A Meme Art Show? Translating a Digital Form to I.R.L.
It’s Saturday night at Chewing Foil, an interdisciplinary art space in Koreatown, Los Angeles. There’s a sense that something new is happening, but no one is sure what to make of it yet.
It’s a meme art show — and believe it or not, it’s not the first.
There have been others, like Bottom Text in Atlanta, which evolved into a weekly online show for Adult Swim, and at least one other in New York. It is also not the first in Los Angeles, but unlike prior shows in Southern California this D.I.Y. event grew from organic relationships between the artists and their respective fanbases, without a brand partnership in sight. Fans are excited to meet the creators whose work they’ve been liking and sharing, but even the organizers don’t know what to expect.
The spirit of the night was captured in a piece by Bay Area memer and math tutor alt.vista, 24, a print on metal reflecting the anticipation of being featured in a real-life gallery space. It reads, “Wow, never thought I’d have the opportunity to work on a physical piece. Can you believe it? Me, alt.vista, skewing text on a metal print I ordered at a modest price a few weeks out from the show […] Oh god oh god don’t fuck this up.”
The artist, an admittedly “terrible” drawer, who gets his inspiration from Windows 95 and early Internet…