How does Instagram promote cities around the world?

How does this social media create art from the picture of a city ?

Thanks to the development and progress of Instagram and many other social media, we are now able to share our location and post photos or messages from where we currently are, instantly and throughout the world. Even if we are controlling what we want to show to strangers on the Internet and what we want to keep for ourselves - the fact that people can see where we are and what we are doing according to our posts can be considered as an intrusion in our privacy ?

Agreement or disagreement, however this location tool is a huge asset for tourism and discovery which mostly leads to ART.

I would like to remind you one of the definition of Art which is the most relevant to me : “Any of various creative forms of expression” (from Cambridge Dictionary - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-french/art).

I have made some research about this subject and found a very interesting viewpoint from a photographer named Guy Prives who describes what is Instagram about :

(You can check out his Instagram of course ! https://www.instagram.com/guyprives/)

“In addition to his big sister; the Facebook network, Instagram as a social network gives us the opportunity to meet new people and see the world through the eyes of others who live in different, new, interesting places and learn about their culture. The network allows us to follow a guy from New York and see the Big Apple in an entirely different and cultural way from how it is usually projected. We can keep track of people from different countries and see that life in a certain place is not the way we assume or are led to believe. Even the way we see our country can be dynamically challenged when it is reflected in the eyes of another person with different opinions, views and artistic vision.”( https://digital-photography-school.com/instagram-and-its-impact-on-the-world-of-photography/)

Thanks to hashtag research, it is now possible to find anything you have in mind on Instagram. From cute pictures of animals to some cooking without forgetting a neutral theme which is becoming a very well-known trend : city pictures.

City pictures. Everyone has already taken a picture of his or her vacation but also of their everyday spot - beach, mountains, city by night/by day, at work or during a break… each location is a great candidate to end on a social media whether on Facebook, twitter, snapchat or Instagram.

I personally think that Instagram is the most popular in terms of “accidental” artistic pictures. I don’t know you guys, but when I am bored, I like to spend some time on Instagram and search anything interesting like uninteresting. This is how I end up searching my summer goal destination. If you never tested, you’d be very surprised how beautiful pictures of cities can be wonderful. This new trend of sharing your current location and so your vision of the world around you is a powerful way of attraction. Without knowing it, you promote the beauty of your city, of your country with everyone, all around the world.

This is why I love Instagram. Any pictures taken and then edited on this social media end up being totally professional and amazing (if we start with a high quality picture and not pixelated) : this is clearly art for me.

You have the opportunity to assist to a permanent art exhibition that is constantly actualised.

Written by Pauline G.