Michelle Thompson Social Media Is Essentially Collage Culture

Summary of the Blog Article

Michelle Thompson explores the concept of social media as a modern form of collage culture. She highlights how platforms like Instagram and TikTok serve as digital canvases where users curate a multifaceted representation of personal and collective identities. This collage culture is demonstrated through the assembly of various media—text, images, and video—allowing individuals to craft narratives that reflect their personalities and interests. Thompson emphasizes the democratizing power of social media, allowing anyone to become a creator and influencer, crafting their aesthetics and sharing them with global audiences. This new culture respects the historical art form of collage, but its digital manifestation offers unprecedented scale and immediacy.

Thompson also delves into the nostalgic elements of this digital collage culture, noting how people often blend contemporary content with vintage aesthetics. This results in a layered and sometimes disorienting visual experience that juxtaposes the past and present. The article suggests that these digital collages resonate on an emotional level, as they evoke memories and engage with audiences in a familiar yet novel way. Social media’s ability to recombine fragments from different sources into a cohesive whole makes it a unique cultural phenomenon, bridging traditional collage art and contemporary digital practices.

Extensions and Connections Using Related Artworks

The article’s exploration of digital collage culture can be seen reflected in the artwork “c&m” by AEMPATIA. This piece embodies the layered and nostalgic aesthetic discussed by Thompson, using scanned vintage photography combined with digital manipulation to create a surreal, dreamlike image. The multiple arms on the central figure suggest an exploration of identity and desire, aligning with Thompson’s assertion that social media allows for multifaceted self-expression. The sepia undertone and digital distortions further enhance the interplay between past and present, echoing the themes of memory and technological evolution.

In “TOTER 2000” by ex_mortal, the use of analog and digital synthesizers creates a glitchy, disorienting visual experience reminiscent of social media’s overwhelming barrage of information. This piece captures the essence of how social media, much like glitch art, can create feelings of both connection and chaos. The fluid blending of vintage mixing equipment with contemporary digital tools mirrors how people seamlessly integrate various visual styles in their online presences, reflecting the unpredictable and sometimes unsettling nature of digital narratives.

The dream-like and slightly surreal elements found in “Screen People 3 #46” by Estelle Flores explore themes similar to those in Thompson’s article, as the artwork employs digital rendering to evoke layered perceptions of reality. The pool and vertical elements suggest a hidden depth, much like how social media layers meaning and insight through curated content. The reflective water surface can symbolize the introspective nature of social media, inviting users to explore beyond the visible and question the narratives they construct.

Lastly, “voiceless visitor ◭” by femiki captures the haunting essence of memory and media seen in the collage culture of social media. The vintage televisions and mirror reflections present a fragmented yet familiar vision, reminiscent of how digital culture revives and recontextualizes past aesthetics. The pixelated forms and glitch art sensibility draw parallels to how users’ social media timelines can become a collage of ephemeral memories and fleeting moments.

Through these artworks, we can see the intersection of digital manipulation, nostalgia, and collage culture, underscoring the fluid boundaries between traditional and digital artistic practices. They reflect how social media not only prompts us to engage with modern aesthetics but also encourages appreciation and reinterpretation of historical art forms in our contemporary digital landscape.

---

References

Source Article

https://blog.objkt.com/post/michelle-thompson-social-media-is-essentially-collage-culture

Artworks

1. “c&m” by AEMPATIA
   

   

   
   clumsy and materialistic- scanned photo and digital manipulation. #OBJKT4OBJKT2026 aem

2. “TOTER 2000” by ex_mortal
   

   

   
   TOTER #1 _ Video created and captured in realtime on 2.03.23, using all hardware, modular video synthesizers (analog and digital), and vintage video mixing equipment.

3. “Commando” by Daniel myth
   

   

   
   The Myth 2018

4. “voiceless visitor ◭” by femiki
   

   

   
   a Guandanarian🐱 x femiki🦇 creation. (@guandanarian//@jfemiki) 📺📺📺 There s this Room I sometimes get memories of, unpromptedly rushing back through my mind, without me being able to recall where, when, this vision is from, and if in fact, I actually did see it or if it is just a although distant, vivid, dream flashback. Lately, I grew increasingly preoccupied with this Room that visits the inside of my head, not to say obsessed. When the Room memory crosses the screen of my mind, as sudden as it can be, I instantly close my eyes. Shut off everything else around me, to try to hang on to it as long as I can, embed it in my memory before it fades off. I have stopped my other activities in order to never be disturbed in my quest to the Room s origin. Every time the Room comes up in my mind, I try to memorize the details, the shape of the splatters on the walls, the patterns of the mysterious reflections in the mirror, the colours of the static on the TVs. Maybe I can try and recognize where it would be. Maybe I can go there again. Maybe if I close my eyes and shut everything else off long enough, the Room will come back more clearly than ever. I don t know for how long I ve been locked inside my dark home now, but I can swear I saw a weird colourful reflection in my mirror, just 10 minutes ago. 📺📺📺

5. “Screen People 3 #46” by Estelle Flores
   

   

   
   Replaying

6. “The dream of a fugitive” by Vuuuuueeno
   

   

   
   #4 - Inspired by Fragonard‘s “The swing“ A new character appears The limb. Our protagonist is immersed in an intense desire Does he understand the danger of indulging in fantasies?

7. “Lord M “ by Daniel myth
   

   

   
   The Myth

8. “AGONY” by Daniel myth
   

   

   
   The Myth 2022

9. “Chinese Gold #2 (World of Warcraft - Belgrad Session), 2006” by UBERMORGEN
   

   

   
   In China, many Online-Gaming Workshops hire people to play online games such as World of Warcraft (WoW) day and night. The gaming workers produce in-game currency, equipment, and whole characters that are sold to American Gamers via eBay. These people are called Chinese Gold Farmers . In an underground arcade called KGB , this session took place in Belgrad (Serbia). Players Name George . https://ubermorgen.com/Chinese_Gold . ꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩꜩ The future was then! A 2006 UBERMORGEN project

10. “Screen Crack” by Museum of Wild & Newfangled Art
    

    

    
    Artist: Alan Kinnard My early artwork was created using silkscreens. Unfortunately, the inks and solvents used made me very ill; after pneumonia and hospitalization, I abandoned my fine artwork for a career as a graphic designer. During that time, desktop computers and art/design software became available; and for the next thirty years, my professional work utilized these new technologies. Upon retirement as a graphic designer, I resumed my art practice and embraced Techspressionism. My recent artwork explores the visual relationships people have with technology—specifically, what happens when things go wrong and how people react. Archival Pigment Print, dimensions variable. Activate AR using Artivive app This artwork was exhibited in the mowna x TS - Wild Newfangled Techspressionism exhibition, from October 3, 2024 through January 26, 2025 at mowna.org. 70% of the sale will pay the artist for their work, with the remaining 30% funding the museum.

Keywords

layered, disorienting, vintage, unsettling