You’ll most likely be familiar with the work of Scorpion Dagger even if you don’t know his name. That’s how art works in the 21st-century: it’s seen as a common currency that gets passed from hand to hand and that, surprisingly, doesn’t bear a face on any front. Bands that choose names that are impossible to find on the Internet, artists that hide their identity and that turn to several pseudonyms… The newer generations seem to have lost interest in signing their art pieces. Or, at least, a great part of the members of the newer generations.
SCORPION DAGGER, THE GIF TURNED INTO ART
Whoever says that animated gifs have not too long ago been considered an art form, it’s because they don’t know the work of Scorpion Dagger. Which would be highly unlikely because if you’ve been on any social media site you’ll surely have seen his work, at least once or twice. We talk to him about the Renaissance, comedy and art in the 21st-century.
Another great example of this would be the meme and gif culture. It’s likely that, in the last 24 hours of your life, you’ll have been (gladly) exposed to many more memes and gifs than works of art. And still, do you know their creators? You may or may not know them but what’s undeniable is that, in recent times, talking about gifs as an art form is talking about art in general. The eloquence and command of creative tools (animation, collage, etc.) needed to make a gif stand-out above others is almost more savage than the urgency of a painter wanting to stand out more than another one they share walls with at an art gallery.
This is the context in which Scorpion Dagger has grown up, an artist that likes to merge pictorial images from the Renaissance with a sense of humour that is halfway between Monthy Python and Beavis & Butthead. His world moves at the rhythm of a stimulating soundtrack that is full of rock classics, and some of his characters have begun to become their own entity and even have personal accounts on Instagram. It’s not surprising then that Scorpion Dagger is collaborating with us at Sivasdescalzo. And it’s not surprising then that we’ve wanted to interview him to get to know him in depth.
You’ve just collaborated with us, why did you think we chose you and how has it been working together?
I have no idea why you chose me (laughs). I’d like to think that the people who like my work see themselves in the weirdness that I animate. I hope that the work is relatable to people, and the viewer and I can share what is being depicted.
What drew me to this collaboration was that you asked me to put in an office setting, which is something I’m very familiar with having had a few office jobs in the past. So, it was easy to visualize the work right from the start.
Do you remember the first gif you made? Why did you feel the need to do it and what was your reaction to it?
The first one I made was in 2011, of two guys in a cart being pulled by a dog that farts on them. I had it up on YouTube for a while but took it down after realizing how annoying it is to keep hitting play on a 2-second video. I probably should’ve looped it or something. A friend who I shared it with was the one who convinced me to export it as a gif and start the Tumblr. I was just beginning to learn how to animate and was always starting these really large, ambitious videos without finishing any of them. I don’t remember why I made this animation, but I do remember the feeling I had when I realized that I don’t have to make long videos, and how fun it was to just make short clips. It was a game-changer for me.
Do you even identify yourself as a gif artist?
Sort of. I’ve only recently become comfortable with calling myself an artist. I don’t know… I feel like an imposter in a lot of ways. All I’m really doing is having fun with my work. I try for it to be as real as an expression of who I am as possible, and not worry too much about trends or styles or likes or shares or whatever. It constantly blows me away that people dig it.
Which has been your happiest moment since you started doing collages in motion and gifs?
Definitely the genuine friendships I’ve made over the years through sharing these things.
Any sad moment or dark side of the gif art world?
There have been a few times where people have taken the work and dropped their watermarks over them trying to pawn them off as their own.
You usually merge Renaissance with comedy. Why do you like that mix so much and why do you think it doesn’t seem to wear out?
I just really love the paintings. I’m constantly learning about them, their meanings, and about the artists who painted them. Without sounding too corny, but I see it as taking little elements from one, mixing them with another one to create something new, while still trying to recognize the heritage. In a sense, it’s as if I’m mixing all of that cultural DNA and making bastard children out of them.
The work of Terry Gilliam in Monty Python came to my mind the exact first time I saw your work. Is he a reference for your work? What are your main influences?
It’s hard to deny that his work wasn’t an influence. It definitely wasn’t intentional, but I did watch a ton of Monty Python growing up. His animations were some of my favourite parts. I guess my main influences are from ‘90s skateboarding, and the ‘80s punk and hardcore scenes. It’s what I grew up with, and largely what I was first doing creatively.
Who exactly is Darryl?
Darryl is a friend of mine who lives in Naz two thousand or so years ago. He somehow has connected to social media through some weird trans-dimensional rift and is sharing his teenage life with everyone. I don’t know too much else about him except that his band is getting really good!
Music is pretty important in your creations and in Darryl’s world, too. How is the process of choosing the perfect song for a piece of work?
It’s usually something I hear while making the work. I like to listen to music on shuffle, so I never know where the song is going to come from. It’s right when the mood and/or rhythm hits perfectly with what I’m trying to make, so I then try and shape the two together.
You’re creating a whole universe around Darryl with its own imagery, stories and music. What’s gonna happen in this world for the next years?
Hard to say. You’d have to ask him.
How do you see fashion in this world of yours?
Like the music, fashion helps set a mood/rhythm that I feel is an essential part of the ideas I’m trying to convey.