Should Memes be Considered Art?

I had a random discussion with myself today and had thoughts on whether or not memes should be a new art form. Memes should be considered a part of postmodern art. Before I delve into the why it should be art, let’s define (or attempt to) postmodern art and why it’s different from modern art.

Modern art is said to have started when artists began depicting scenes of modern life. The Impressionists were considered modern simply because their work reflected the Industrial Revolution, and later on as the movement progressed into the 20th century the goal was to become more engaging with the viewer through emotion and thought. To contrast, Renaissance art valued the ability to mimic nature, whereas modernism sought to place emphasis on originality and individuality. Postmodernism is a completely different movement that seeks to be the opposite of modernism. What we currently see in postmodernism is a greater value placed on concept rather than technique, and intends to become more impersonal than original. Postmodern art has also become more political, especially with street artists like Banksy or Kehinde Wiley and their works have shined light on current social issues. The biggest complaint I’ve heard about postmodern art is that it’s not considered art simply because it can be reproduced so easily (think of Andy Warhol’s prints), but a bigger point is missed; this trend has gone towards democratizing art by making it more available to the masses rather than using esoteric techniques that the old masters of the Renaissance and modernism employed. This is the reason why you see works in museums that could’ve been easily done by anyone, and the argument for defending this style is that we are all artists.

Now let’s apply that definition of postmodernism to memes. Memes have no doubt become democratized in the sense that anyone can make one, and the reason why I think it should be art is the concept behind it. The disposability of memes is just like that of consumerism; it’s suddenly trendy but then dies out in a matter of weeks or days. Another aspect of the concept of memes is how it engages its audience through politics or humor, it’s more than just a picture with words but a form of expression and creativity which praises wit above techniques like painting or photoshop prowess. Memes are so ingrained within millennial culture that people comment with one and even bond over them, and has become an efficient and effective way to mass communicate your thoughts and opinions.