James Zamora
As a realist painter living through social media, I’ve stumbled
upon a movement, an ideal. I began to notice a particular
aesthetic saturating the cyber world. This aesthetic presents to
the general public an ideal lifestyle in one’s home, ways to seize
the everyday. These lifestyle Instagram accounts give us a façade,
beautifully lit photographs, overexposed whites, design, and an
overall positive outlook that could be interpreted as “fake.” There
are both positive and negative responses to the idea of “living
authentic” through Instagram accounts. I record interiors taken
by lifestyle and branding professionals, and indicate how many
people buy into the images by inserting the number of “likes” they
have received. I alter these Instagram photos to make a place of
contemplation simply by abstracting details and leaving the viewer
with the source’s natural design and composition. And through
this investigation I get to paint bright, well-composed images “on
location” and raise art-world awareness of this aesthetic online
movement.