Posting Art
| Posting is the New Art | |
|---|---|
| Coined by | Charlotte Fang |
| Related concepts | New Net Art, Network Spirituality, Post-authorship |
| Field | Internet art, digital culture |
Posting Art (short for "Posting is the New Art", or simply "Posting is Art") is a core principle of the New Net Art movement, articulated by Charlotte Fang and Remilia Corporation in 2021-2022. The concept positions the act of posting on social media platforms as a legitimate artistic practice in itself, distinct from both traditional art forms and earlier internet art movements.[1] As the second of five tenets in the New Net Art Manifesto, it represents a theoretical framework for understanding online expression as an artistic medium that transcends conventional notions of authorship, materiality, and institutional validation.
Definition and principles
According to the New Net Art Manifesto, "True posting is egoless & performative, it embraces contradiction and playfulness with one's persona; it twists language & coins neologisms with casual deftness, we give ourselves over to the network & let it run through us."[2]
The concept encompasses several key principles:
Egoless performance
Posting is described as a "performative-literary art happening every day," where the poster surrenders individual ego to become a conduit for network consciousness.[3] This contrasts with the self-promotional aspects of conventional social media usage and earlier internet art practices.
Lucid virtuality
The practice values a state of "lucid, carefree, delirious posting" that allows for a more direct and intuitive engagement with digital spaces and network connections.[4] This state is presented as more authentic to the nature of network communication than carefully crafted personal branding.
Network as medium
Rather than treating online platforms merely as distribution channels for traditional art forms, the concept positions the network itself as both medium and co-creator. The poster works within and through network dynamics rather than simply using them instrumentally.[5]
Theoretical context
Distinction from "Athletic Aesthetics"
Critique of Post-Internet Art
The concept functions as a critique of millennial post-internet art, which Fang characterizes as "careerists using the internet for brand-building and distribution."[6] Post-internet art emerged in the 2010s as works that commented on internet aesthetics while remaining within traditional gallery contexts.[7]
Fang positions "Posting is Art" as representing "not 'net art' as in art on the internet, art about the internet, but a network art, art in the internet, art of the internet."[8] This places it in a lineage closer to mail art and relational aesthetics than to gallery-based art practices.
In 2025, Charlotte Fang contrasted "Posting is Art" in opposition to Brad Troemel's concept of the "aesthlete," outlined in his 2013 essay "Athletic Aesthetics."[9]
Troemel's "aesthlete" describes artists who produce a constant stream of content on social media to maintain visibility in viewers' feeds, treating their online presence as a brand-building exercise.[10] In contrast, Fang argues that true "Posting" requires an "egoless, lucid" state that allows artists to participate in the "self-organization of the network" rather than treating social media as a tool for career advancement.[11]
Practice and examples
The practice of "Posting as Art" has been demonstrated through several Remilia Corporation projects and activities:
Timeline activities
Remilia's approach includes "coordinating happenings on the timeline" and "call and response memetic/literary games" that engage participants in real-time creative exchanges.[12] These activities are designed to be ephemeral and participatory rather than preserved as static art objects.
Pseudonymous posting
Consistent with Remilia's emphasis on post-authorship, much of the collective's "Posting is Art" practice has occurred through pseudonymous accounts, allowing for greater experimentation with persona and voice.[13]
Remix culture
The concept embraces remix culture and collaborative creation, with posts often building on or transforming previous content in a process that blurs traditional notions of originality and authorship.[14]
See also
References
- ↑ Charlotte Fang (April 20, 2022). "What Remilia Believes In: A New Net Art Manifesto". [Essay]. Golden Light. Mirror. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ Charlotte Fang (April 20, 2022). "What Remilia Believes In: A New Net Art Manifesto". [Essay]. Golden Light. Mirror. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ Charlotte Fang (April 20, 2022). "What Remilia Believes In: A New Net Art Manifesto". [Essay]. Golden Light. Mirror. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ Charlotte Fang (April 20, 2022). "What Remilia Believes In: A New Net Art Manifesto". [Essay]. Golden Light. Mirror. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ @CharlotteFang77 (January 5, 2024). "What "Posting is the New Art" (it should be familiar— tenet 2 of the New Net Art Manifesto) describes is actually nearly a perfect opposite of Brad Troemel's "aesthlete"". X. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ @CharlotteFang77 (January 5, 2024). "This is something pre-digital millennials still struggle to grok but comes naturally to digital-natives, because they remain careerists using the internet for brand-building and distribution". X. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ "Post-Internet". Wikipedia. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ @CharlotteFang77 (January 5, 2024). "POSTERS, using the internet in as an information highway delirium, coordinating happenings on the timeline, call and response memetic/literary games, chaotic self-organized actions; this is what the new net art means". X. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ @CharlotteFang77 (January 5, 2024). "What "Posting is the New Art" describes is actually nearly a perfect opposite of Brad Troemel's "aesthlete" analyzing the very real phenomenon of 2010's post-internet generation artists becoming content slaves performing for the attention economy". X. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ Troemel, Brad (May 10, 2013). "Athletic Aesthetics". The New Inquiry. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ @CharlotteFang77 (January 5, 2024). "These millennials are not "Posters" precisely because they treat the internet as ego-brands, precluding the lucid, egolessness needed to truly participate in the self-organization of the network: POSTING, not simply posting.". X. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ @CharlotteFang77 (January 5, 2024). "POSTERS, using the internet in as an information highway delirium, coordinating happenings on the timeline, call and response memetic/literary games, chaotic self-organized actions". X. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ Charlotte Fang (April 20, 2022). "What Remilia Believes In: A New Net Art Manifesto". [Essay]. Golden Light. Mirror. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ Charlotte Fang (January 27, 2022). "Unpacking Post-Authorship". [Essay]. Golden Light. Mirror. Retrieved November 5, 2025.