Memesthetics - Valentina Tanni

In Memesthetics, Valentina Tanni offers the first comprehensive exploration of the relationship between visual art and digital culture since the early 2000s. As the internet, social media, and new technologies reshape our visual world, Tanni traces the influence of memes, GIFs, and online subcultures on contemporary art. She asks a provocative question: could the art history textbooks of the future highlight anonymous internet creators instead of the traditional artist-geniuses of the past?

From Duchamp to TikTok, Memesthetics maps the wild intersection of art and internet culture, offering a fresh perspective on how museums and galleries are responding to this digital transformation.

Valentina Tanni is an art historian, curator, and lecturer specializing in the intersection of art and technology. She teaches at Milan Polytechnic and John Cabot University in Rome and is the author of Exit Reality.