What is Occupy Facebook With Art?

A 2014 chain copypasta in which a Facebook user receives an artist's name from whoever liked the original post, then shares that artist's work on their own Timeline.

Where did Occupy Facebook With Art come from?

The earliest known version was posted on December 20, 2013, by Facebook user Rizzo Ratso, who shared a painting by Joshua Hoffline alongside the chain message.

What does Occupy Facebook With Art mean?

It asks users to flood Facebook feeds with artwork instead of typical status updates, with some bloggers praising it as cultural uplift and the Washington Post criticizing it as elitist.

How do you use Occupy Facebook With Art?

Like or comment on someone's chain post, receive an assigned artist, share an image of their work with the copypasta, and assign artists to your own commenters.

Is Occupy Facebook With Art still popular?

No, the chain peaked in January and February 2014 and faded after that cycle, though variants like the Jeff Goldblum edition were covered by The Independent at the time.

Occupy Facebook With Art

2013copypastadead

Published November 11, 2026

Occupy Facebook With Art is a 2014 chain copypasta that asked Facebook users to post an image or video of an artwork by an artist assigned to them through a Timeline exchange. Praised by art blogs and panned by a Washington Post columnist for elitism, the template was quickly swapped for poetry, Egyptian artists, and photos of Jeff Goldblum.

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Overview

A participant received an artist's name through a comment from whoever liked the chain message, then shared an image or video of that artist's work on their own Timeline and offered to assign artists to new commenters in turn2. Tone leaned earnest and curatorial, with feeds turned into small galleries for Old Masters, contemporary painters, and local favorites5.

Some writers saw this as low-effort cultural uplift, while a Washington Post columnist accused participants of using the format to signal taste1. Variations kept the chain structure but swapped the subject: Odarka's Poetry Page called for verse instead of visual art, and Cairoscene urged Egyptians to use it for local artists4. By mid-February a Jeff Goldblum edition had spread widely, with users sharing random Goldblum photos in place of artworks7.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Facebook

Date

2014

The earliest known version of the chain appeared on Facebook on December 20, 2013, when user Rizzo Ratso shared a painting by Joshua Hoffline alongside the copypasta6. A revised wording went around Facebook the following month, asking recipients to share an artist assigned to them by the original poster.

On January 6, 2014, the Odarka's Poetry Page Facebook feed published a status update pivoting the chain to "fill Facebook with poetry," the first documented spinoff to swap the medium6.

How It Spread

Blog coverage picked up at the end of January 2014. Binary Smash praised the chain on January 27 for introducing users to new artists3, and two days later Cairoscene urged participants to spotlight Egyptian art4. On January 31, blogger Mhsts collected notable works users were sharing through the copypasta7.

Artist Mike Harman gathered the pieces submitted to his own chain post on February 2 and published them with artist credits5. Mainstream press arrived the next week. The Washington Post ran a critical piece on February 7 accusing Occupy Facebook With Art participants of snobbery1. The Independent reported on February 12 that users had hijacked the format to share Jeff Goldblum images2.

By February 18, a Redditor flagged a Nicolas Cage version of the copypasta in the wild, confirming that celebrity swaps of Occupy Facebook With Art had turned into their own running gag6.

Timeline

2013-12-20

Facebook user Rizzo Ratso posts the earliest known version of the chain, sharing a painting by Joshua Hoffline.

2014-01-06

Odarka's Poetry Page publishes a variant asking users to fill Facebook with poetry.

2014-01-27

Tech blog Binary Smash praises the chain for exposing users to new artists.

2014-01-29

Egyptian blog Cairoscene urges participants to spotlight Egyptian artists.

2014-01-31

Blogspot user Mhsts compiles notable works shared via the copypasta.

2014-02-02

Artist Mike Harman highlights pieces submitted to his own chain post.

2014-02-07

The Washington Post publishes a critical piece calling participants elitist.

2014-02-12

The Independent reports on a Jeff Goldblum version taking over Facebook timelines.

2014-02-18

A Redditor documents a Nicolas Cage spinoff of the chain.

How to Use This Meme

A typical participant names the assigned artist and shares a representative work, sometimes with a short note about the piece. Common convention is to assign a new artist to anyone who likes or comments on the post, keeping the chain moving5.