This article contains some adult content.
Despite nearly two decades of Harry Potter mythos, people in our non-magical world still expect paintings to stand still. Artist Lauren Gregory defies these expectations with her new series of improvised, finger-painted GIFs.
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Gregory animates the traditionally static medium by capturing her artwork with a mounted camera every few strokes. “I was searching for ways to give my paintings movement and a time-based element, and I sort of began animating by accident,” she tells The Creators Project. In 2009, Gregory found Aboveground Animation, a collective started by artist-comedian chimera Casey Jane Ellison. By 2013 she was making complete music videos with the technique. The first was for Toro y Moi’s “Rose Quartz.”
“Being surrounded by other animators like Casey and Jacolby Satterwhite who have such strong voices was inspiring,” Gregory says. One of her biggest takeaways from her time there has had a huge impact on her current body of work. “Those guys aren’t afraid to be irreverant or let their sense of humor shine through. Some artists are funny people in private, but when it comes to their work, they get really serious and strip it of any personality. I think I used to do that before, and Aboveground Animation made me remember that my personality is an asset, not something to polish or hide in my paintings.” You can see this lesson at work in her new GIF series, which features a waterfall, a little lady chowing down on a Popeyes drumstick for eternity like some sort of fast food Sisyphus, and one GIF we can only describe as “van Gogh via Meatspin.”
“My work has been moving in a simpler direction,” Gregory says, explaining the series. “The loops became shorter and shorter until I realized I was essentially making GIFs.” Several of her lovely loops were commissioned by Electric Objects, but that’s just the beginning for Gregory. “The next stop on my train is to create a slew of GIFs and take over the internet!” Get an eyeful her web-conquering ammunition below.
Lauren Gregory, Thu Eating Chicken, 2016
Lauren Gregory, Fire; Waterfall, 2016
Lauren Gregory, Tussle, 2016
Lauren Gregory, Dolly Parton, 2016
Lauren Gregory, Washing Dishes, 2016
Lauren Gregory, Dickmatized, 2016
See more of Lauren Gregory’s work on her website.
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