performance of emotion, and not it’s true expression, making meme makers ranters and ravers and not actual artists”. I halfway agree with his perception. According to what I perceive on the internet everyday, meme makers are the different kind of artists who like to share not only their emotions but also other sentiments as well using a funny tone, a humorous tone. This particular group of people tend to express themselves inserting texts through the image of an angry teacher, happy mom, annoying cat, or a joker.
In the article “Are Memes The New Art Form of The 21st Century?” by Em Mampusti, the same idea was shared. For example, there are thousands of meme creators on the internet like Chloe Caparas who share important societal messages by simply making a meme using their own humor. Personally I think, serious issues can be discussed and brought upon without making it seem so serious. This method actually helps others to realize the depth of the issue more. For example, I found the meme below on the internet and it felt so relatable to me instantly.
What can I say.. I am a positive person and I like to start my day with a motivated mind. Then as always ⊂Life happens!⊃ Everything starts to feel so overwhelming that I’ll literally be dragging myself to complete my tasks. 🙂
I loved learning about the painter and meme artist Lauren Kaelin on the article “Are memes the pop culture art of our era?” by Kate Knibbs. She’s the living proof that memes can be a form of self-expression. She loves to make memes following her own unique style. She’s so cool and she loves what she does! One of her extraordinary projects is the “Benjamemes” project. She sees a meme from her vision and that turns it into something extraordinary. She worked on a picture of a monkey on which she touched every details of it. It’s amazing how she gives her own work a value by turning it into something how she would like to see it. Everything she makes is unique as she said, “A successful meme is by definition reproducible, shareable, and recognizable. Benjamemes creates an aura where none previously existed”. Her style, perception, ability to see though details makes her memes different from the original.
Lauren Kaelin isn’t the only person showing her passion, perception by creating memes. There are so many meme artists, gif artists all over the internet who feel comfortable sharing their unique thoughts by creating and sharing memes. On the article “Are Memes The New Art Form of The 21st Century?” by Em Mampusti, we learn about a Singaporean meme maker named Yu Tong Yap. She shared that she has to think of new ideas to make a meme in order to create an impactful message. I think this way someone’s creativity level boosts up as well. Self-expression and creativity work really well together in terms of making memes, gifs. You are making a simple still from a movie into something that you have imagined inside your mind. You are using that image to create something very thoughtful and useful for others.
This is another meme I recently found on Facebook and had to share with my friends. Not only me, this meme is relatable to almost every student out there. As much as we love studying what we chose to study, at times we feel overwhelmed by piles of assignments and want to give up. But I swear, this is not what I am looking like as I am doing this assignment. Honestly, even an hour ago I was stressing out by taking notes on what is required from this particular assignment (the video, the article, the article that I found). But again that’s me, stressing over everything. It was fun creating my first meme ever. And it’s fun doing this assignment, now when every information is sorted.
The video and articles taught me facts that I never thought existed. We always think people do not think deeply about art as they do about science. We always think people are only serious about serious things like impeaching Trump and “Why there aren’t enough paper towels left on this supermarket?”. Art is a serious matter and many people live by being the cool artists that they are. So many laughs wouldn’t take place if memes were not made and shared. The article enlightened me with the knowledge that there are passionate and courageous people out there who follow their hearts and never stop believing in the power of a creative meme. Projects like “Benjamemes”, studio artists displaying their arts, etc are brave steps towards a modern, meme-giphy-generated generation to me. On the video, Mike Rugnetta shared quotes from famous historians. We get to know what people like Leo Tolstoy thought about art.
Like the title says, “Memes are a form of Art”. Art is derived from creativity and it exists all around us. Everything we look at can be considered art depending on the context. I am currently typing this out and thinking to myself that this blog post is another form of Art. Art can be beautiful, sad, happy, confusing, or funny. All of these aspects exists within memes and I would describe memes as the digital version of Art.
The one quote that stood out to me when searching on the web “Are memes art?” is “Art is constantly evolving, but if the purpose of art is to express human truth, the Internet meme fits the bill.” The quote makes sense and relates to my opinion that memes are truly art. Memes are a form of art that exists within the internet and it’s also gaining more publicity due to the evolution the world has transitioned into. Art such as paintings and pictures give the same feeling that a meme would give depending on what it is. A benefit to memes is also that it’s on the internet and can be easily shared amongst friends and family.
In Kate Knibbs’s “Are memes the pop culture art of our era“, she brings up an interesting point that I did not think of. She mentions the importance of memes and bringing them into mainstream art. She then uses the example of Grumpy Cat and how the meme was brought to real life and inspired 30 studio Artists to create themed artwork of it. I never thought about the fact that memes can also be brought to life and in mainstream art. This is another example on why Memes should be considered art. Artists are now creating galleries of memes in real life to showcase to their audience and it is a fascinating thing to think about. This ultimately means that anyone can possibly have their memes be on display in real life.
In the video “Are LOLCats and Internet Memes Art” the Youtuber discusses how memes are indeed Art by relating it to quotes that historians have said. Such as Leo Tolstoy who says “To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movement, lines, colors, sounds or forms expressed in words so to transmit that feeling that others experience the same feeling.” with the closing quote from the Youtuber that says “this is the activity of art”. Pretty much what this all means is Tolstoy was ahead of his time and defined memes to be art by expressing one’s personal feelings and others being able to express the same feelings. That’s what memes do and continue to be doing nowadays. In fact, the world seems to be transitioning more into memes and gifs a opposed to the natural art format of pictures and paintings.
Another video I found worth watching on YouTube is titled “Memes: Art of the Internet Age” where it goes over the history of art and memes and discusses whether or not Memes are a form of art.
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Now that we have the image and color, we will need to click on the image to see how intense we want the filter to apply.
The reason that I chose this item/tool is because it’s comfortable and helps me do the activity I always do. It’s a very useful tool and thought it would be fun taking its perspective since most people use it as well. I am also not a big poem guy so this is all just my interpretation of what a poem would look like. I made the item obvious, but thoroughly enjoyed writing this poem due to the mystery aspect within it, which is what I usually invest in.
