ColumnAre we LOLing our way to cultural bankruptcy?

Shawn Huckins‘s work reminds us that painting takes time. By appropriating 18th century American artworks juxtaposed with instant messaging lingo, Twitter language and urban slang, Huckins presents the idea that perhaps we have little patience for the simplicity of correct spelling, appropriate grammar and the art of conversation. After all,  it takes only seconds to post a tweet, microseconds to “like” something, and re-share, and years to paint masterfully.

Mrs. Ezekiel Goldthwait: Laughing Quietly To Myself

Huckins observes:

Technology influences how much we know and what we believe, as well as how quickly and intelligently we convey our ideas. But does how we communicate govern the value of what we communicate? The physical act of typing very fast on small devices has undeniably impacted spelling, grammar and punctuation, encouraging a degree of illiteracy that has become the new social norm. As goes our grammatical literacy, do our social and cultural literacies follow?

Henry Pelham’s Jocular Tweet: To Dante – If I’m Just A Friend, Why Do I Know What Your Lips Feel Like??

One has to wonder about the widespread effect of the ease with which we share what’s on our minds, and the ubiquity of unsubstantiated claims, replete with bad grammar, misspellings and abbreviations (sometimes necessitating the Urban Dictionary).

Mrs. John Winthrop, (Read My Lips Baby, You’re Shit Out of Luck)

Huckins continues:

The point is, we live in a very different time than our Founding Fathers did, and we would appear to place our priorities in very different places: what entertains our selves versus what serves our society. Clearly a society must be politically free to indulge in the luxury of such introspection. But has the complacency of our political freedom blinded us to the potential our ancestors fought for?

Eleazer Tyng’s Laugh Out Loud Laugh Out Loud Total Bust Squint Face

Huckins asks: If George could comment today, would he click the ‘like’ button, or post wtf? and then go check his Lady Gaga tweet?

One can only hope that his call to action would at least employ proper English.

To Sarah Morris: I Don’t Know How You Got Sick! We Haven’t Even Done Anything In Like A Month, Sad Face: Mr + Mrs Thomas Mifflin’s Cyber Tiff

Shawn Huckins working on GW’s Comment: Rolling On The Floor Laughing

Inspired by a post on Hi Fructose Magazine

Eco, trends, art, creativity and how they tumble through social media to shape culture fascinate EcoSalon columnist Dominique Pacheco. Her trends blog, mixingreality, speaks to these topics daily, and here at EcoSalon, she takes a weekly look at the intersection of eco and art. We call it heARTbeat.

The post heARTbeat: Shawn Huckins Tweets Over 18th Century Paintings appeared first on EcoSalon.