TikTok's popularity has been on the rise since the start of the pandemic. Our attention spans have shortened, and we have been endlessly scrolling our phone screens than ever.
However, there are many other social media apps around for meeting with artists. Some are looking for more serious things like portfolios, and others create short videos, called reels, to post on Instagram or TikTok. Day by day, the popularity of reels is increasing, and Instagram has been making big moves is to encourage content creators to post reels.
Even though some may say that the depth of art decreased with the increasing usage of social media, one can argue that it evolved to accommodate our needs. Nowadays, young people usually use TikTok to pursue their passions by watching videos of other people doing art. The situation with Derya Tavas, a Germany-based online artist, is no different.
Artwork by Derya Tavas
She first started by decorating her clothing through decorative painting, like her famous PowerPuff Girls jeans, which helped her become famous. Then started her trends, and many people follow the trends Derya Tavas started. A trend she started was switching the paintings with her sister, friends, or boyfriend. Her fame continued after publishing her first book. Now, she is a renowned artist.
Derya Tavas' Published Book
Trends on TikTok and Instagram are not limited to drawing challenges, they also include innovations like drawing on different materials, like stones, that artists have found on the street or trying to copy an old painting's style. For example, an artist named Matt Chessco is working on pop-art-styled paintings. Even though he is not sharing the whole process step by step, the end of his videos on TikTok is always much awaited. Many believe that this is what makes the videos on TikTok and Instagram worthwhile; artists get to create a theatrical effect by showing the process, and their whole videos become content, artworks.
Matt Chessco
Everything is not limited with TikTok, during the pandemic, professionals started to gather using Clubhouse, a voice chat app. People could only join the app with an invitation from another user. This resulted in Clubhouse becoming a networking platform, something similar to a combination of features on LinkedIn and Zoom. Artists used Clubhouse as a place to gather and express their thoughts, at a time when the pandemic still affected their regular working hours and the duration of their exhibit visits.
Clubhouse App
Artists adapted to the new normal. They shared their artwork in a digital format: reels, TikTok videos, Youtube shorts, etc. This changed the atmosphere in a way that it became more of a process that followed the idea of doing art for the better and for the community. The atmosphere allowed for content creating, monetary compensation, and a space for possible fame for artists.
Even though artists have always wanted fame and money to continue creating, the pandemic changed the way they represented this need to the community. Using apps to publish art has become a thing, compared to the times when artists printed portfolios. Popular trends changed and evolved the ways artists created their artwork. It may be considered as artists now do what people want, and that is how all art movements became a thing.
Once visitors like the piece they had seen, they tell the stories of the art work, and it became the next big thing for the environment. The stories circulate around and it creates and atmosphere. Artists continued movements because they thought it was suitable for them, and also they liked how people responded to new things. This is how artists on TikTok, Clubhouse, Instagram and other platforms created a place for themselves in the art world.
Works Cited:
"Art and online activism amid the pandemic: lessons from around the world" The Conversation, Accessed: 09.28.2022, https://theconversation.com/art-and-online-activism-amid-the-pandemic-lessons-from-around-the-world-140161
May, Tom. "The 12 best social media platforms for artists and designers" Creative Bloq, Accessed 09.28.2022, https://www.creativebloq.com/features/social-media-for-artists
"Can You Really Find Good Art On TikTok" Country & Town House, Accessed 09.28.2022, https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/can-you-really-find-good-art-on-tiktok/
Hetler, Amanda "9 social media trends in 2022" WhatIs.com, Accessed 09.28.2022, https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/9-social-media-trends