Keeping Art Alive During a Global Pandemic: How the Rijksmuseum is Using Tiktok to Mediate Jan Asselijn’s ‘De Bedreigde Zwaan’ to a Remote  Audience During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The digitization of museums is something which is increasingly integrated into the conduct of The Rijksmuseum, with the institution also adapting to the use of social media to encourage their remote audience. The COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered the user experience of cultural heritage and, in order to communicate a selective narrative of its artworks to its users, The Rijksmuseum created a Tiktok account. Due to the adaptation, several questions have been raised with regards to the aura and experience of artwork, and how this is altered in an online setting, an environment where images circulate at a fast pace. This thesis aims to cover Haidy Geismar’s methodology surrounding object materiality as well as her discussion of the break away from the ‘white cube’ museum setting. In addition to discussing David Joselit’s ideas regarding the circulation of digitized objects and the ‘buzz’ of the image. These key concepts will be discussed in relation to Jan Asselijn’s ‘De Bedreigde...Show moreThe digitization of museums is something which is increasingly integrated into the conduct of The Rijksmuseum, with the institution also adapting to the use of social media to encourage their remote audience. The COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered the user experience of cultural heritage and, in order to communicate a selective narrative of its artworks to its users, The Rijksmuseum created a Tiktok account. Due to the adaptation, several questions have been raised with regards to the aura and experience of artwork, and how this is altered in an online setting, an environment where images circulate at a fast pace. This thesis aims to cover Haidy Geismar’s methodology surrounding object materiality as well as her discussion of the break away from the ‘white cube’ museum setting. In addition to discussing David Joselit’s ideas regarding the circulation of digitized objects and the ‘buzz’ of the image. These key concepts will be discussed in relation to Jan Asselijn’s ‘De Bedreigde Zwaan’, and its online presence; this is the key case study of this thesis. Overall, this thesis aims to discuss how the use of Tiktok as a platform mediates this key Golden Age artwork and how this effects its meaning and interpretation.Show less

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Keeping Art Alive During a Global Pandemic: How the Rijksmuseum is Using Tiktok to Mediate Jan Asselijn’s ‘De Bedreigde Zwaan’ to a Remote Audience During the COVID-19 Pandemic