20.00 – 22.00
26 October 2023
Pakhuis De Zwijger, Amsterdam
With guests Kardashian Kolloquium and Hoog.
Kardashian Kolloquium
MJ Corey interprets the online and televised presence of Kardashian-Jenner family members using media theory. After starting out on Instagram, where she would write captions to accompany screenshots of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and post selfmade memes, she branched out to TikTok and YouTube to make video content as well. MJ also wrote pieces for outlets like the New Yorker and Vogue and is currently working on her first book.
Instagram
TikTok
YouTube
Hoog
Hoog started out as a YouTube-channel posting video essays about design. The video essay genre is one of the most prominent on the platform. Hoog essays maintain a consistent style, with 3D animation as one of its more distinctive elements and the use of genre defining elements such as archival footage, musical elements and voice over. Lately, Hoog started a joint venture with Simplicissimus as Fern, a new YouTube-channel where they post “armchair documentaries” in a similar style, but on a wider variety of topics, from McDonalds packaging to how The Netherlands should be considered a giant city. Only two years in, Hoog and Fern video’s clearly resonate with the YouTube audience, having passed a total of thirty million views to date.
Somi Lynda, @driplist, moved from Nigeria to the Netherlands a couple of years ago. She uses surprising situations she found herself in, in her new country of residence to make TikTok videos. Using the platform's formats and tools she shows Dutch habits and aspects of the culture natives might not even realize they participate in.
Recorded 7 October 2021 at Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam.
The page of Sophie Browning, @joan.of.arca, is a shitposting Instagram account that, as the name suggests, has a focus on pop star Arca and their music, as well as related artists. Ms. Of Arca also regularly posts references to themselves and other befriended meme pages.
Recorded 16 December 2021 at Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam
Stefan Li, @TheSushiDragon, is active on Twitch. His streams look like video performances in which he is constantly flipping between different cameras, applying video and sound effects in an incredibly high pace and all in real time using a custom suit full of buttons and toggles. In his own words he is “exploiting technology to inject realtime imaginative content.”
Recorded 7 October 2021 at Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam
The Instagram meme page @this.and.a.blunt could be considered a so-called "shitposting" account. The images uploaded to the page seem random and aimless. They don't really have a punchline, but are humorous nonetheless. The pictures and videos are nearly always screenshots or screenrecordings from other places, resulting in a chaotic reflection of the online zeitgeist.
Recorded 16 December 2021 at Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam
Content creators on social media are usually not approached like film directors, musicians or designers, while these creators make an important contribution to our daily media consumption and (digital) culture. In the Significant Content event series, popular creators on various social media platforms are offered an artist talk.
Just as a significant figure in mathematics can make a difference in a calculation, the content of these creators can make a difference within the framework of a social media platform and reveal medium-specific characteristics of this platform. These creators often deploy very clever tactics that make their content work well within the medium they are using. By outlining the content and methods of these creators we unravel how social media platforms work beneath the surface.
Significant Content was initiated by Sjef van Beers and Florian van Zandwijk and is made possible by the Creative Industries Fund NL.
