For their eight year anniversary, Gallery 1988 is honoring their favorite works with "Memes," an art exhibition opening today which features over 100 artists devoting artworks to the internet phenomenons that made them LOL, ROLF or LMFAO.
Why memes? The phrase "I can has cheezburger" should need no explanation at this point in our history; bizarre images of cats have taken over the web. The magic of the meme, a nugget of internet comic glory that is mimicked and adapted ad infinitum for all the internet to share, presents us with a bevy of ether-dwelling creatures that adapt and evolve to suit our weird desires.
While they may not be the most high-brow relics of contemporary culture, memes are fascinating, and because of their powerful imagery and impact on the collective consciousness, they have recently started to receive recognition as an art form. First a video from PBS declared memes the most democratic art forms unto history. (The video, then, too, went viral.) And now Gallery 1988 is out to show that just because memes are not serious does not mean we shouldn't take their powers seriously!
The show features all your favorote memes, including Shit Girls Say, Sad Keanu, Star Wars Kid, Hipster Ariel and of course, LOL Cats. (We are partial to Caturday Night Fever for obvious reasons.)
"Memes" will show from May 4 to May 26 at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles.
Check out the slideshow below and test your meme-ory. Then let us know, what is your favorite meme?
