Twentynineatseven Project aims can be found here;
: http://julieellisartist.co.uk/public-realm-revised/
Evaluation
This project has surprised me in that I didn’t really expect it to be an analysis of social media. My goal was to engage and inspire people in creative practice that perhaps would not normally pursue creative activities. After a positive and optimistic start I quickly felt disappointed, finding it hard to be honest and realising that sometimes I don’t do anything creative at all and that people don’t really look/read properly. It is only in this time of reflection that I feel that I got something valuable from it quite unexpectedly. The highlights being the one or two moments of honest sharing with people who engaged wholeheartedly, making a connection which perhaps would not have been possibly in a physical forum. I also gained insight into my lack of creative motivation, need to compartmentalize and reluctance to be entirely open.
Social engagement in person/online?
It is no revelation to say that social media is a fast moving instant of engagement. Instagram in particular could be considered a throw away visual culture focusing on imagery over written word. This is the reason I chose it to promote my business which relies on visual connection primarily and is easy to engage with in terms of using and viewing. However, to have vast amounts of followers does not necessarily mean engagement. I gained 118 followers in total over the month long project. I can’t help thinking that If I had been able to hold a workshop and had 118 attending I would be able to engage in a uniquely personal way, 118 people at a workshop who all got in their cars, on a bus, arranged to meet a friend, walked, made sure they were on time and planned their day around attending. There is intent to engage which sets a productive and creative environment from the outset. In addition the activity planned, the materials, the process become the catalyst for creativity. I feel that engaging with people is not just about my voice but the collective voices/conversations which can be had when people physically come together. A community, a course cohort like on the MA where people are inspired by being together, having conversations, inspiring one another and feeling included with likeminded people. The essence of socially engaged practice.
Honesty?
I found it incredibly difficult to be honest, some days I do very little creatively juggling household and Mum duties as well as the day to running of julieellisartist.co.uk which is just business and paperwork. Absolute honesty, which was my intention at the offset, was impossible. This is in part due to the value in perhaps selfishly protecting my process which financially supports my family single handily as well as issues with protecting privacy of others. If I was to repeat the project I would make it entirely anonymous. The initial invitation to join via my business page over the course of the project made me aware that I may have buyers, business links to people following, particularly as many people don’t have their name as a username, they are anonymous and I feel exposed. I don’t know who is watching me. For example some days I have to put on my charming face and sell my work. I rally struggle with the situation encountered in making sales when people visit the studio, however much I am being myself there is always the tension of a potential sale in the air. We are not together because we are friends, it is not social, although we may be drinking tea and chatting about our family. I always feel uncomfortable with this. If I were to be honest about this discomfort people may not come to my studio, my professionalism could be questioned, I have something to lose. This made me think of Gerald Ratner who infamously trashed his own brand when he was guest speaker at the Institute of Directors on April 23, 1991 attended by over 6000 business people and journalists. Known at the Ratner effect he put himself out of business in ten seconds. An extreme example of honesty shooting oneself in the foot.
Selfish?
Hashtags were successful as I gained followers who were building site workers and beauty therapists etc. however by far the quickest way to gain followers was to follow other people. I randomly scrolled through my new followers followers and followed a random ten every other day. It seems that most people will follow you back. There is self-interest here to do with them getting something in return which perhaps has nothing to do with the content of my page. Instagram for me is predominantly selfishly inward facing whilst facing outward. What I mean by this is that people present themselves to others in a way which is entirely about themselves, their best selves. They follow and hope to be followed by the people who they consider to be valuable in some self gain kind of way. Monetary, social, god like admiration. I am aware that this is not always the case but I have questioned where I fit into this. Am I that different? I have made many sales through Instagram. I present my best self. I post a pretty painting which was made many weeks, sometimes years prior and profess to have been working in the studio when in fact I haven’t got out of my pjs. I am #blessed! I love it and hate it.
At the halfway point I asked my friends on face book what the thought of Instagram as a means of engagement and ways to attract followers etc. I explained that it was not for self promotion and nothing to do with sales but a project about social engagement for my MA. I was amazed at how few people (friends) who even read my post properly and proceeded to add me to groups to promote and sell my work. The general opinion overall was that quantity (followers) was not the way forward in terms of people who had an genuine interest in engaging with art.
Filtered?
I asked people how honest they really felt that they were being when posting on social media. One person commented on filters as if they were the devils work when presenting artwork honestly. I admitted that I do sometimes use them and see this editing as a way of abstracting and experimenting with tonal values and colour in my work. I will agree that this cannot be done when presenting something which is for sale as you are altering the aesthetic of the item offered. It’s an interesting thing to consider. I once read about a young girl who was missing in an article and the image which they had provided for people to look out for the girl was one of those Snapchat photos. She had teddy bear ears! I remember this moment because I found it both amusing and distressing at the same moment. We have so quickly become accustomed to the flat complexion and eyelinered images of people in this way that it is accepted as a likeness in a serious matter.
What was great?
I tried to ask a question every day. Sometimes just ‘How was your Monday?’ and other times I asked ‘Do you remember your childhood home?’ Most times people engaged with this, although in numbers very few in terms of views. People gave me insight into their lives with only a few words. Making their wedding dresses, cooking Dahl, making videos messages for absent friends. On the childhood home question people painted amazing imagery with their words of their childhood. London council estates and 200 acre Irish farmhouses to 70,s naval quarters. Although it appears that the world is watching a conversation can take place which is intimate and quiet. There was Michael, I don’t know him, he is a carpenter living and working in central London (#carpentersofinstagram). Michael commented most days and always openly and surprisingly honestly. I got to know what he had for tea, where he grew up, what he was working on that day and about his family in just a very few words. I messaged him at the end of the project to thank him for engaging and to ask him his thoughts on the project, social media and his creativity. I wonder if the project was worthwhile for this one conversation alone.
Stats
I gained 118 followers
One unfollow in the time period.
A 2,850% increase recorded from the start of the project.
Statistically my peak views and engagement were around the 1st, 12/13th and 20th.
Most followers were Plymouth based (34.6%). London second (5.1%) followed by Seattle (2.6%), Exeter (2.6%) and Ivybridge (2.6%). I did however reach someone in Argentina, Nepal and Peru!
The age range of followers was between 18 and 65+ 25 -34 being the largest group (21.8%), closely followed by the 45-54 groups (20.5%) and the 35-44 (19.2%)
Followers were majority male at 57.9% and 42.1% female.
Peak times for interest were around 6pm and unsurprisingly Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays were the best days to engage.
Due to the nature of the project and it’s temporality I kept a written diary alongside the online entries which can be viewed here:
Stats – Details
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