Are memes the most relevant art form of the 21st century?

Are memes the most relevant art form of the 21st century?

the 21st century is only 16 (almost 17) years old so even if they are, that's not saying much

Honestly I get more aesthetic appreciation from a well-crafted meme than most contemporary lit. Most people don't understand just how much creativity it takes to make a good meme.

I think that one day historians will study Internet memes to learn about the early Internet/postmodern age. As ironic communication and culture Wojak and Pepe are as interesting characters as the Greek gods.

Either that or advertising

I would say that memes are more of a pure art than advertising. On Veeky Forums, memes are created solely for entertainment and fun and are passed on as tradition if they are good, closer to the way traditional folk art used to work before capitalism than anything else.

I agree with you, but I think advertisements are more omnipresent than maymays and are therefore more relevant

I retract my previous statement. Now that i've actually looked at that meme in the OP I think it's beautiful.
>tfw you will never have a friendship like that
>or friends in general

This comment is probably cloaked under 5-6 layers of irony, but I think there's no small amount of truth to it.

But where does Pepe even exist, outside of Veeky Forums? Whenever I see him on non-chan sites he's used incorrectly or people just think it's a silly frog. He likely will not be an important figure in meme studies.

Memes are the sons of dream of content without property. It will take us back to cave paints were the work didn't have only one creator but the role community helped to make that image.
So as a truly work of art it will help society understand itself by a simple model of images with quick emotional responses.