Becoming within entangled spaces of artistic practice, an illustrated autoethnography

Abstract

Because of the prevalence of social media in contemporary artistic life, it is important that questions be asked and research be conducted to inform our understanding of it and to potentially enhance our relationship with it. The entanglement of more traditional artist spaces with social virtual spaces can have an impact not just on what artists make and how they self-curate, but also how, when, and where learning takes place. The possibilities and complexities of this hybrid space of artistic practice can have a real effect on the lives of creatives. As an artist living in an increasingly digitized world, the implications have extended far beyond my own studio and have impacted the quality of my interactions with others, self-efficacy, and how I learn. This autoethnography examines the impact of hybrid artistic space on the practice of others and what the main concerns are. I then investigate how these concerns are revealed in my own practice. By embedding my experience within the lives of others, I can deeply consider the impact of those concerns in relation to my community of practice. These discoveries are intended to assist in my own development as an artist, researcher, and teacher, but also to provide a more focused portrait of artistic becoming in the twenty-first century.