Dematerialisation in art is a conceptual genre, where the art is no longer materialistic.
An art instillation by Amalia Ulman, called ‘Excellences and Perfections‘ was an interactive performance, in which Ulman would upload images to Instagram, portraying herself as an ‘LA girl’. The images were stereotypical of showing the ideal lifestyle people strive for.
The images, however, were exploring how women present themselves online. Her images showed her eating salads, dressing in bikinis and working out, showing the ideal lifestyle society thinks we need.
Her images brought into question the authenticity of the images we see on our feeds. Authenticity is being genuine and real. Ulmans’ images seemed authentic, with people believing this hoax was the truth.
Photographs can be authentic, as they can show the truth of a person or a place. It can also bring into our relationship between our online and offline selves. As the person taking the images and uploading them, we are the people who choose what we want viewed.
Another thing to consider with image authenticity are the editing softwares available. Many images can be digitally manipulated to alter the truth of the image, however most editing is used to create images that are noticeably edited.
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