Surmise Collective

It’s great for posting developmental images or behind the scenes in the studio, but when considering the world we are living in, with limited options of exhibiting work physically, there are very limited avenues for curation on Instagram. We don’t get the freedom of choosing levels or different hanging methods online, we are limited to photographing what we can do in the physical and, at a push, enhancing these using editing software. Without these technical abilities available on the platform, we as creatives have to take initiative, creating our own ways of attracting attention and making our space more unique and inventive in a market that is constantly becoming more crowded. But how do we do it on this platform, how can writers’ and critics’ experiences compare with painters when they are given the same 2D 1080px by 1080px canvas with no ability to scroll through text? Is it that these types of creatives need to find alternative platforms to display their practice and work like Blogger. Maybe it’s attractive to some people to see text based profiles on Instagram as it offers something different to permanently viewing imagery, but it doesn’t seem to be as convenient to share such content as it does with simply uploading something from your camera roll.

So why has this platform been chosen to sell to art students? Why have we all been pushed to create an account and share our work this way? Surely it must have something to do with its ease and established audience of users, however if we all switched to a more diverse platform, then we can build up the network there, right? Maybe this is how we stand out, we branch out to another platform and use it differently than the majority of the current users. Tumblr began as a very art and photography orientated platform but then as other people discovered it, they found a new way to present on there and it’s now become driven by very different content. Similarly with TikTok when it began as Musical.ly, it was a platform for lip syncing and dancing, but creators saw the gap in this and began using it as a place to show their art, exposing them to a new audience and as they were offering something different, they gained a following.

Instagram is becoming more diverse in it’s formats, in recent years bringing in IGTV and Reels, but this is really just different forms of video content. Have they not just taken notes from other forms of social media i.e. Snapchat with the way they have formatted stories and the options that come with that way of presenting.

Without the financial backing or access to resources, there’s only so much that we can do with their standard formats. We’d have to invest in programmes to take advantage of things like making our own filters to display work that way or simply take people to a third party website. However, websites also have financial limitations. Access to domains can be pricey; it’s not essential with the ability to have a free plan with companies such as WIX or Wordpress, but these free options can hinder the amount of content displayable, again because they are the basic package. So we can’t really win without putting some money behind it on a regular basis, as the majority are subscription services. Again our options are limited to using the basic functions all these platforms offer, and when you are a startup or an amateur that wants to grow, these drawbacks can be very limiting to your content.

Should we as creatives and art organisations have to have multiple different platforms all supplying the same content or would it be better to have everyone in one space, allowing people to truly experiment and set themselves apart from the crowd? Instead of having hundreds of static platforms all with different algorithms making them hard to maintain, why not one that is dynamic and creatively free? What if on Instagram there was also a way of writing blogs, articles and publications to be presented alongside others? What if you could have a platform for group discussions and talks without requiring all participants to be in the same room? What if you could fully customise your feed, given full design freedom, creating an individual audience experience for when they see your content and follow your feed? Surely this would allow everyone to connect and display their practice in a unique way? These ideas won’t be for everyone, not everyone will want to have group talks and a place to publish articles. However if the opportunity is there then surely it will lead to more people dabbling in new and exciting mediums like writing.

Instagram, for artists and creatives, in its most basic form is a platform that connects you with people and institutions outside of your immediate networks and this is a great element. It allows you to find inspiration from new people constantly and follow hashtags for topics that are relevant to you. Like we said at the beginning, we think Instagram is a good platform, it just has room to be more inclusive for all disciplines. It’s a great marketing tool and it’s the prime platform right now to reach a readily available and active audience, however with the limited facilities, it doesn’t have all the things that a fully functional website may be able to provide, so it is mostly used to direct to these other sites. With the addition of these functions, we could use one collective site rather than spreading ourselves thin across a number of different ones.

What we’re basically wanting is an art platform; one that is from the very beginning, designed to be used by artists and art organisations, one that is inclusive of all disciplines or at least more than is on offer currently with instagram. Tumblr, as we have mentioned before, has some really great ideas and tools for us as creatives but unfortunately its active audience is slowly decreasing annually, which for start-up galleries comes as a concern. So what if we took all these positives and placed them under one roof, one umbrella that was built for artists and could house and exhibit all kinds of works and concepts. That is what we are crying out for at the moment, just easier said than done. An argument would be that we aren’t tapping into the audience that is there as viewers of art and not creators. It would be a great idea for networking, but it disregards the casual audience, the support network of people who simply enjoy art. But with this whole new site, could also come a viewer option; the choice to create an account to simply browse, follow and discover.

This is probably one of those impossible dream projects that in principle would be great but in reality, it's more than just “let’s do it”. However it's not written off, we shall see for the future what could be possible. For now we will continue to challenge Instagram’s restrictions and work out a new and unique way of showing.

These opinions and thoughts are all our own and are very much open for discussion but let’s take a look at this:

What happens when I’m not “liked” or “followed”?

Does my content become obsolete?

Do I now only make for the audience's pleasure or displeasure?

Is all my hard work for you the viewer of my work?

Why do we gravitate towards such a cutthroat selection-society?

Am I “established” yet?

I think I shall take some time away from this place

It's the distinction between the good and the bad 

That has tainted my view on how we traverse this world of “visual arts”

Those that have been here the longest

Have become bitter and conservative of those they deem worthy of such privileges

I don't want to reduce myself and become something distasteful

A man of little moral in his strive for perfect validation

Will I ever become “established”?

I think the obvious answer to this is the time granted to us by national lockdowns and our physical galleries being closed. With not much choice in the matter, galleries have relocated online, causing digital platforms to surge over 2020 and their uses have been pushed. Galleries, artists and creatives have taken to using and abusing the potential of their social platforms like they haven’t before, and it’s amazing really to think that all of these things were possible before but have only become an obvious solution to us when we’ve got no other choice. Making virtual walkthroughs of physical exhibitions; why wasn’t that a standard thing before? It has opened things up to a much larger audience, and even in a non-COVID world where people may not have been able to make it to the physical exhibition, it’s easy to log on at home for as long or as little time as possible.

This time has given, particularly young creatives, a way to grow as professionals from home in a relatively easy format, to create a platform that more people are looking at now more than ever. With the inability to use physical spaces, something difficult for amateur creatives and people wanting to start a gallery to acquire anyway, it’s almost become an ideal circumstance to create something online; a free and completely controllable solution. But this was always something possible to do, it’s just taken this push to realise it for a lot of people. With not a lot on offer to do, creatives began keeping people and themselves occupied in the forms that they knew how; teaching, challenges and insights, reaching almost everyone as they took to online platforms. For some, a completely new way to connect with people, for others already on these platforms, it still changed and became somewhere that they visited more regularly. It is a safe way to distract yourself, to be entertained and to learn new things on platforms that aren’t too difficult to follow. It’s much easier to collaborate, whether this be answering polls and questions on an Instagram story, participating in a challenge or video response, or looking for digital opportunities online; it’s brought us together in a safe location that doesn’t require leaving your bed. Connection is more important now than ever. In isolated times, we look to creativity, to not only entertain us, but connect us to others with similar interests and to occupy and challenge our minds.

We’ve opened ourselves up to a new audience. People are fascinated by things they don’t know about, or things that they can’t do themselves, and when these videos or images are placed in front of them, they become exposed and interested. This could have been the contributor to the huge surge in artist interviews, offering people a chance to talk about their practice and how that process has changed with the restrictions cutting off access to studios and children having to stay home. It has been truly fascinating to see so many artists talking about how they have adapted to a far more restricted way of working and how they too have had to adjust and adapt to the online advertisement of work, which is essentially the premise of having a social media platform right? With the insights into artists practices, something that we don’t always get to see, this can lead to not only appealing interest to new audiences, but motivating fellow artists. We have to consider, why haven’t we shared like this before? Why haven’t we consciously appealed to the existing audience right there online? Even now, some galleries are still showing what they’ve always shown; posts haven’t changed during lockdown, they may have simply become more frequent. They are still using digital platforms as an advertising tool for their physical space and not really utilising them to their full capabilities. Yes, that’s great, but why not boost it as an online exhibit for a larger reach, rather than using it as a filler and for telling people when they’re open again.

Transferring these physical platforms to the digital is offering a lot more opportunity for things that may not be offered traditionally. We’ve seen a lot more interactive content available for audiences, a lot more content orientated around one exhibition that would usually stand as something you go visit, maybe a talk or two offered, but nothing like what’s available now.

The new audience that doesn’t typically exist with physical galleries or art events, the type that wouldn’t usually walk through the door, are simply discovering a new interest right under their nose. Looking to the future, we are opening up for these individuals to attend such events as openings or artist talks, as they have been able to experience them for the first time comfortably in their own homes, with the ability to log off if they find it’s not for them.

As mentioned before, the market is already crowded, but with little effort required to press follow and to keep up with multiple creators, especially on short form content orientated platforms like Instagram or TikTok, there isn’t really anything detrimental about the number of online creators. Particularly in the case of galleries and artists, there is nothing bad about being exposed to more art. As long as you know your brand and are consistent, there will be an audience that orientates to you. Even if you’re similar to someone else, you have the opportunity to connect with them and share your audience, create something together or simply share each other’s work. You can only benefit by exposing yourself to an audience that already shows interest in something similar to yourself.

So why weren’t we doing these things before? We’ve always had the option, it’s been there for years, so why have we not utilised these platforms when there wasn’t a global pandemic forcing us to? It’s too easy to say we’re in the position where this is our only option, but before this, physical was not our only option and after this, the same.

Yes it would have been ideal to have done all these things before, but we have to consider that this is all in hindsight. We never really considered the possibility as there wasn’t a need to; we as an audience didn’t realise the capabilities such as online exhibitions. Obviously we used Instagram and other social platforms to share, advertise ourselves and connect since the platform began, but only a small number of people could really see the advantageous moves that could be made with it. The people that would have been asking for things like a virtual walkthrough would have been the minority, so their voices wouldn’t have been heard over the louder voices that would be able to see exhibitions physically. Now, there is a wider audience of people that would be interested in seeing exhibitions as they have been exposed to these possibilities, so should the real question be, are these digital platforms going to be maintained after things return to “normal”, when physical spaces can be accessed to full capacity again on a regular basis? Are we going to continue to satisfy the wider reach audience or are we going to return to our core audience that we see in person? This will really be showing which audience is more valued; is it the ones that we can physically count in our visitor statistics, the ones that can buy things in the gift shop and physically be present, or are the silent visitors behind a screen just as valued? If we are able to offer an in-depth experience of an exhibition at home, then why not? Understandably, some things can’t possibly be viewed to have the full experience, but with advancing technology, it could definitely become possible. It could also be worked on to not take away from the value of actually viewing something in person, but when this isn’t a possibility for someone, it’s also not invalidating their experience.

But do virtual exhibitions hinder the viewing of works? Screen viewing is obviously not the same as seeing an artwork in person, but this being the best option right now, it’s better than nothing, right? For certain paintings, maybe sculpture if we use a video format to get a 360 view, but with things that need to be experienced or to be viewed from certain angles, paintings that should be appreciated for their textures and the way they interact in the space; what can we do to make these things more appropriately viewed for their intentions rather than an image on the screen? We are starting to see a lot more exhibits incorporate VR and the way you can immerse yourself in a setting via a pair of goggles, and this could be applied to bringing an exhibition home. However in this environment, not everyone has access to these kinds of tools, therefore you will have a large proportion of your audience unable to view the content. So is there an alternative? We can’t send VR headsets out to everyone viewing, but we want to make things accessible. How can social platforms or websites add something that will work for this?

Although this has been a harrowing time for a lot of people, it has had a huge benefit on the digital art world and the way digital media is viewed. It has granted emerging artists such as ourselves a chance to create a brand and a platform to build up an audience in preparation for a phased return to physical spaces and galleries. It's offered us time, something we have in abundance, there is no pressure or deadline, we now have a chance to bring our ideal projects and brand to fruition.

These opinions and thoughts are all our own and are very much open for discussion, however here's some food for thought as we finish this article for now:

Instagram is 11 years old

Twitter is 15 years old

Youtube is 16 years old