Galen Aubrey Hicks
SFMOMA "Art Explained" TikTok Series
During my time at SFMOMA, I was tasked with take over the content creation for SFMOMA's
TikTok page; this resulted in a series of videos doing a deep dive on specific pieces of
art in the museum's collection.
This series steadily increased in views and engagement, with the first video in the
series' views being 2.5x the previous average views on the channel and the most successful
video showing almost 10x the previous average amount of views.
Motion graphic showing how engagement steadily increased as the series went on and the videos improved and continued to connect more with SFMOMA's target audience.
click a name below to see video & process
[Agnes Martin] [Frank Bowling] [Cy Twombly]
[Jarod Lew] [Henri Matisse]
This video about Agnes Martin's work at SFMOMA was the first video I created in the "Art Explained" series.
The video uses very simple motion graphics to portray the artist's message in an understandable way, and also
captures the feel of the room to make the viewer feel like they are actually in the space themselves. The varying shots serve to
show how the space compliments the paintings.
The average amount of views on SFMOMA's TikTok was 585 views before this series; this video had around a 159% increase of that average amount of views.
1,515 views
123 likes
6 saves
For this video about Frank Bowling's piece Middle Passage at SFMOMA, I used an interview that my supervisors had filmed a while back
with the artist's son, Ben Bowling. By pairing this video with shots of the painting and simple motion graphics and overlays to bring out hidden and understated
moments of the painting, I was able to illustrate the unique insight that Ben had into his father's work. We sent it to Frank Bowling's studio to ensure
that they were okay with us posting the video, and they liked it so much that they posted it on Instagram themselves as well!
The average amount of views on SFMOMA's TikTok was 585 views before this series; this video had around a 264% increase of that average amount of views.
2,133 views
176 likes
6 saves
For this video about Cy Twombly's piece Untitled, (Bacchus 1st Version IV) at SFMOMA, I wanted to make a more
immersive video. Due to the fact that this piece is so abstract, I was more liberal with the motion graphics and effects in order to really
bring the viewer into the painting and illustrate the meaning behind the painting in a more obvious way.
The average amount of views on SFMOMA's TikTok was 585 views before this series; this video had around a 498% increase of that average amount of views.
3,500 views
242 likes
25 saves
For this video about Jarod Lew's piece Consumption of Love (Eugene, Miyi and Qun) at SFMOMA, I followed a similar formula
to the Frank Bowling video, however this time I used an interview my supervisors had conducted with the artist himself. Refining and using similar
techniques that worked in the past videos, I was able to bring Lew's insight to life and show the meaning behind this photograph with subtle
editing that doesn't take away from the original photo. On Instagram we were also able to make this a collaborative post with Jarod Lew, so it also shows up
on his page as well.
The average amount of views on SFMOMA's TikTok was 585 views before this series; this video had around a 866% increase of that average amount of views.
5,655 views
491 likes
30 saves
For this video about Henri Matisse's piece Femme Au Chapeau at SFMOMA, I again wanted to make a more
immersive video. For this one I decided to use an audio guide from one of SFMOMA's head curators Janet Bishop, where she breaks down the piece,
it's process, and its significance. The audio guide tells a story about the painting and the reasoning Matisse had for certain medium choices; by
using motion and movement I was able to visually depict Janet's anecdotes as well as keep the viewer engaged.
The average amount of views on SFMOMA's TikTok was 585 views before this series; this video had around a 836% increase of that average amount of views.
5,473 views
644 likes
30 saves
This video about Agnes Martin's work at SFMOMA was the first video I created in the "Art Explained" series.
The video uses very simple motion graphics to portray the artist's message in an understandable way, and also
captures the feel of the room to make the viewer feel like they are actually in the space themselves. The varying shots serve to
show how the space compliments the paintings.
The average amount of views on SFMOMA's TikTok was 585 views before this series; this video had around a 159% increase of that average amount of views.
1,515 views**123 likes**6 saves
For this video about Frank Bowling's piece Middle Passage at SFMOMA, I used an interview that my supervisors had filmed a while back
with the artist's son, Ben Bowling. By pairing this video with shots of the painting and simple motion graphics and overlays to bring out hidden and understated
moments of the painting, I was able to illustrate the unique insight that Ben had into his father's work. We sent it to Frank Bowling's studio to ensure
that they were okay with us posting the video, and they liked it so much that they posted it on Instagram themselves as well!
The average amount of views on SFMOMA's TikTok was 585 views before this series; this video had around a 264% increase of that average amount of views.
2,133 views**176 likes**6 saves
For this video about Cy Twombly's piece Untitled, (Bacchus 1st Version IV) at SFMOMA, I wanted to make a more
immersive video. Due to the fact that this piece is so abstract, I was more liberal with the motion graphics and effects in order to really
bring the viewer into the painting and illustrate the meaning behind the painting in a more obvious way.
The average amount of views on SFMOMA's TikTok was 585 views before this series; this video had around a 498% increase of that average amount of views.
3,500 views**242 likes**25 saves
For this video about Jarod Lew's piece Consumption of Love (Eugene, Miyi and Qun) at SFMOMA, I followed a similar formula
to the Frank Bowling video, however this time I used an interview my supervisors had conducted with the artist himself. Refining and using similar
techniques that worked in the past videos, I was able to bring Lew's insight to life and show the meaning behind this photograph with subtle
editing that doesn't take away from the original photo. On Instagram we were also able to make this a collaborative post with Jarod Lew, so it also shows up
on his page as well.
The average amount of views on SFMOMA's TikTok was 585 views before this series; this video had around a 866% increase of that average amount of views.
5,655 views**491 likes**30 saves
For this video about Henri Matisse's piece Femme Au Chapeau at SFMOMA, I again wanted to make a more
immersive video. For this one I decided to use an audio guide from one of SFMOMA's head curators Janet Bishop, where she breaks down the piece,
it's process, and its significance. The audio guide tells a story about the painting and the reasoning Matisse had for certain medium choices; by
using motion and movement I was able to visually depict Janet's anecdotes as well as keep the viewer engaged.
The average amount of views on SFMOMA's TikTok was 585 views before this series; this video had around a 836% increase of that average amount of views.
5,473 views**644 likes**30 saves