The Graphics Interchange Format (better known by its acronym GIF is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability. Now, we have the most expensive GIF of all time, since a digital image of Koons’ iconic Balloon Dog by artist Michael Green found its place on eBay with “Buy It Now” price of $5,800. The starting bid for the self-recycling image – “Balloon Dog Deflated” is $2,000. “Balloon Dog Deflated” was conceptually crafted with the same principles of the original; the digital sculpture itself was downloaded legally through a CC license, Modeled by Bassam Kurdali and Commissioned by Rob Myers, then processed through the 3D animation program Maya, for treatment of the textures, and the deflation of the balloon.
Like Koons, Michael Green was the CEO of the project, overlooking every detail without ever actually having to create the 3D sculpture, or write code to produce the animation. The deflation itself is a statement where it is once again time to destroy the values of the tradition of modern art and for our culture to evolve to the logical next step, the digital medium. The GIF itself is a popular format that mainstream culture has embraced throughout webpages all over the internet, and is seen daily by millions of people worldwide.
If you ask why the price for this GIF is $5,800, the answer is because Jeff Koons sold his original “Balloon Dogs” through a physical auction for a record $58 million dollars.
