Gofortheabstract is a public Instagram art account with a distinctive style implicit in its name. Each post is an original photo or video matched with a word that somehow coincides with its mood or palette. This week, we invited the enigmatic artist to chat about the creation and management of the account.
The Miscellany News: What inspired you to create gofortheabstract?
gofortheabstract: From the beginning, I was inspired by the photography project Humans of New York, but I didn’t want any humans, any stories or any York, especially New York.
The Misc: How long has this account been running?
gofortheabstract: Unfortunately, I was late to the Insta game, starting my account in late 2016.
The Misc: Would you like to introduce yourself or provide some hints of your identity?
gofortheabstract: Can’t say I haven’t been giving hints from the beginning, but, I’ll just say: He protecc, he attacc, but most of all he abstracc.
The Misc: How would you describe the aesthetics of your account?
gofortheabstract: Kind of like ASMR, but less autonomous and more anonymous.
The Misc: What has been your process of selecting photos and posting them?
gofortheabstract: Yike, what a question—I don’t have too much of a process—I kinda just go with the flow, and when I see something that grabs my attention, I take a picture and sometimes post it.
The Misc: How do you come up with the word to match the picture?
gofortheabstract: All are names—all our names—it’s fun to give the photos a character behind them.
The Misc: Do you have a favorite post?
gofortheabstract: Like some of the other posts, the third post I made, titled “gina,” speaks to the baroque sensibility of decay—let’s just say, she’s seen better days.
The Misc: Are there any interesting stories happened because of the account?
gofortheabstract: Lemme think… Once I accidentally posted a late-weekend-night selfie on this account instead of my personal. A few people saw it, but luckily my good friend was among the late-night instastory viewers and alerted me to my mistake early, so I could take it down and preserve my secret identity.