How Oliver Alonso’s TikTok ‘Tolerance Tests’ Are Bridging Art and Digital Culture
Many in the contemporary art world have asked, “How do we get more eyeballs on art?”
Finally, someone has an answer: Oliver Alonso, who has reached over 9M (and counting) on TikTok with his Art Tolerance Tests as Oli.af.
“The biggest problem is that you only see contemporary art going to the news when it’s very controversial, potentially negative, someone buying a piece for a billion dollars,” Alonso explains. “I wanted a more informative approach on the channels people already use.”
From Choe U-Ram’s “Round Table” (2022) to Lawrence Malstaf’s “Shrink” (2017) to Anish Kapoor’s “Descension” (2014), the Art Tolerance Test series covers work from prominent artists in a wide range of mediums. Most of the work could be considered challenging, shocking, or grotesque to the general public, such as Andrea Hasler’s “Flesh Sculptures.”
“Mark Elliott” (2023) by Oliver Alonso.
Intended to challenge casual TikTok users to engage with a new canon of contemporary art, these gamified art history tests caught my eye because of their broad appeal. I’ve been writing about art for a while, but rarely encounter such an accessible, enjoyable portal into the art world. It’s wonderful to see platform users develop an appetite for a genre often written off as conceptual, opaque, or silly.
Set to dark industrial music, the Art Tolerance Test is made of four levels and begins with a countdown. Each level represents one piece. Most of the pieces are kinetic, which fits the short-form video format perfectly. Alonso’s intention was to model a video game and encourage cross-pollination between fans of each art form.
“I post to help people develop debates and discussions over,” Alonso explains. His videos generate endless comments, ranging from “get damien hirst out of here” (@vivixing_) to “These tolerance tests are exposing me to some amazing artists pls do more of these!!” (@ThiccThot). It’s a refreshingly intellectual space for a TikTok comments section.
When he’s not curating his gamified version of a digital gallery, Alonso is studying the intersection of digital culture and contemporary art as a PhD candidate in Fine Art at the University Complutense of Madrid.
The Art Tolerance Tests were part of Alonso’s greater project to connect the art world to the real world via online channels. He explains, “There is a conception of contemporary art as something for the elite - something you can only buy and see and understand with a deep knowledge or a deep wallet.”
Details: "My Body is Now Ours" (2021) by Oliver Alonso.
"My Body is Now Ours" (2021) by Oliver Alonso.
Alonso shares that the art world moves with how society develops social and economic values. His own art explores concepts of the digital, the physical, and the social.
Alonso’s main concern is using technological tools in service of art community development. His research addresses how “the internet gives us a new platform in which you can develop social and economic activity.”
In my opinion, the Art Tolerance Tests and Alonso’s own work are a delightful community experience. Shared on platforms used by many, in a recognizable visual language, it’s difficult for those who have grown up in the digital age not to connect with his work. Even better, the point is to connect. Alonso shares, “After all, art is about people. Why are we here? Why do we like this?”
