A proposal for creating memes inspired by the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

1. Memes
and
Museums

2. What
is
a
meme?
A
meme
is
"an
idea,
behavior,
or
style
that
spreads
from
person
to
person
within
a
culture.”
A
meme
acts
as
a
unit
for
carrying
cultural
ideas,
symbols,
or
prac<ces
that
can
be
transmi=ed
from
one
mind
to
another
through
wri<ng,
speech,
gestures,
rituals,
or
other
imitable
phenomena.
An
Internet
meme
is
a
concept
that
spreads
from
person
to
person
via
the
Internet.
The
word
meme
was
coined
by
Richard
Dawkins
in
his
1976
book
The
Selfish
Gene,
as
an
a=empt
to
explain
the
way
cultural
informa<on
spreads;
internet
memes
are
a
subset
of
this,
specific
to
the
culture
and
environment
of
the
internet.
(Wikipedia,
accessed
May
7,
2013)

3. Let’s
look
at
some
examples…

4. Gangnam
Style
is
a
meme.
A
search
for
Gangnam
style
on
YouTube
gets
4,970,000
results
h=p://theweek.com/ar<cle/index/233651/gangnam-­‐style-­‐the-­‐8-­‐best-­‐parodies-­‐of-­‐the-­‐viral-­‐video

5. Harlem
Shake
is
a
meme.
A
search
for
Harlem
shake
on
YouTube
gets
6,750,000
results
h=p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hpEnLtqUDg

6. Vadering
is
a
meme
h=p://www.gadgetreview.com/2013/04/15-­‐vadering-­‐pics-­‐george-­‐lucas-­‐would-­‐be-­‐proud-­‐of.html

7. A
popular
type
of
internet
meme
includes
text
superimposed
on
an
image,
since
this
type
of
content
is
easily
shared
through
social
media.
“Hey
Girl”
is
a
meme
about
Ryan
Gosling
h=p://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/ryan-­‐gosling

8. There
was
even
a
museum-­‐themed
“Hey
Girl”
h=p://museumheygirl.tumblr.com

9. Grumpy
cat
is
a
meme
h=p://www.complex.com/art-­‐design/2013/03/the-­‐50-­‐funniest-­‐grumpy-­‐cat-­‐memes/

10. “Said
no
one
ever”
is
a
meme
h=p://knowyourmeme.com/memes/said-­‐no-­‐one-­‐ever

11. “Success
Kid”
is
a
meme
h=p://knowyourmeme.com/memes/success-­‐kid-­‐i-­‐hate-­‐sandcastles

12. Original
Media
Compressed
into
Image
+
text
for
easy
sharing
Remixed
Remixed
again!
Original
clip
from
The
Lord
of
the
Rings:
h=p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r21CMDyPuGo
Memes
can
be
inspired
by
movies,
TV
shows,
and
commercials

13. Original
Media
Compressed
into
Image
+
text
for
easy
sharing
Remixed
Remixed
again!
Original
clip
from
the
commercial
for
Dos
Equis:
h=p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U18VkI0uDxE
“I
don't
always
drink
beer,
but
when
I
do,
I
prefer
Dos
Equis.”

14. We
should
capitalize
on
the
popularity
and
viral
nature
of
these
memes.
No
art
museums
are
doing
this
yet
(that
I
can
find).
Some
ideas…

22. Notes:
We
would
only
use
public
domain
or
copyright
unrestricted
images
The
image
info
and
URL
are
embedded
on
the
image
so
they
do
not
get
lost
when
shared