Do It for the 'Gram

In a generation inundated with social media, is art valued for art’s sake or for the aesthetic it brings to our feeds?

We’ve all been there. A new art exhibit in town or a local museum is housing an installation for a limited time and everyone is talking about it and posting it. All. Over. Instagram.

I’m not sure if its a generational thing or FOMO that ends up drawing us all in to the allure of visiting an exhibit or installation just simply for the sake of taking photos (which really means for Instagram because if you don’t ‘gram it, did it really happen?) but it seems that not many people can shake it. And i’m guilty as well, because I enjoy an occasional flex for the ‘gram. But, I guess, what i’m really yearning to get to the bottom of is why. Why have we become people who literally will go somewhere just for the photo? Sure, art is cool and it’s nice to look at but why doesn’t that experience in itself seem to be enough?

I am currently seeking that answer.

I recently dragged my best friend to one of these installations to really get to the bottom of all of the hype. (Looking back, this was an ill advised trip as the installation was outdoors and we failed to check the weather — my frizzy hair and soaked aviator are well disguised in the photo below.) After hearing about Georgetown Glow on Twitter and seeing the accompanying photos that really made it look like THE Christmas/New Year experience, I just knew I had to get there. And of course, I had to have my photo taken. Naturally, the best photos of the 500+ taken ( I can’t be the only one who takes a million photos before deciding on one I actually like) would be used to document the whole thing for Instagram.

So that was the plan. We took the metro as close as we could get to Georgetown, followed up with an Uber to get us to our exact destination (sort of), then proceeded to wander around the neighborhood looking for the various locations that the website promoted (in my opinion) as perfect spots for a photoshoot. They were all out of maps, which made sense as we literally waited until the final weekend to make it down there, but we made it work. Through our searching we were able to successfully find and capture a total of three of the 11 light installations.

Though I would have loved to make it to all 11 and get a picture with each one the rain and time crunch (my best friend had to catch a flight to France, where she is currently studying abroad, the next morning) did not allow for that. The photos that I did manage to take came out pretty decent. There was a cool installation that used alternating colored led lights and reflectors on sticks (that looked a lot like lollipops to me) that created a whimsical winter wonderland type of vibe. We ventured to another installation of blue twinkling lights that were placed on a windowed bridge suspended above a cobblestone road. (I had to take a boomerang here to capture the full effect.) It sort of reminded me of watching the snow fall outside my window on a winter night in Syracuse. And last but not least we made it to a super cool installation that combined neon colored strings and lights to create geometric backdrops, which, again, were perfect for photos.

The lights themselves were actually really cool. I can only imagine the kind of hard work and creativity that went into making each one possible. And i’m pretty sure this is a yearly event so I can’t wait to see what next year will bring. But to answer my above questions, I truly believe that I would have had a better experience if I didn’t make the trip just for the lights. If I had happened to go to Georgetown just to shop with my friends or to go out to eat and came across the installations that way I think it would have been a more genuine experience. It would have felt more like a welcome surprise instead of a duty. And who knows, maybe the weather would have been better. Between the rain and the searching, the result of that trip made me feel like I was forcing an outing just for the photos — which, honestly didn’t come out that great and still have not made it to Instagram.

My biggest lesson from this has been that I’m more of a person who likes to live in the moment and sure sometimes that specific moment gets documented for Instagram but that should not be the only reason that I choose to do something. Granted, I do want to try out interactive photo experiences (i.e. tfti Houston, Future of Sports, 29rooms). But with those, I think the experience or the moment is more in the interaction and taking the photos — plus they’re indoors!