corecore: the Gen Z-led digital art movement capturing the zeitgeist on TikTok

For most of its existence, TikTok has been written off as an app for viral videos of teenagers dancing, but anyone with that opinion is completely missing out on the cultural depth found in the many alternative niches of the platform. TikTok’s meteoric rise over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought us infinitely nuanced categories of content, but perhaps the culturally richest corner of TikTok is found under the enigmatic label “corecore.” While some define corecore as just another TikTok aesthetic trend, the significance and impact of corecore suggests that these video montages of seemingly unrelated film clips, news footage, social media-based video, livestream snippets, and memes actually represent a powerful growing art movement. corecore is both an expression of Gen Z’s lived experience as the first generation of digital natives and a reflection on life in the post-internet age. By examining corecore–its origins, evolution, significance, and impacts–we can come to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the perspectives shared by much of Gen Z.

What is corecore?

corecore is a Gen Z-led digital art movement on TikTok that removes media and internet artifacts from their original contexts and montages them not to create a narrative, but rather to evoke a feeling. corecore explores themes surrounding capitalism, eco anxiety, media saturation, depersonalization and despair. Conversely, it also examines themes like human connection, awe of nature, joie de vivre, and peace about one’s place in the universe. The diverse and intense ideas and emotions corecore considers are evidence of the very serious questions Gen Z is grappling with.

The rise and evolution of corecore

The crystallization of these complex emotional experiences into this digital art style has happened over a relatively short period of time. While the exact origins of corecore are difficult to pinpoint, some trace early iterations of corecore-esque content to Tumblr during 2020, with the first versions of what we now call corecore gaining traction on TikTok around 2022 under the label “nichetok.” While recent corecore videos often still carry the nichetok hashtag in addition to the corecore hashtag, the transition of these videos to the corecore label indicates the intention of this art movement to be a metacommentary on the infinite TikTok trends that platform users organize by assigning the suffix “-core.” corecore has evolved to also include a micro label, “hopecore,” which leverages the same artistic style to articulate positive feelings versus the oftentimes more negative feelings elicited by traditional corecore. While corecore and its related content is made by a diversity of creators, people like John Rising of @highenquiries and Mason Noel of @masonoelle played a key role in defining the style and voice of corecore and continuing to lead the movement during its growth over the last couple of years. Creators like these are articulating the intensity and nuance of the Gen Z experience in a powerful way that many already are likening to key art movements like Dadaism, and as we’ll explore in this article, Expressionism.

corecore as a legitimate art movement

The fact that corecore is being compared to great art movements of the past affirms that it should be elevated from the limiting perception as an aesthetic trend to being understood as a significant and impactful articulation of the zeitgeist. Although corecore has been linked to Dadaism, further study indicates that the relationship between corecore and Expressionism may be a more accurate comparison. While Dadaism reacted to modern life with nonsensical subjects that point to satire, absurdity, chaos, and an emphasis on meaninglessness, Expressionism’s approach to modernity was led by subjective representations that intentionally elicit specific emotional reactions like angst, frustration, and anxiety. Where Dada aims to evade meaning, Expressionism seeks to evoke it. With this in mind, we can look to corecore as a postmodern digital art movement that arguable succeeds in accomplishing what Expressionism set out to achieve: the elicitation of profound human feelings not with the depiction of an objective reality, but with the depiction of compelling subjective realities created through distortion, exaggeration, fantasy and the use of jarring and dynamic elements.

The significance of corecore in helping us understand Gen Z

In addition to the value corecore adds to the discourse on life and meaning in the post-internet era, corecore gives us a clear window into the perspectives, beliefs, and fears shared by many members of Gen Z. corecore represents perhaps the three most influential pillars of the Gen Z mentality: hyperawareness, creative flexibility, and pragmatic idealism.

Gen Z is the first generation to have grown up on the internet, and while this truth is already discussed ad nauseam, its significance can’t be overstated. The hyperconnectivity and infinity Gen Z has been exposed to as a result of the internet, social media, and the twenty-four hour news cycle has created an unprecedented sense of hyperawareness and overwhelm. Gen Z is tracking toward becoming the most educated generation and even when they’re not studying or working, they find themselves trapped in a constant state of gathering, organizing, analyzing, and absorbing endless information. More than half of Gen Zers spend four or more hours on social media every single day, and that’s not even factoring in the content they receive through streaming services, news platforms, and time spent on the internet for work, for example. The mental load of carrying so much information is exhausting in and of itself, but when we consider the content of that information, it’s no surprise to anyone reading this article why Gen Z is feeling so overburdened. This perpetual informational overwhelm can lead to a sense of despair, which we see explicitly reflected in corecore.

This intense overstimulation has also provided Gen Z with a truly limitless reservoir of inspiration to pull from, fueling incredible creativity. The ubiquity of global ideas has allowed Gen Z to embrace an incredible level of creativity that is then enhanced by their flexible approach to bringing their ideas, work, and art to life with the resources available to them. corecore in and of itself is representative of this creative flexibility. The ability to identify common thematic elements in disparate content, maintain that meaning after divorcing the content from its context, and then re-piece the content together into original art that is narrative-less and yet universally understandable is proof of Gen Z’s powers of analysis, synthesis, and meaning-making.

Gen Z is deeply concerned with finding (and/or creating) meaning, which is clear evidence of the pragmatic idealism of this generation. While disillusionment with the world and its systems has led to the increased adoption of nihilistic beliefs amongst Gen Z, we see this cohort persist in their search for meaning through their explorations of identity, community, activism, and advocacy. This generation is fiercely idealistic, clinging to a vision of a world where diversity, equity, safety, sustainability, and ultimately hope are possible. However, they are also undeniably pragmatic, and address intimidating issues on both personal and global levels with action-oriented approaches that they believe can bring their visions to life. One of the great celebrations–and ironically, criticisms*–of corecore is its capacity for motivating its viewers to this type of action. While some argue that the powerful emotions corecore evokes have the potential to drive Gen Z to pursue justice even more intensely, others are concerned that corecore is at risk of actually further desensitizing Gen Z from turning their emotional convictions into tangible action. However, if we consider corecore as an art movement, the question of corecore’s “usefulness” lying in its ability to motivate actions versus its successful evocation of feeling is debatable. In any case, we can value corecore as a reflection of Gen Z’s deep concern with meaning and a reflection of their pragmatic and idealistic tendencies.

In conclusion…

It is undeniable that corecore is worthy of our attention and study as a tangible expression of Gen Z’s perspective. Everything about this art movement, from the form of the videos to the origin of the style to its evolution and significance is representative of Gen Z’s approach to making sense of the highly oversaturated and over stimulating environment they have grown up in and now have the ability to affect. As we continue to watch this generation grow, we can look to the ideas, art, and work they create as representations of their shifting perspectives and approaches.

*The criticism discussed by this creator is directed specifically to the more recent iterations of corecore, which some argue is more aesthetic than meaningful as compared to earlier iterations of corecore.