#Socially Engaged Art

[sierrabaktiyar]

Week 3 - This is how you connect practice with society

Can I be a social agent if I am a graphic designer? Before that, we need to grasp upon social agents and graphic designers. Social agents are people that amplify your message and content by collaborating and communicating with people. Similarly, graphic designers create visual concepts that communicate people’s information. Therefore, graphic designers are just as similar to social agents, where both need to communicate information and the needs of people. The only difference is in how they execute it- graphic designers express it through a creative touch whereas a social agent will express it through action. Hence, a graphic designer can be a social agent and vice versa. 

When one is a graphic designer with similar intentions as a social agent, they’re practising what they call “social-engaged practice”. Socially-engaged practice, sometimes referred to as social practice or socially engaged art, encompasses a wide range of artistic forms that involves people and communities in discussions, partnerships or social interactions. To put it short and simple, it is an art form that focuses on meaningful social issues and social discourses as its main medium. 

An example of this practice is Edi Whitehead’s work, titled “Rewriting the Dictionary: Portraits of an Essex Girl”, which showcases the stories of women and non-binary people from Essex. Her project is based on her negative experience growing up in Essex. Back in Essex, she felt that she could not confidently be a feminine queer due to the strong stereotype of women that people uphold. Hence, she did this project as a voice, telling the women and non-binary people in Essex that their feelings are valid and stay grounded to those that belittle them.

(278 words)

References:

What is Socially Engaged Practice? | A guide to art terminology. (n.d.). https://avantarte.com/glossary/socially-engaged-practice

Converse Digital. (2023, November 14). What is a social agent? Converse Digital | Business Development Coaching & Training Agency. https://conversedigital.com/what-is-a-social-agent

BrainStation. (2023, December 22). What does a graphic designer do? BrainStation®. https://brainstation.io/career-guides/what-does-a-graphic-designer-do

London, B. (2021, March 26). Interview: Edi Whitehead on “Portraits of an Essex Girl.” BDA London. https://www.bdalondon.com/post/interview-edi-whitehead-on-portraits-of-an-essex-girl

[kryptid-kat]

We should normalize being the average artist who never really goes viral and is happy in their lane creating for their own sake (be it commissions, or art for themselves).

The clout chaser mentality of all social media sites rotted our brain where we can't find value in our work unless it has a big number besides it.

Create for yourself, not to please some elusive algorithm that changes on a whim and pushes you back to square one.

[koko2unite]

hmm feeling a little upset today again but what's new lol

[cosmosnout]

More of the Nb fire emblem protagonists since I got asked about them. (Didn’t have the energy to Draw Kris sorry💔)

[kabukiaku]

friendly reminder for anyone who messages me: please specify what you want to talk about. if i get just 'hello' or 'hi' i honestly dont feel like moving the conversation forward. it feels like im forced to interact, and I wasn't always comfortable with that, especially if I don't know you at all.

also, messaging me hourly with just saying the same two things I will be fully convinced you're a bot and not a real human. 😅

edit: asks are always welcomed. i may not always answer them due to me not having the right thoughts in mind to reply, im busy doing work, or i just did a quick glance in my inbox and forgot about it. i know i have asks that have been sitting for months, but i hope to get around to them.

[shukruut]

🤑

[sorieba]

tell me about your ocs. I'm being for real. DM me, reblog, reply, tags; do whatever. let's just talk about ocs

[spacebeyonce]

so I was on twitter and I see this tweet. and it's a screenshot of a fic writer who is pulling their writing that they worked on for around six years due to plagarism and lack of engagement. the screenshot shows them in the A/N saying the next chapter will come out if they get x amount of comments, like back in the early oughts. I don't really think it's a big deal so I don't pay that part no mind.

but I checked the QRTs...and it's people saying the author is entitled, that they have a big ego, that this is just for fun and they should be doing this for themselves, and if they are only doing this for engagement then they're just miserable, and that this is just a hobby, and no one's entitled to getting responses, and like. I have. Thoughts. Opinions, if you will.

I was talking with stace about it because I feel insane?? like being in fandom is so different compared to when we were younger...it's so...idk. my lip started curling up at how many people were saying that the author was asking for too much, that they're entitled because they are just grateful for getting two kudos or they got one comment and it made their entire week. and like. stand up. STAND UP!!! WANT MORE. YOU'RE ALLOWED TO WANT MORE!!

'you're supposed to be writing for you! you should be drawing for you!' yeah sure but we're sharing this shit with y'all for a reason. if I was just doing this for me I'd keep it to myself like I did when I was a kid.

because sure. this is a hobby. this is something we should just be doing for fun. but is it really so entitled to want more responses, more engagement? more dialogue? people loooooove to parrot the idea that fandom is all about community, it's all about creating and communicating and having fun with each other over art and writing and all that shit. people love to say that! but when artists talk about how not great it feels to share something they worked on forever and barely getting anything back it's a problem.

maybe it's because I'm getting burnt out. I'm tired. passion can only get one so far, and after a while it gets tiring after a while, putting something out with that passion and not getting much in return.

[crispycreambacon]

Trying to figure out how to draw this gyui… Gobo the beloved aroace icon fr 🫶🏽

Click the links below to see more doodles of the Fraggle Five!

Mokey & Boober || Wembley & Red || Fraggle Five

[moonlume]

✨ life is always better when we are together..! ✨

[optiwashere]

I have a lot of (mostly negative) thoughts about Wattpad, but everything that's happening over there w/r/t another fandom purge is why AO3 exists in the first place. It's sad to watch another cycle of queer and sexual art get removed because of Corporate Values, regardless of my personal opinions.

Everyone unfamiliar should do their Fanlore homework on Purges, starting with the infamous FFN purges.

[rubsjuice]

Nobody batted an eye when rose did this for greg but now that the baby daddy committed war crimes its all "this is so not #feminist rebecca"

[blueskittlesart]

also to everyone contacting me about the tiktok--I have seen it, the reposter did not contact me before posting on tiktok but has since contacted me on instagram and they obeyed my repost credit policy so i'm tentatively ok with it!

[amalasdraws]

Market Date Wip

[vimbry]

"likes don't do anything" they do

"there's no algorithm" there is

"well nobody uses the for you tab" I do

"reblog all art and fics you see" there's no thought put into that. if this does work on people, then it's just pity engagement borne out of guilt rather than genuine interest, which is arguably worse than having none, because it's totally hollow.