Is the need to make everything an aesthetic art or the new plague of social media?
In a culture moved by aesthetics and the next best thing, authentic creativity can easily get lost or overlooked. According to Merriam Webster, aesthetic is defined as a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. With content creation, and social media usage at an all time high the need to perform often outweighs the need to make authentic, thought provoking art - essentially creating your own aesthetic.
There is a constant need to perform on the internet; to over perform aspects of your life whether it be through clothes, trips, or social status. This performance by some is under the guise of aesthetics which oftentimes makes it hard to differentiate the real from the fake. A few creatives who’ve built their own platforms based on their art and individualism shared their thoughts on their definitions of aesthetics, social media’s role in aesthetics, and how we can move forward as a culture to uplift authenticity.
What is a good aesthetic to you?
“I think an aesthetic is a form of identity, so when you force yourself into one you’re portraying an identity that isn’t yours.”
The greatest takeaway from aesthetics is that it can be defined differently based on your thoughts, opinions, and lifestyles. Latif, owner of Wisdom ATL says, “A true aesthetic is based in authenticity. A good aesthetic should feel like its own universe. Like how cereal brands reel you into a certain cartoon and flavor. It affects the way we think.”
A good aesthetic to creative, and founder of Sir George, Justin is “To be creative through being yourself.”
An aesthetic should come naturally. It is a depiction of your aura, whatever that may be at the current time or era of your life that you are in. Forcing it, or over-performing hides your truest self, and that is what your organic audience want to see. Stylist and blogger, Deja explains, “I feel like a lot of times people try to fit themselves into an aesthetic and sometimes you can tell that’s not a true depiction of their personality. I think an aesthetic is a form of identity, so when you force yourself into one you’re portraying an identity that isn’t yours.”
Can you tell when a certain aesthetic is forced?
“Yes, because you’ll start to see a good ‘trend turn bad.’ For example, the Balenciaga croc boots. People don’t put as much effort to be creative enough to start a new look, they just bite ye” says Justin.
It is human nature to get inspired from others. That is one of the main effects of art creation - to inspire. However, there is a clear difference in inspiration and pure mockery. Kya, creative and owner of Superstarkya says, “Forced aesthetics are boring to me because I’ve seen it mocked way too many times. It’s just not fun.”
Do you think social media has altered true authenticity?
“Do what you feel and wear what you want because you truly want to, not to fit in with the majority.”
One of the main reasons why aesthetics have become ‘the plague of social media’ is because social media has lost its purpose. Nowadays content creators rather jeopardize the integrity of their art for likes, and follows. Mary Imaaj, model and owner of Mary Imaaj co highlights how “people plan their day around content creation. They go to certain places to get a certain look that they are going for. Everything is so ‘do you think this will blow up?’ instead of literally just enjoying your time out. I feel like there’s no privacy, everything is uploaded. Do what you feel and where what you want because you truly want to, not to fit in with the majority.”
On the bright side, social media’s influence on art hasn’t been all bad. After all we can connect with one another, support each other’s art, and essentially share our most fondest moments with the click of a button. Kya says, “I’m glad that people are getting back to having fun with social media. I think photo dumps are the best thing that has happened to Instagram in a while. When Instagram first surfaced we were all just posting food, our friends, our family. I’m glad people are getting comfortable getting back to that. It’s enjoyable.”
What do you think can be done to influence social media users to focus more on individualism and less on fitting a certain aesthetic?
“I think we should focus on both individualism and mastering our aesthetic.”
The greatest thing about community is that not all criticism is bad, and certain criticism should lead to change or some sort of resolution. In this case, can this influx of inauthentic art, and ‘creative wannabes’ be redacted?
Mary suggests one should, “Honestly delete your social media for a month and you will realize that nothing is real. I feel like a lot of the time the media gets to one’s head and they forget their reasoning for getting dressed. It is no longer for themselves, they do it for their audience. Just step outside of yourself. Go outside.”
“I think we should focus on both individualism and mastering our aesthetic. That’s how the best art is created. To answer your question we should focus more on how art makes us feel rather than the approval of others. Art should always provoke feeling and perspective. There’s no right or wrong art” Latif further explains.
To find your aesthetic one should look inward. Take a step back from social media and figure out what truly interests you. Take on a new hobby. Check in on a friend. Study an opposing philosophy. Visit a new city. Creating an authentic aesthetic is based on your individual experiences.
