I found the exhibition by Nicholas Carbonaro to be incredibly thought provoking. He challenged the idea of perfectionism on social media by making his attract portraits very unbalanced.
He makes a valid point, when I scroll through Facebook or Instagram all I see are perfect faces with perfect lives. We rarely share our struggles and difficulties on social media, instead we carefully craft out an ideal life we can display to the rest of the world.
This fact leads to all sorts of problems. I find that when I’m sad or feeling down, going on social media will only make me feel worse because I see how happy everyone else is. Social media can be a great and an empowering tool, but we need to change the stigma around sharing not so pleasant posts.
This is why I believe that Nicholas Carbonaro is important in creating dialogue around the content of social media. The artist realizes that no one is that perfect and by displaying his artwork, he is giving users the chance to speak up on social media.
It’s interesting to read about how social media has shaped the creative artwork of Nicholas Carbonaro. I agree that too often people only post ‘perfect’ selfies of themselves that only showcase their ‘perfect’ lives. Sometimes, it’s just refreshing to see someone post an ‘ugly’ selfie and not take themselves so seriously. I’d also be interested to see the kind of connection that the rise of social media has on the mental health of our generation in terms of body image. It is inspiring to hear about artists that are trying to break the stereotype of ‘perfection’ for a more natural approach.