Ines Lopez

I am an artist. I have heard multiple times that right now is the best time to be an artist thanks to Internet. And I won’t deny it but sometimes my mind makes me wonder if Internet is somehow restricting the visibility of original innovative content.

One of the most common dreams of artists is being able to live from their creativity. I am not saying every artist wants to monetise their art. Some people just use their creativity as a means to express themselves without any other goal. But many of us dream with being able to make a living out of the thing that we love the most, using our creativity.

Since the introduction of Internet, websites and social networks, showcasing art has become much easier than before. Now we don’t need a gallery or physical space (with all the added costs they require). But the algorithms that rule social networks have somehow become the “agent” or judge of what should be shown and what shouldn’t.

Most of the algorithms are ruled by popularity. If many people like something then they keep showing it to many more people. Something becomes viral and then everyone sees it, the algorithm keeps showing it expanding its circle of influence. All creators know this. For many the goal has become how can I create something that goes viral to increase the chances of being seen.

A possible approach is replicating something else that went viral, in the hopes that the algorithm will help you out. That is one of the ways in which popularity is killing creativity.

A more insidious attack on original content is the one done by the algorithm itself. The fact that someone likes a piece of content doesn’t necessarily mean that content is original or innovative. It is just a subjective parameter from one human being. If the algorithm just rules on whether to show something by the amount of people that have liked it, how is innovation going to surface up?

In a world where a lot of people have the same tastes and follow the same trends, doing something original is not always appreciated. An example of that is Van Gogh, his art wasn’t truly understood while he was alive. In these situations social media can be seen as a manipulator, forcing everyone into the same path, same colour, same texture. That is how you can control huge amounts of people very easily.

I am not even going to enter on the fact that bots or fake accounts can like content and make something look more popular than it truly would be based on human numbers. There is no way for me to know whether a like within a post of 100k likes is fake or not. I am not gonna spend the time trying to figure out which like was from a human and which from a machine. Which makes me wonder whether some content that has gone viral or deemed popular was just a very precise effort from someone pulling the strings to make it so.

An artist myself I can let all of this really get into my head and start thinking that Internet is going to work against me in a way. That despite how easy it is now sharing content and for other people that I don’t know personally to see it, unless many people like it my creation will remain in the shadow.

Or I can take all of this to the energetic level and explore it further. Because sometimes original content does surface and finds its crowd. Beyond tags and keywords, which are more 3D based, perhaps the reason for a piece of content to spread out is where the intention for that creation is coming from and the energy of the creator itself. Energy comes first.

For where the intention is coming from I mean have I created the piece from my head only? To try to satisfy a 3D goal but without any feeling attached to it? For example I want to showcase how the element of water can help with certain emotions, such as forgiveness. I go and I do an art piece focused on water and prepare a text, or a meditation, or an audio clip to represent that with words as well. But I do all this just from my brain, without putting any feeling or passion into it.

I believe that piece of creativity is not going to serve as well as if I did it and I poured my heart into it at the same time. Infusing it with emotion of excitement, passion and my own energetic signature. I believe much of the innovative original content that gets through the maze has that characteristic. It is made with brain and also heart at some level. And it is that emotion that helps break through the barrier.

As an artist it can be hard putting all your emotion out on a piece. You can feel exposed and extremely vulnerable. So depending on whether you feel safe within yourself or not your ability to do this will vary. But I believe is something every artist that wants to grow and expand as a human and as a creator should work on.

The other aspect is where is the energy of the creator at. This can be indicated by the limiting beliefs that are ruling the person. Do you feel expansive, open and willing to be truly seen? Do you truly feel ready for the observation that visibility will bring you? For the experience that having a viral piece of content may create in your creative process?

Everyone’s journey is different. Some people are going to have to develop character before they get into popularity. I somehow believe that is my path. A few months back I uploaded a reel on the creation process of a sacred geometry art piece. I try not to look at the stats just right away but in this case I did. Within an hour it had reached over 1,000 views which considering my following meant it was likely going to go viral. Previous reels had reached that number of views after a month.

I felt a wave of panic going through me and I heard the thought “Oh no, this is too much”. That spread like a tsunami from my energy outwards. It all happened in nanoseconds. I realised what I had done and tried to correct it energetically. Reminding myself I was safe. But by then I was too late and the fear within me was clearly stronger than my conscious power trying to remind myself I am safe. And guess what? The reel never passed the figure I saw when I did that energetic tsunami of fear. My energy won the battle with the algorithm! Proof that energy wins every time.

Other creatives may have the popularity suddenly and have to develop character afterwards. I met a YouTuber that had two viral pieces of content in a few months at the start of her YouTube channel. She spent many years almost in frozen mode digesting all that. I am not an expert on viral content, my following is extremely focused on people I know and very small. When she shared with me she was feeling the impostor syndrome I told her at the end of the day you are here to share something and if you don’t you are not honouring your gift. As creatives is all we can do, honour our gifts the best we can. And I think we need to repeat that to ourselves often to keep going, specially if the financial results are not where we want them yet.

I believe these two energetic aspects (where are you creating your art from and what is your energetic situation as a creative) can transcend any algorithm in Internet. In a battle between technology and energy, energy is always going to win. Technology is just part of the human experience. It is made to answer to some rules, yes. But energy can transcend anything and everything.

So if you are a creative and your content is still not having the visibility you would want don’t despair. And don’t blame the algorithm either. And as I write this I am saying this to myself too! I am personally using this time to build my character. To grow my craft. To keep creating what I want to create even if it is not popular. To develop trust and confidence in my art. To know what is truly aligned with my creativity, how do I want to create and what things I wouldn’t do, even if I had a huge following. To build my energy reminding myself I am safe. And also to build my trust that somehow everything is going to be ok.

No one talks about “art reflections” as a concept or medium. Combining art, words and sound to bring the exploration of a topic on personal development into a deeper experience. There is no tags I can build upon for it, I should probably create the tag myself now that I think of it! But I will keep doing them as long as I feel that is a good way of expressing my creativity. I will trust my craft.

I am sending good vibes to all the creatives I admire that have more visibility than me. I am sending good vibes to creatives I don’t admire creatively speaking but that they have made one of my dreams come true, live from their creativity.

I have very present the fact that followers don’t convert into clients. And that even in the world of social media there are still a lot of people that make a living from their gifts without using social media at all. So my energy level as a creative is of the upmost importance.

While having visibility in Internet may be an aspiration for some it is not mandatory, it is just one of the ways. I believe combining all of this aspects that live in the 3D and 5D worlds are somehow the key. With a strong emphasis on the energetic ones.

May we all stay true to our creativity, honour it in the best way possible for us and all the other beings and fulfil our creative dreams.