The Millennial Subculture And Art

How often have you come across the term 'art hoe' or 'Indie girl' or maybe pushing it, 'soft boi' aesthetic? pretty common right? Now in case you dont know about these terms, it would mean you're someone who's not big on the Instagram explore page or/and are living under a rock. Alright, so you may not know these terms, but I'm pretty sure you've met someone or been in contact with people who embody these terms.

According to me, this whole subculture of bringing forward an aesthetic (or style I would suppose if you're not someone from this generation) may be a tad bit skewed in favour of bringing yourself up for attention but it is obviously has a much deeper significance than that. So who are the people personified according to these terms? Think of it as an instagram trend, it is one. An art hoe aesthetic points to girls or boys or a person of any gender who advertise themselves online as artists who idolize Van Gogh, wear yellow, probably own a pair of Doc Martens and establish themself as a "plant mom", meaning they might be owning succulents, and may be Vegan.

These are the common descriptions but may differ slightly. So you can view this subculture as a stylized way of presenting to the world how "quirky" you are or maybe just getting in touch with your artistic notion, I mean yeah there is a possibility. It is amazing how people who follow instagram trends tend to post excessively on anything that becomes a slight trend, in a similar sense there are "Indie girls" who feature almost as equally as popular as the art hoe trend and seek to take on the Literature aspect throwing up Shakespeare sonnets here and there and bingeing on 'milk and honey'.

Music, is also an aspect people tend to touch upon and call a trend and they roll up on the 'alternative pop' driveway with Album covers of 'Arctic Monkeys' and 'Nirvana' placed in aesthetic shots along with their "minimalistic art". Artists such as Tame Impala and Hozier also remains major deal breakers. So you have the alternative rock and Indie music placed in close continuum with these trends that are put up accordingly.

Most likely these "personality descriptions" are a phase that many of the netizens would grow out of but it remains that trends such as these are inspiring teens to get more creative despite the monotonous expression. Writing poetry and drawing is getting more attention even if the person directly responsible is Rupi Kaur.

What is worthy of mention is that the Black Arts Movement which incorporated such insignia of literature and art and that of the aesthetics (a different kind) started by Black Women in the 1970s may have indirectly influenced such a rise in the ongoing subculture but has been narrowed down to a predominantly "white girl" discourse (even though the art hoe was a movement for racial inclusivity in art) and that which may be attacked for appropriation. While it becomes an important aspect that what these trendy people advertise may not be taken seriously, it is of no harm despite the 'Pseudo art' and privilege that one is quick to dismiss.

Images sourced from Pinterest.