ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: JASON CLARKE

What was the first GIF you made?

Around 2002 I made a tiny looping animation of a dog eating its own vomit. Not much has changed since then, apparently.

What kind of a process do you go through to create your art?

I keep a sketchbook and pens with me at all times. Pretty much all my animations start out as sketches there, and I pick the ones that start animating in my brain when I look at them on paper.

Why GIFs?

GIFs are the most democratic of all digital animation formats. You don’t need any plugins or players or whatever and can view them as long as you have a computer that was made sometime after 1995 or so. I also like thinking in terms of animated loops. My favorite GIFs are ones that loop in an interesting way.

Favorite GIF artists and/or artists in general?

There’s so so many, but mad love and shout outs to Charles Huettner, Scott Benson, Eammon O’Neill and all the other artists in the Late Night Work Club.  Bad Blueprints Nick Cross Lilli Carre Cindy Suen Michael Deforge Patrick Kyle Skip Hursh The Aquabats David O’Reilly Treat Studios Devo Secret Prison Comics And all the animators in the struggle, you know what I’m sayin? It’s all good, baby baby.

All time or current favorite GIF?

This is too hard a question. I had this gif up in my phone’s web browser for months, though, so I’ll just say this one:

Pyer Moss Presentation of Spring Menswear Collection