The world turned into a dystopian movie right before our very eyes, and we are all actors (unpaid though) playing our parts. Some of us in the comfort of our homes, while others are saving lives, at the same time risking their own. The coronavirus came like a beast not only forceful enough to take a human life but also slowly draining the liveliness out of us. Social distancing made us realize how much we need the opposite. Staying home reminded us of the limitations that the four walls thrust upon us. The empty shelves in the supermarkets made us fear for the things we always considered are given.
In these challenging moments, artists all over the world are finding creative ways to spread love, empathy, and strength through their art. We want to thank them for their endeavor to lift up our spirits, and we truly believe their art makes it a bit easier for us to go through this crisis. We hope you enjoy our selection of some great examples of spreading art during the coronavirus outbreak. However, we are aware many more praiseworthy artists deserve a spot in an article of this kind.
If you are an artist, feeling lost and uninspired at the moment, we suggest you also take a look at these ideas on how you can help the world right now. In the meantime, we at Doodeo will stay here and will be eagerly waiting to continue posting about all new gig opportunities after the pandemic has ended.
Photography
More than 1,000 words and not even a single person captured
Photography is a powerful medium. It lets you capture all kinds of emotions, even when there is nobody in the photo. A great example of this is the New York Times’ photo series, “The Great Empty.” Photographers from all over the world had been sent on a mission to capture the desolation of some of the otherwise most crowded places on Earth. Have you ever seen Times Square deserted? If yes, probably only in a movie. But, now we face a new reality. We even find comfort in looking at these popular sites devoid of people because they remind us of something familiar that now feels entirely unknown. They take us where we can’t be. They capture the silence, the stillness, and the lifeless of those places that are usually a synonym for noise, motion, and life.
Todd Heisler for The New York Times
Many other great photographers have captured the effect that this pandemic has on people and places. We are listing only a few more examples here.
Some photographers took a different approach, and instead of focusing on the empty places, they looked at the people encaged in their homes.
Victor Moriyama for The New York Times
Adas Vasiliauskas / Bored Panda
Illustrations
Drawing attention to the devastating effect of the coronavirus
While photographers capture deserted places and show us what it’s like to be out there, illustrators have been using another powerful tool for art creation – their imagination. They take reality and build creative stories upon it. What we see in the illustrations below is not always 100% representation of a real-life scene. But, exactly those exaggerated, twisted, overstated situations make a strong impact on us. Sometimes through humor, other times evoking deep sadness, but always creative enough to be remembered.
Eric Diotte for Politico
Napal Naps for Politico
The redesigned logo project by the Slovenian graphic designer Jure Tovrljan is another impressive example of coronavirus inspired art. He took popular brand logos and reimagined them for the age of coronavirus and social distancing.
For a group of illustrators from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, photos of empty streets are an inspiration for bringing some color into the dreariness. This collaborative work in progress allows us to see more than the grey deserted world outside our homes. By seeing color and activity in places we know are desolated, we feel warmth, happiness, and hope for a brighter future.
Another way to address the effects this whole situation has on our daily lives is by bringing humor to the current crisis. Can you spot the 7 differences?
Last but not least, illustrators can make us extremely sad by reminding us how lonely we are at the moment. We can’t be with our friends, relatives, parents, daughters, sons. For some of us, this means we can only be with ourselves, and there’s nothing else to do but to embrace this truth.
Animations
Bringing “life” to the warning messages about the life-threatening virus
Animation allows us to connect with a story or “read” the messages in a different way. Take a look at this visualization of the positive impact of social distancing in an animation of matchsticks catching fire.
Animation artists can also be informative.
Toby Morris and Siouxsie Wiles / Dezeen
Music
Rhythm breaks the barriers of social distancing
Many musicians gave us a free ticket to shows we could watch from home. As a lot of concerts, gigs, and tours got canceled, performing artists have turned to online platforms and decided to still go forward with the plan, with the only difference of streaming the whole show online. In these difficult times, when a lot of things are becoming impossible and uncertain, they have figured out a way to continue making music and offer at least something for their audience.
One of the first to do it was Chris Martin (Coldplay). He did a little improvised live gig from his house, which he streamed on Instagram. After him, John Legend accepted his invitation and delivered a 53-minute live-stream. Keith Urban also had an online performance that featured his one-person audience – Nicole Kidman. Many others followed this example, and while we all hear when celebrities do it, there are also a lot of other artists who have come up with some great ideas and powerful performances. We tried to include a little bit of everything below.
Dubioza Kolektiv, ska, punk, and reggae band from Bosnia and Herzegovina made a fantastic show which was streamed online on Facebook for all their fans to watch. They did a fabulous job, all of them performing from their own home. After getting many views, they continued with another episode a few weeks later, repeating the success.
Dubioza Kolektiv Quarantine Show – Episode 1
Dubioza Kolektiv Quarantine Show – Episode 1#stayhome #ostajemkući 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘Svakog ponedjeljka u 20:30 / Every Monday at 20:30 (CET)
Posted by Dubioza kolektiv on Monday, 23 March 2020
DJ D-Nice became a hit with his Club Quarantine dance sessions, which he live-streams on Instagram. Many celebrities had joined these home dance parties, including Mark Zuckerberg, Rihanna, Oprah Winfrey, Janet Jackson, and many others.
Drake’s new single and video “Toosie Slide” will not only teach you some easy dance moves but will also show you the rapper in fashionable protective wear while he’s practicing social distancing.
Earlier, London based rapper Psychs released a track called Spreadin’ inspired by the pandemic. It features lines about the importance of using no-contact greetings and warns against young people who think it will not affect them.
If you have been online even for five minutes this last month or so, you couldn’t have missed the video of the Spanish pianist Alberto Gestoso who treated his neighbors to “My Heart Will Go On” performing it on his keyboard from his balcony. What’s even more amazing about this video is that his solo performance quickly turned into a duet when a saxophonist decided to join him from another balcony close by.
This video went viral, but even if you don’t plan a grand performance of this kind, it’s still a good idea to record yourself performing for the audience that already follows you on social media. You can pour your soul into the tunes and expect to have many people relating to you and starting to follow you. Although you can’t make money off doing live shows at the moment, you can use this situation to gather a bigger audience and make long-lasting connections with them.
Dancing
You’ve got to keep moving, no matter how limited your space is
This short but sweet dance is full of emotions many professional dancers will find familiar. Staying inside and not being able to practice and perform dance routines could feel crushing. This Instagram post serves as a reminder that all you need to do to continue dancing is to find a small space in your home and rearrange some furniture if necessary. Keep on enjoying your body movements.
For ballet dancers, the day usually starts with a pliés and tendus at the barre. However, in the era of coronavirus and social distancing, practicing in a studio is not possible. That inspired Tamara Rojo, artistic director of English National Ballet, and one of the finest dancers in the world to start live-streaming online lessons on Youtube.
Ryan Heffington, the choreographer behind Sia’s “Chandelier” music video, is also regularly streaming dance classes on Instagram Live.
We are finishing this list of great coronavirus inspired art with dance choreography by the Vietnamese dancer and choreographer Quang Dang to the chorus of “Ghen Co Vy,” (“Jealous Coronavirus”). Singers Min and Erik instruct listeners to wash their hands, avoid touching their faces and stay away from crowded places. The dance video took the world by storm with billions of views on Youtube only. Both the catchy tune and the energetic dance choreography have inspired TikTok users to recreate Dang’s dance and post them using the hashtag #GhenCoVyChallenge.
Other types of artists have also discovered some creative ways to create art while still staying relevant, considering the current circumstances. Comedians, for example, have found a new source for writing jokes that they also share with the audience online. Writers offer free short stories for their fans. Painters create free painting courses.
We hope you enjoyed our art selection, which we know evokes all kinds of emotions. It should also inspire you to keep creating and sharing your art with everyone. It’s going to be tough to get through this crisis. But, if there were ever a time to be kind to one another, it’s now. This pandemic shall pass, and then we will all need some sense of normalcy. So, we have to keep trying. Meanwhile, stay home and stay safe.
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