These creative blogs and artists are trending by posting work that comments on some major Millennials trends, and gives them a tongue-in-cheek treatment.
The internet is full of trends, and Millennials are notorious for embracing social media behavior that previous generations might not understand. But these Millennials artists are proving that there is self-awareness brewed into their actions, and they’re able to creatively poke-fun at their own obsessions and sharing habits. Here are three projects that take a tongue-in-cheek look at some major Millennials trends to serve as inspiration, and give a glimpse at how the generation creatively takes on social commentary:
Illustrated Insta Trends
Graphic designer and manga artist Joanna Zhou is a fan of Instagram, but she began to notice some serious trends dominating the feed of pictures she scrolled through. In a self-aware project, she decided to create an “illustrated guide on the most common pictures,” from “hot dog legs” (girls posting pictures of their legs from the knee up at the beach and the pool) to “the workspace” (usually a tablescape of “more mac products than a harvest festival and one artfully placed Starbucks drink), Zhou hilariously skewers her fellow Insta users, and herself. Though she posted her album of illustrated Instagram trends over a year ago, BuzzFeed recently called new attention to it, and the photo sharing habits she’s called out continue to hold true!
Un-Fancy Food Porn
Social media is filled with food porn that glorifies healthy dishes, perfectly constructed plates, as well as high-calorie splurges, and one Instagram account is taking on all of those trends, one plate at a time. “Chef Jacques Lamerde” has amassed over 28,000 followers with only 22 posts on the image-sharing network by posting beautifully crafted plates of junk food. His profile reads “small portions | tweezered everything,” and the intention here is clearly to make fun of high-end foodie trends, while paying homage to the junk foods the anonymous creator loves. Ingredients like Hostess Cupcakes, Spam, and corn dogs are lovingly arranged among jewel-like garnishes. Each photo is accompanied by an all-caps commentary that teases about fine dining, and lets followers know what low-end ingredients have been used.
Call Out Cartoons
Millennial British illustrator Gemma Correll has had her artwork published in seven books, but right now she’s getting attention for her social media posts: cartoons that call out everything from ridiculous women’s magazine tropes to internet memes we’ve all seen too many of Correll will often post her original artwork to Twitter, making her own observations about trending topics. Her most recent Twitter post is a “Scientology Fun Page” includes a maze to help Tom Cruise find a wife without encountering Suppressive Persons, and a “color in Xenu” section. When reading women’s magazines, she’s often inspired to use feminist humor to take on stereotypes, and hopes that making fun of traditional content will help young girls to see the ridiculous side of articles like “How to Drive Him Crazy in Bed.” The talented illustrator’s playful artistic style helps her to take on sometimes serious topics with a lighter hand.
