Leiden University Student Repository

Jasińska, Julia (2022)

Public Art in the age of Instagram: the Mural of Aaron between physical context and Virtual Aesthetics

Bachelor thesis | Kunstgeschiedenis (BA)

The urbanization and digitalization of the world are influencing an increasing number of social spheres, including the art world. In the field of public art, the virtual sphere is often neglected, however, this gap can be bridged by applying the approaches of social media analyses of cities. This paper will examine a temporary mural of Aaron at Włodkowica street in Wrocław (Poland) by first analyzing it as a public artwork in a public physical space, and then further by researching the online public reception of it. By focusing on the medium of Instagram, it will be argued that, although a theoretical analysis of the mural suggests that it does not fulfill the roles of public art, it is nevertheless positively received by the researched online audience. The paper states that this is a case because of the Instagrammable aesthetic of the mural, which appeals to the online audiences, and when approached online, the artwork loses its problematic physical context.

Public art

Philosemitism

Instagram

Virtual public sphere

Wrocław

Author

Jasińska, Julia

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Arts, Media and Society

Supervisors

Lauritano, S.M.

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en