Original acrylic painting “Untitled” by Shawn Patrick Greene 2022.

Marketing in today’s world needs to be cleverer than ever since there are more outlets of information than ever in our world’s history. Contemporary art needs new vehicles to promote them and the artists. Social media helps to bridge the gap between spectators and the art world. A quick Snapchat photo or video can reach people instantly. Add a filter to it and the meaning, however, can change the viewers perception of the true meaning of the original. Walter Benjamin wrote in Modern Art and Modernism that “even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space [Ch 33 The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction].”

The way we use memes in social media change the way we see and understand the reference and meaning of images used in relation to a post, or what text is on the memes themselves. Some memes are still images of an original work, or a close up of it. Some memes are in Gif format, allowing a series of images to show movement or video images to transform the meaning. Music and sound can change any of these to do the same. In addition, adding extra images, like emojis, can also affect the meanings.