Abstract
This chapter centres around a new type of creative and artistic expression, namely the gif. Positioned somewhere between an image and a video, the gif provides an interesting sense of narrative, since it presents itself on a never-ending loop. Although this type of moving image is currently associated with contemporary social media and the internet, its roots go back to the beginning of cinematic history, when the first recorded moving images were displayed repeatedly in from of the viewer. As such, starting from these cinematic roots, the present chapter will deal with the intricacies of the gif's narrative pattern and the status of art on the internet, before delving into the analysis of a series of gifs which were part of an art exhibition.
TopBackground: Narrative In Digital Times
According to Metz (1972), the narrative will be: a closed discourse that “unrealizes” a temporal sequence of events. In this case there is a notion of temporality, but also one of similarity in relation to reality (showing what happened or what was imagined), but above all, there is the “event”. Something happens. Action. Movement. This action, if narrative, must comprise: a beginning and an end - that is, to be located in time, according to a reaction of happening.Time is understood twofold: there will be a time of the narrated and one of the described, or read; the “unrealization” of the story through its awareness (Gaudreault & Jost, 1990). But it is possible that this event develops not through the narrative, but through the sensoriality, the presentation of some mimetic element either lived or imagined. The memory in the body can make this a carrier of non-discursive narrative, and the same occurs with new digital technologies, when they recreate events and elements through graphics or sensory representations.
When the consumption of films is detached from an absolutely isolated absorbed visualization (in the dark, at 24 frames per second, in a narrative order and without outside interference), narrative cohesion starts to be pressured by external discourses. But digital spectatoriality also affects the internal structure of the narrative: sequences can be easily skipped or repeated (Mulvey, 2006, pp.27-28)
These moments are characterized by the cessation of the narrative, and can thus be called moments of pure spectacle, in which the reception persists only for the sensation, not for the legibility of the story. Thus, a materialized image is created, which will have more impact than the narrative structures that make up most films.
The more it coincides with the narrative motivation, the more the materiality of the image can go unnoticed; its excess, however, entails a suspension of the logical and causal plot, since the excess implies a gap or a delay in motivation. (Thompson, 1977, p.54)
Key Terms in this Chapter
Post-Internet: A term coined by Marisa Olsen and reffering to the consequences of the internet on culture and art.
GIF: A new form of expression, usually in a digital format that supports both static and animated images.
Network: Here, a term synonymous with the internet.
Digital: A adjective used to refer to the new forms of electronic technolohy.
Mise en Abyme: A neological term borrowed from French which is used to describe the placing within an image the copy of itself.
Looping: Here, a term which refers to the continuous repetition of narrative content.
Social media: A new type of internet site or application which allows users to socialize and share content.