#INSTANTARTIST gallery at 644 Lorimer Street

Maybe you’ve noticed the pop-up gallery with an inflatable dancing man on the corner at 644 Lorimer Street.

Three Brooklyn-based creative agencies (The BOSCO, Bobby Redd and AGW Group) have taken over the storefront to present #INSTANTARTIST, described as “a user-generated art experience that gives anyone an opportunity to showcase their photography, sourced from Instagram, in a gallery setting.”

Using The Bosco’s on-demand printing technology, the exhibition invites anyone to participate by tagging Instagram photos with the hashtag #INSTANTARTIST, at which time a 6”x6” print of the tagged photograph will be printed and hung at the gallery.

Upon writing this, #INSTANTARTIST already has over 8,400 posts, which begs the question I think this exhibition is asking: Of all these Instagram pictures, how many are gallery-quality, artful photographs? How many can make the leap from URL to IRL?

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With over 400 million users on Instagram, how many are true photographers and how many are simply, perhaps compulsively, shooting and sharing and shooting and sharing? How many are taking a practiced, thoughtful approach to photography and how many are posting narcissistic selfies? In this instant-gratification age of digital photography and social networks, do we still have photography as art?

Maybe this exhibition can help answer that question, using white gallery walls as a litmus test. Are you an artist or are you just taking pictures?

I imagine someone should invite Richard Prince, yeah?

Check out the #INSTANTARTIST opening reception at 644 Lorimer St. on Saturday, March 26th from 6-9pm.

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