[artinfo] GRAPHICS INTERCHANGE FORMAT - exhibition opens 8/13

[iheart photograph]

iheartphotograph.com is excited to announce its latest curatorial project:

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GRAPHICS INTERCHANGE FORMAT

67 artist-made animated GIFs
Curated by Laurel Ptak

Featuring work by Victor Boullet <http://www.boullet.com/>, Tyler
Coburn<http://www.tylercoburn.com/>,
Petra Cortright <http://www.petracortright.com/>, C.
Coy<http://www.seecoy.com/>,
Daniel Everett <http://www.daniel-everett.com/>, Thobias
Fäldt<http://www.thobias.se/>& Per
Englund <http://www.per-englund.com/>, Martin
Fengel<http://www.martinfengel.de/>,
Jason Fulford <http://www.jasonfulford.com/>, Nicholas
Grider<http://www.nicholasgrider.com/>,
Pierre Hourquet <http://officeonline.free.fr/>, Konst &
Teknik<http://www.konst-teknik.se/>,
Eke Kriek, Emily Larned <http://www.redcharming.com/>, Matt
MacFarland<http://www.members.tripod.com/mattiemac>,
Katja Mater <http://www.katjamater.nl/>, Kelci McIntosh, Ilia
Ovechkin<http://www.iliaovechkin.com/>,
Robert Overweg <http://www.robsempire.com/>, M. River<http://www.tinjail.com/>,
Noel Rodo-Vankeulen <http://www.nrodo-vankeulen.com/>, Asha
Schechter<http://www.asha-schechter.com/>,
Trevor Shimizu, Jo-ey
Tang<http://www.registry.whitecolumns.org/view_artist.php?artist=497>,
Anne De Vries <http://www.annedevries.info/>, Karly
Wildenhaus<http://www.karlywildenhaus.com/>and Damon
Zucconi <http://www.damonzucconi.com/>.

Part of the exhibition Young Curators, New Ideas
Bond Street Gallery <http://bondstreetgallery.com/>, 297 Bond Street,
Brooklyn NY
Wednesday, August 13 – Saturday, September 6, 2008

Press Preview: Wednesday, August 13 from 4–6pm
Opening Reception: Wednesday, August 13 from 6–9pm
RSVP: rsvp at bondstreetgallery.com

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Curator's Statement:

GIFs are a modest 8-bit-per-pixel bitmap image format introduced to the
world by CompuServe in 1987. They have the distinction of being the very
first color compression format widely used for images online (predating the
JPEG by 7 years).  One of the beauties of the GIF is that a single file can
contain multiple images shown in a timed sequence, giving the effect of
motion, known fondly as an animated GIF.  In the '90s these proliferated
onscreen in the form of dancing babies and rotating globes, maladroitly
articulating a kind of humanist optimism about the internet. Looking back at
them now, animated GIFs seem at once gleefully lo-fi and ineffably poignant,
almost desperate to communicate something beyond what the bounds of their
humble technology could allow.

Curious how this lo-fi form might fare in a contemporary context, I
commissioned 26 photographers, designers, and new media artists to embrace
this more than 20-year-old technology. They were given only 3 days to work
on their projects and were encouraged, though not required, to incorporate
photographic materials. Some had never made an animated GIF before and some
were notorious for it. The approaches, aesthetics, and meanings to be found
in their GIFs really impressed me. Some use the form epically like a
novelist or a film director; others are self-reflective about the limits of
technology and representation; many challenge photography's usual atemporal
disposition; and then some just make me giggle.

Their full results are on view at Bond Street Gallery from August
13–September 6, 2008, shown on 44-inch flat screen in an infinite loop. Each
GIF is sold in an unlimited edition for $20, accompanied by a personalized
note from the artist.

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Images from Graphics Interchange Format:
http://bondstreetgallery.com/youngcurators/iheartphotograph.html
More about the fascinating history of the animated GIF:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animated_gif/
I Heart Photograph: http://iheartphotograph.com/