We’re sure you’ve never seen GIFs the way you’ll see them at Loop Dreams, a gallery show curated by the loop fiends over at GIPHY and Rhizome. Virtual reality, holographic posters, digital picture frames—what you’re seeing is how the next generation could first encounter the internet’s favorite file format.
Artist’s we’ve been covering for years, such as LaTurbo Avedon, Scorpion Dagger, Julian Glander, and Nicholas Sassoon will join artists who have come up in the GIPHYverse by pushing the boundaries of the animated loop. Several have made the jump into the physical world, such as Scorpion Dagger’s GIF book, but this show’s goal is to jumpstart the emergence of physical GIF art for the community as a whole.
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Jacob Ciocci
As a result, visitors will see artists experimenting with printmaking and display methods they’ve never tried before. Community director Dani Newman tells The Creators Project, “Making this experience physical, we wanted to challenge ourselves and the artists we commissioned to think about the different ways you can experience a GIF in a gallery.” Part of that process is figuring out what works, and part is figuring out what doesn’t, which is why this show is so exciting.
Adds GIPHY community curator Ari Spool, “We ask artists to create work with very little restriction because we’re looking for them to try to solve the same types of problems that paintings are used to solve—how do you use the image to express an emotion or idea? The art & community department at GIPHY believes that the best things we can do for artists is A) amplify their presence, B) Give them resources and C) get out of the way.”
For this week’s GIF Six-Pack, we’re highlighting six original artworks created for Loop Dreams. These are their pure GIF forms, but to check out their final forms, visit the show IRL.
Dina Kelberman
Jess Mac
Nicole Ginelli
Phyllis Ma
Check out Loop Dreams in person on Sunday, October 2 at 201 Mulberry St.
Related:
Greek Feminist Artist Makes Enchanting, Painterly GIFs | GIF Six-Pack
