Close your eyes and imagine an artist. What do you see? A tweed beret, a painting brush, a scarf, a Yann Tiersen song playing in the background? It’s incredible how much we get caught up in cliches and stereotypes.
In reality, artists come in all forms, backgrounds, cultures, styles, and whatnot, and you don’t need to carry around a portfolio that weighs half a ton to prove it.
Just take a look at the #Art vs. Artist hashtag challenge that has been surfing around on Twitter lately. Artists are sharing their portraits and artworks side by side to show how their creations reflect (or not!) on their appearance. View it as an experiment whether art does show on a face, but remember that you’re the one to decide, 'cause there’s simply no straightforward answer.
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Bored Panda reached out to Mxrixha, the painter behind the viral #artvsartist post which amassed 1.1 million likes and 166.9k retweets. The artist who goes by the Twitter handle @muslimahpaintsx told us that after her account was recently suspended, she lost out on all her audience and assumed business had gone down.
“I then made a new one and put my tweet of art vs. artist up again, and it drastically hit hundreds and thousands,” she said. Fortunately, her new account brought in a bigger audience and more customers than last time. Mxrixha said: “I was so overwhelmed by the support and positive words.”
The painter said that her inspiration is based purely on the meanings of the Quran and herself as a Muslim. “A lot of my inspiration is taken from the trials and tribulations of this world and the goodness and rewards that come to you in the end,” she said.
When asked if she believes in the link between the artist’s appearance and their artwork, Mxrixha commented that “there’s no particular link with my appearance and work other than they’re both Islamic.” She added: “I wear this jilbaab/hijab as it’s been ordained upon me and the paintings I do are specifically only buildings and/or nature.”
Moreover, she doesn’t paint any type of humans and/or animals “as it’s not permissible, I wouldn’t compromise my beliefs for anything.”
Like many viral things on the internet, the #Art vs. Artist hashtag challenge started as a meme. It was a test to see if artwork reflects the identity of its creator, as many assume. Artists would post the hashtag along with a selfie surrounded by eight of their selected art pieces.
The hashtag quickly blew up all over the internet, and artists from various genres joined in for the challenge. Soon, it outgrew its initial memesy-ness and became a fun way for creators to represent themselves on social media.
In reality, #Art vs. Artist allows the creator to present their best work for enormous crowds of people on Twitter that wouldn't be possible in the real world.
What if it’s a modern take on a mini portfolio? In times when self-promoting is a quintessential part of a successful career, showing a selection of your best work can be game-changing. One hashtag can help artists to build their following fast and boost their brand name with minimal resources.
Before social media, curating a solo exhibition, inviting buyers, and making connections with curators was a hell of task every up-and-coming artist had to do. Today, it’s no longer the case.
I like the strong, bold colours. It is a very expressive portrait.
That painting looks JUST like my good friend! I'll have to show it to her.
Can't we see more of those pictures? They're so good! <3
To those people critiquing this picture, please show us your own art so we might compare...
Okay, first of all. It's common sense to not insult the artist or call anything "crap" when criticizing someone's work. It fine to criticize, but be respectful. Point out what wrong about the painting if you like, but watch your mouth. This is a thread for people sharing their works and people may see and enjoy them. If you don't like something, move on, no one needs to hear what you have to say, but if you really can't contain yourself, please use kind words to criticize not belittle someone's effort.
Justin...I cannot argue with that...and on reflection I feel more than a little ashamed...I'd like to apologise to the artist and to other panda's. it's my hope that the artist continues to paint and seeks tuition to develop her style...no point in giving up because I was wearing my asshole jacket is there? Thanks Justin....taken on board x
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All these art critics and no one pointed out that she just painted her own Mona Lisa, naive art style. The pose, the river on the background... You can dislike naive art, but she nailed it.
For those who called this artwork "garbage", and think it is inviting judgement, please give some details. Is it the colour that's not right? The brush strokes? Tell us, it would be interesting to learn something, and I'm sure the artist herself would love to hear some productive comments. But don't bring up your "nine-year old", or comparing it to other works, just focus on this piece. Tell people where it can improve, and not just belittling the work and getting pissed when some people ask for why you think it's bad.
I like the intense colours of the sky and the emerald sheen on the river...
Children! Children! Please! We are each different in our own way with our own opinions of what is right, good, best, or beautiful. But, as we all know, beauty, and art, is in the eye of the beholder. Rather than argue further on that point, I suggest we spend more time, some more than others, either learning or brushing up on our manners and supportive skills. Oh, yeah, throw in a round or two of tact training while you're at it. You may think it's okay to degrade someone's passion and work so carelessly but just remember that Karma's a bitch. Yomay think it's ok to s
Why are you being so racist? It's a painting, not something made to insult you. Grow up, she can do what she wants.
tbf, no one said amateur artists can't take part
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Another shining example of an artist brave enough to carve out their own niche by producing works with their own distinctive style.
Omg , they're all awesome ... but I love the random cute cartoon on the bottom right !
Proper artistic credit should go to the programmer of the filter algorithm used on the photo on the right.
the last one (bottom right) looks like something from The Dark Crystal and I'm LIVING FOR IT
I commend your attention to hair detail LMAO that takes some WORK
Why is this downvoted?!?! D:< You DARE downvote the Avatar Kyoshi!?!?
Time and again I am amazed by the artistic abilities of people... I like the personality that shines through much of the work. I wish all these artists a successful career- may they be paid to pursue their passions.
Not all women who wear hijabs are oppressed, I do not deny that in some places women are forced to, but there are women who actually like wearing it ,so stop the hate!
i literally suck at art, but i want to like it and do more. seeing other people be great artists makes me lose my self esteem but also i feel like i need to improve a LOT to get to their level. no hate to them though
I always wondered how people could tell that someones going and downvoting all the posts. Now I see. Stop it kindly, you f****r
they all are very talented in their unique way to express their self through their art
I would love to show my art vs. artist of myself, but I have no idea how to put a photo on here. Can someone please tell me how to do that?
When you write a comment there is a grey apn near the orange "send" button, click on it and send your art please. Reply to me as a test if you want.
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Nobody told you to look in a mirror. To be depressed and looking down at everybody don't make you an artist, it makes you an asshole. It is really interesting to compare how people look and what they are creating, you can see how they look outside and how they look inside, and if you are an artist you know that your art reflect how you look/feel inside, right? This is one of the dumbest comment i ever read: "i am a babysitter and i hate children", "i am a farmer and i hate soil", "i'm an artist and i don't understand that art is related to the person who make it, that's dumb", yes, that's dumb.
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Time and again I am amazed by the artistic abilities of people... I like the personality that shines through much of the work. I wish all these artists a successful career- may they be paid to pursue their passions.
Not all women who wear hijabs are oppressed, I do not deny that in some places women are forced to, but there are women who actually like wearing it ,so stop the hate!
i literally suck at art, but i want to like it and do more. seeing other people be great artists makes me lose my self esteem but also i feel like i need to improve a LOT to get to their level. no hate to them though
I always wondered how people could tell that someones going and downvoting all the posts. Now I see. Stop it kindly, you f****r
they all are very talented in their unique way to express their self through their art
I would love to show my art vs. artist of myself, but I have no idea how to put a photo on here. Can someone please tell me how to do that?
When you write a comment there is a grey apn near the orange "send" button, click on it and send your art please. Reply to me as a test if you want.
Load More Replies... Nobody told you to look in a mirror. To be depressed and looking down at everybody don't make you an artist, it makes you an asshole. It is really interesting to compare how people look and what they are creating, you can see how they look outside and how they look inside, and if you are an artist you know that your art reflect how you look/feel inside, right? This is one of the dumbest comment i ever read: "i am a babysitter and i hate children", "i am a farmer and i hate soil", "i'm an artist and i don't understand that art is related to the person who make it, that's dumb", yes, that's dumb.
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