Talking about my phone and social media never feels cool. But then because it feels so uncool I think it comes back around again to punk rock. I feel the irony of screaming about these apps on these apps and feel every version of a gremlin pops up into my minds eye and tells me some version of shut up already. Until I remember that is the function of these apps. To mirror capitalism, the ever growing more more more need of colonialism. The hunger that is never satisfied. The feeding of the machine until the machine outlives us all. But I refuse to keep giving these men my time, money, and art.
Artists made these app what they are today. There would be no instagram if it werenβt for photographers and painters and poets. There would be no tik tok without musicians and writers, there would be no twitter without the six word short story and journalists research. Artists arrived on the platforms and created them. Made things, crafted space before there was anything there to see. Artists brought the people, kept them at the party, entertained and danced and dazzled. There would be no version of success of these apps with out artists. Every dollar, success, metric of success was created from the free labour or artists on the apps.
To put it quite simply, Zuck β you owe artists money.
I spend a lot of time with artists. I speak with them all day about their big beautiful ideas and how to usher them into the world. I was raised by artists, I come from a big family of artists. I sit in the back seat of cars and talk with artists, I stand in hallways saying goodbye for too long with artists We talk about receiving feedback, and submitting to editors, we talk about funding and new shows. We talk about clients and getting paid. But there is always the tension that arrises in some point of the conversation. Some version of marketing our art, or sharing in it, or how and where to find it and you. The collective grown of art not getting enough βLikesβ, the sign of conflating content and art and feeling. I love artists, but I need us all to remember that these apps are not here for us.
They are not interested in our art, they are certainly not interested in humanity or feeling or expression. They are interested in shareholders and bottom lines and keeping your eye balls on a app so they can sell more add space on it.
I write about measuring art. Knowing that when my work has gotten the content machines version of success β it doesnβt feel good. It hasnβt made me richer or smarter or better. It has made me want to throw my phone into a river and write about the lack of nuance we can hold when I have just seen 6849 videos of people hotter than I am living better lives than me. It has kept me addicted to the screen, refreshing apps when I want to be creating.
I donβt see it as a necessary evil. I want to see it for exactly what it can offer me. I know it is
personal mission to put Zuckerberg of out business by getting artists paid on substack. I donβt need to wax poetic on how technology can keep us in touch and simultaneously keep us apart. And I know and understand that these platforms can help contribute to what I think all artists ultimately want β to share their work with the world. And I am tired of artists waffling over the best strategy to get new eyes on their work on platforms that donβt care about us. To see another artists feel defeated by an algorithm because it cannot and never will hold their work with the tender arms it deserves. There are a lot of fears and worries β and like I get it. I am a self employed artist. But I also know in worrying I am trying to control a thing I cannot control.Is it weird to quote yourself? I am going to anyway.
Art cannot be measured in views and likes. The watercolour of art is not quantifiable by the binary of algorithm. Expression, feeling, magic. Art is unquantifiable and algorithms only work to quantify our creations.
So dear reader. I have no answers for you today. But I do have a lot of hope, hope that artists made these things and artists will keep making more space and places to share and inspire in. I know that by talking out loud, together. We keep these monsters from colonizing our brains anymore. What I do have for you is a spell and a bullet list of things I think we can be doing instead of fretting over how to best hack a machine that there is not hack for.
A spell! A prayer! A blessing! A hope for artists on instagram!
πͺ I refuse to spend anymore time gaming out how to give these men my time + money. Yes I will share my art online, but with wild abandon. I will not fret over likes. For art does not equal content! I will not make The Zuck richer than he already will be today. πͺ
A couple of things to stay cool on the app + share your art
TURN OFF YOUR PUSH NOTIFICATIONS
Your brain isnβt a slot machine for dopamine. Donβt let your phone treat you like one. I am constantly shocked at how many of my clients come to me saying they feel as awful about IG and then simultaneously tell me about receiving every single notification on their phone while work.
Block family and friends. Donβt follow them. Make this space your ownΒ
I donβt follow a lot of my family or even close friends online β because that is where I go to work. I donβt show up at their offices and ask them what they are doing all day. This is something that allows me to be cringey and embressing as fuck because I donβt have to look them in the eye at thanks giving and talk about my instagram presence later.
Block haters (Anyone that isnβt insanely supportive)
This is a great analogy from
, IG is your front porch. You wouldnβt allow anyone to come onto your front porch and just yell at you. While I am open to feedback and discussion, I have literally never one seen that in the comment section before so β blocked πΌ
If self comparison creeps in. Put your phone down and run into a field.Β
Very really literally touch some grass ππ»ββοΈ
No one is thinking about you more than you π
With love and respect no one cares about you. May that free you to be as cringe, free, embarrassing, mistakey as you want in public. Online and off. πͺ
Thanks for reading the Creators Dispatch. A weekly essay about the creative journey! Here I write about being an artist, human, angry woman on the internet and living in the dumpster fire of a world that says not to make your art. If what I say here inspires you (or pisses you off π₯°) share my work with the group chat, or your best friends neighbour. Word of mouth is the most special and radical way of sharing β plus it helps put the Zuck πββοΈ out of business πΌ
FINDINGS πΊοΈ
Very excited to be hosting Rachel Smiley in our digital studio this month for How To Make Money πΈ // Book keeping 101 For Artists with New Moon Book keeping πΈ π
I donβt know how many times I have linked a Mind Witchery episode in these notes but
on the latest episode felt like having my two best friends from different schools meeting for the first time and it was SO FUCKING GOODThe latest from
had me giggling annoying everyone around meNew v autumnal pod episode of the pod is out
BIG LOVE and many blessings for artists ALWAYS!
Phoebe π
*typos are left to reflect the fury passion and 3D humaness of being a passionate freak in the world β and you know not a robot *beep boop* I am just a human girlie living on earth with a mortal brain π€ΈββοΈ
Thirsty for more? I deeply believe in paying artists for their work and the work art/content we consume (think modern day patron!). To be cohesive with my values I allow readers to pay for the work I create here. If you love my writing, get value and resource from it consider becoming a paid subscriber! Paid subscribers get access to more of my writing and *new* monthly community events Starting Nov 1st!
Love this description of the Mind witchery episode, thank you for sharing!!