Pandemic Art Re-Emerges. The memes and the masters | by Iselin Aspen | The Collector | May, 2021 – Medium

So how does art express itself today? Its hard to say what great pandemic works of art will come out of all of this. Maybe we will also have our masterpieces to look back upon, to help us remember how it was.

But times are different, and the people are different. We are not likely to have new versions of the Ars Moriendi fluctuating on Pinterest. Lets face it. For now, its mostly about the memes. And there are thousands of them. One of the reasons I believe memes are so popular is their ability to pass censorship and algorithms powered by artificial intelligence.

If you want to be blunt, offend, have a politically incorrect laugh. Then what better option do you have than using a meme? Most younger people spend their lives online anyway. They dont spend their time working on the details of an oil canvas. Memes can be funny, and still so simple it borders on the ridiculous.

That this generation would turn to memes is not all that surprising. After all, this is how we are trained to live and act. Laugh quickly and forget about it just as quickly. Memes are not for contemplation, and maybe a majority of people living today have never learned to contemplate because they have never learned how to be bored. The memes are a natural expression of this quick culture".

Memes are easy to glue together, as long as you have a phone. Theres no need for talent or eloquence, a creative idea will get you far enough.

Still, there is real talent out there, and I am sure more will be emerging before all of this is over. Maybe we will be remembered as the meme generation"? Or maybe our memes will die with us? The blunt truth is, most of the popular memes are not found in books or art galleries. Instead, they are circulating randomly online, and if they are preserved or not, depends solely on technology, and whether or not they will survive all the solar storms and unexpected cloud storage shutdowns or not.

One thing is certain, the memes are helping people get through their fears and sorrows, caused by the media thriving on our addiction to bad news, and the unprecedented lockdowns and loss of freedoms. Memes are keeping us alive, they are the edge of opinion and emotion, and they provide us a sense of freedom when it seems as if all liberties are lost.

I thought I would close this article with some talent I recently discovered in Copenhagen. It was painted on a city wall, by the artist Welinoo and is called Covfefe-19. I dont know if he used spray cans or not, but if he did, I am impressed.

Theres no doubt in my mind, the corona will continue to stir up emotions and inspire more artists and hobby members in times to come. Feel free to share more pandemic art in the comment section below.

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Pandemic Art Re-Emerges. The memes and the masters | by Iselin Aspen | The Collector | May, 2021 - Medium