Click the link below to watch highlights in order from 11 to 18 for Stream project

https://www.instagram.com/calum_artin/

Used instagram to explore Guy Debord’s idea of the spectacle, described in his 1967 text as a “common stream” of “images detached from every aspect of life.” I felt the impetus to explore this after realising I spend an unhealthy amount of time using electronic (virtual) devices (TV, laptop, phone). It feels like real/physical aspects of my life have become increasingly neglected.

What is interesting about Society of the Spectacle is that it still holds such relevance, if not more, over 50 years on. The spectacle has evolved into something much more ubiquitous than it was in the 1960’s. Instagram is the perfect present example – even the most basic activities like eating, cooking, walking are uploaded for others to see/”contemplate.”

“All life presents itself as an accumulation of spectacles. Everything that was directly lived has moved into representation.”

“Reality becomes an object of mere contemplation.”

The concern for Debord and the Situationists is that mass media has come to dominate the life of the individual and advocates contemplation over action – this makes people politically apathetic.

Though they didn’t identify themselves as a cohesive art movement an aim of the situationists was to capture moments of “life” – interesting considering this seems to be a defining aspect of the contemporary spectacle (on Instagram we upload glimpses/moments of our lives – whether mundane or interesting, near anything is acceptably posted and received).

Going into this project my aim was first to load my story with P.O.V. posts of me going about daily life (mundane tasks), and second to play with the assumption that one account represents one person’s reality – which I did by inviting others to use my account.

To see all stories as they were posted click through highlights titled stream11 through to stream18, at: https://www.instagram.com/calum_artin/

With this project I wanted to push some of the boundaries of Instagram use: duration and quantity were the key boundaries – will people still want to watch? will they comment? will they unfollow? (Although these were questions that came later on). Some of these initial questions turned into narcissistic concerns later on which is interesting.

Could I subvert the Spectacle by overloading my story with videos, images and reproductions? – answer: no, I’d only be contributing to it, but can see where it takes me.

I wanted to make my story a chore for followers – the act of tapping through becoming monotonous, boring, perhaps comical. This might cause them to consider their use of social media and our voyeuristic habits.

DAY WALKING UP ARTHUR’S SEAT AND BACK

These videos and posts were reproductions of a normal day – walk, shopping. By filming near the whole walk and whole shop I took the tendency to update others on our lives to an extreme. I took it further by screenshot-ing the original posts and reposting in order to fill my story to its limit – the act of posting had become more important than what I was posting. The screenshot is interestingly self-reflexive/self-aware as it captures the images as posts, with viewer stats, times, interactive buttons (share, facebook, more). The screenshot is also interesting because it distances the viewer ever further from the moment captured by the initial photograph – the image of the stream shown above becomes more distorted with each screenshot taken and uploaded.

Some days there were over a hundred posts, the act of tapping through them all becomes more ridiculous – for some it became a challenge, for some it became irritating, for some it became fun.

REFLECTIONS IN THE WOODS

I found a spot and sat for approximately 45 mins just observing, blending in, experience nature. I then started a live stream, immediately taking me out of the first-hand and turning the experience into something social.

I noticed I was beginning to care about how the stream looked, who was watching, how many were watching – my eyes frequently glancing towards the screen away from the nature around me. I became self-conscious of whether people thought I was seeking attention, of whether people found my project boring – which I had previously though would be a successful outcome. At the beginning of the project I hadn’t cared, I was just going to fill up my stories – but perhaps the insecurity that no one cares caused me to care. Am I beginning to stream for social contact?

I don’t like that I care but it’s an important reflection. In trying to subvert our use of social media I become more engrossed in it – it’s like Instagram becomes a third eye, always scanning for postable images even in our private moments. The third eye turns private moments into social ones.

There was a feeling of desperation with some of these posts, for example when in bed eating toast – this was probably because I had just come back from a night out – still drunk. Always an uneasy feeling after posting things drunk so don’t do it in future, unless it’s necessary to a project. Although I suppose it captures an element of daily experience.

Worried about boring people – is this a concern for my social life? or is it a concern for my art? I want to subvert Instagram’s format through repetition and lengthy post duration – a side-effect of which might be boredom – but boredom is an emotion I should be interested in for this project about social media and streams of images. I’m not trying to make friends through this project.

What has been the purpose of my Instagram experiments?

To disrupt other peoples’ feeds with repetitive and long recordings of mundane daily experiences: walking, sitting, watching, drinking, eating. And then reposting them in order to fill stories to their capacity.

Have I successfully communicated what I wanted to of reality and experience?

Not sure if it’s clearly communicated but Society of the Spectacle has helped me to explain what my concern is with how we experience the world. Instagram is the contemporary home of the image, of representations and appearances.

Questions to ask for going forward:

Social media offers us constant virtual experiences. What are the psychological consequences? Do we know where real and virtual separates in our mind?

I’m sitting in the woods by the fire and I feel the urge to photograph and post – what is that urge? Is it a social urge? The mobile phone is a constant social extension, different from the camera – those with phones are social 24/7. Is it trying to convince others how interesting we are? Is it wanting others to acknowledge us?

Click the link below to watch highlights in order from 11 to 18 for Stream project

https://www.instagram.com/calum_artin/