A life size egg carton filled with giant styrofoam eggs.
Social networking sites such as Facebook and Instagram are notorious for photo sharing and using hashtags. When it comes to getting likes for photos by using hashtags, Instagram holds the torch. The photo sharing app has even earned its own verb. “Instagramable”. Meaning that a photo is worth posting on Instagram to get plenty of likes. Society has become so reliant on getting likes on their pictures for the sake of instant gratification that they are willing to pay for it. Not just by purchasing followers.
Ellis the Egg sleeping in her New York apartment and dreaming about success in the big city.
The Egg House is a pop up exhibit that opened in downtown NYC was meant to attract visitors with props for them to share photos and use the proper hashtags. The purpose of the hashtag is for app users to to become aware of the exhibit and purchase tickets to the exhibit.
Ellis the Egg in her reality. A tiny plastic egg on a doll sized bed inside of a hole in the wall.
Unlike most art exhibits, The Egg House didn’t have any valuable substance. It was a venue that was literally designed for guests to take pictures for social media. The entry fee was $20. It will cost you $20 to take tacky photos in front of plastic props to get more notifications on your phone. It’s ironic that millennials in particular will spend money to go out for the sake of being able to spend more time looking at their screens.
The hole in the wall that cost $20 to look at a plastic egg.
Photographer Adeos Yeboah told me he does not find any benefit in taking photos at meaningless exhibits that claim to be art. “I feel like that’s kind of sad. It’s not something that I would personally do but you can’t control what people want. It’s their phone.”
Ellis the Egg on screen. I giant egg rolling around on pavement.
The colorful props do create more content for social media pages but, the digital age has a reputation for making society more narsacisstic. The idea of getting dressed up to pose for social media photos is society’s new norm that has most app users craving that instant gratification through a double tap on a screen. Purpose over popularity. Guests are unlikely to question the purpose of why they are taking photos. They will use hashtags to gain popularity for their photos by counting the number of likes. The apps on our phone screen have control over society because most people fail to recognize the purpose behind a photograph. Most of these pictures are fabricated in order to portray a false image for popularity based on numbers.
Striped wall with furniture props for taking pictures.
Going to a cheesy “art” exhibit to take pictures for social media isn’t a crime. Charging an exorbitant amount for entry to these exhibits should be thought out more carefully before you buy tickets. Some of these exhibits can inspire people to get creative with their photo taking and editing skills. Before dropping your hard earned cash on these pop ups, make sure you are getting an experience worthwhile and not another cliche photoop to mark yourself “here” in a social media post.
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I’m a fashion enthusiast that strives to create looks that fit my persona, effortlessly. Art exhibits, reading, the news and anything peaks my interest and strikes creativity, are all put into my blog to share with you.
Excellent work!
Author May 25, 2019 / 3:50 am
Thank you!