2/5/2018 3 Comments RAB 1I chose to analyze the Instagram page of Tortus Copenhagen, an American potter living in Denmark.
The first thing you see when you pull up an Instagram profile is the avatar and biography. His profile picture is of him, looking down and smiling. This shows his amiable personality while also looking professional. His biography is simple and concise; he first states his name, Eric Landon, then his profession and where his studio is located. Since he travels to do workshops, he also puts where he is currently traveling. The last component of his biography is a link to see him present at a university in Australia. He wants his followers to know what he’s doing and how they can connect with him personally. When you look at his timeline as a whole, there is a good mix of pottery wheel videos and pictures of him, landscapes, and appreciation posts. He posts 1-2 times a day so he is very active on this platform. While he posts some personal pictures, most of his content is focused on pottery and how he is adapting modern and traditional pottery. The hosts at the University of South Australia summarize his purpose well, “[He is] dedicated to the modern adaptation of traditional and time-tested making methods with the goal of creating vessels of a timeless quality and beauty.” You don’t even have to know much about ceramics or the wheel to see that this purpose is evident on his page by the pictures he posts of his work. As you continue to look at it as a whole piece, he uses the same filters so everything looks light and colorful. This shows his style and it’s consistent with the ceramic products he produces. One way you can see his purpose to bring attention to the art of the wheel is in his appreciation posts of other potters. These are among some of my favorite pictures he posts because he captures the natural beauty of people and shares their story. In this post, he showcases Chela Edmunds, who owns a studio in Australia. She only has around 32k followers but because of his post, I found her site and loved what she made. I probably never would have seen her work if it weren’t for him. In my opinion, he made a wise choice using Instagram as his main platform. His videos of the wheel are so enticing for clickbait because he has mastered his abilities and this shows in his beautiful videos. I found his page while scrolling through the explore section and when I see any cool and satisfying videos of art, I always click. And I know I’m not alone in this; his videos consistently get over a million views while he only has 776k followers. While you can post videos on Twitter and Facebook, it is much easier for non-followers to see your posts on Instagram (with the explore page and recommended for you). This ties into his purpose and personal story. He found his love for pottery at the age of 16 and Instagram is a demographic of young people. It is evident that he wants others to fall in love with this beautiful art so that they can learn the many skills it has to offer. Also on Instagram, it is very easy to comment on pictures and reply to those comments, which he does. You don’t see that very often with popular pages. He really cares about his followers and the community he has built. Overall, his consistency and dedication are very admirable and inspiring. I hope that this analysis does his page the justice it deserves.
3 Comments
Abby Fauss
2/7/2018 07:42:40 pm
Hi Clare!
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Amanda Norman
2/7/2018 07:55:57 pm
Hey Clare!
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Steven Letzelter
2/8/2018 08:16:19 am
Hey Clare! great post! It's crazy that someone else follows Tortus on instagram, because everyone i talk to about him doesnt know what im talking about. His page is so interesting because his topics span such a HUGE reach! I really liked your transitions between logos ethos and pathos, and thought it was very smooth. Being a photographer i love watching how he uses different lenses and angles to almost bring the pottery and landscape to life! I enjoyed reading this RAB! GOOD JOB!
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Clare McGradyI'm a sophomore at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Archives
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