2 and a half months ago not many of us could have foreseen or expected anything near what life is like today.
I was in Goleta biking to and from my classes, playing intramural volleyball, working at art performances and lectures, going for runs and walks on the beach, enjoying the sun, getting milkshakes and cinnamon buns from different restaurants in Isla Vista, and just enjoying living my life. I had no idea what was coming.
Covid-19 has significantly altered all aspects of my life:
And everyone’s lives have been impacted in a multitude of ways and to different extents.
One of the biggest impacts of Covid-19 on people’s lives is on people’s connection to
Because many of our states, cities, and towns have shelter-in-place orders, we are rarely leaving the house, only to go to the grocery store, to walk the dog, or maybe to go on a run.
A few months ago, we were seeing art all around us, whether we noticed it or not.
We could go to art museums, movies, concerts, poetry readings, fashion shows. We were experiencing art all day, whether that was paintings in cafes, graffiti on the streets, murals on buildings, public art in parks, painted mailboxes, other people’s outfits, a new band playing at Storke Plaza, the interesting architecture of your town’s library, or even a poem written in chalk on the sidewalk! We were taking in a huge amount of diverse artwork.
But today, we’re barely going outside, so we’re missing out on experiencing a lot of that.
Instead, we’re finding most of our art on our phone and computer screens. Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, even TikTok, and many other websites and apps are now what we’re relying on for the majority of our visual artwork. We watch the best movie or tv show we can find on Netflix or Hulu or whatever streaming platform we have access to. We’re listening to all of our music through Spotify, Apple Music, and Youtube. We’re getting our poetry and books either online or from our house. And maybe we’ll notice some interesting architecture on the tv show we’re bingeing right now.
Unfortunately, this shift to mostly online artwork has some consequences. We’re taking in most of the art through brief glances, swiping past it quickly. It’s small on our screens, probably not the same colors as it is in reality, and definitely not as good quality as in person. We’re also seeing a lot less diversity of mediums and topics because most of us are only viewing what’s easily accessible. We’re missing out on a lot of the experience.
So what do we do?? No, the answer is not to wait until Covid-19 calms down, and no, the answer is not to put your screens away. This is an opportunity for growth and expansion! We have to take the time to notice what we might be scrolling past quickly, broaden our views of visual art, and find new ways to interact with the art world in this situation.
Notice the art around you more! Look at that painting on your wall that you’ve never actually studied. Take a second to admire that beautiful sunset. Explore new types of artwork and mediums on Instagram, Youtube, in TV shows, and in movies. For example, makeup, body painting, sand sculptures, collages, even memes are all art forms! Pause and admire that gorgeous drawing you saw on Instagram instead of scrolling by quickly. Find ways to interact and create new art. Color a picture of a painting you saw you really liked, or get crafty making face masks out of old shirts. The “Getty Museum Challenge” has been encouraging people to recreate famous paintings with whatever they have around them in quarantine. This can be a really fun activity to do! We’re going to have to embrace the current situation in any way possible, so search for some new ways to interact with art in person and on your devices.