Archive: Issue No. 102, February 2006

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Art Toys R Us
by Carine Zaayman

http://www.zefrank.com

Online artist (or is that gag-artist?) Ze Frank's website http://www.zefrank.com is a delight for the web-weary surfer, who has seen just too many bad Photoshop image jokes. Frank has created a rich repository of his online work on his personal website, for which he received the much coveted Webby award (www.webbyawards.com). Perhaps his popularity and success could be explained by the fact that his website greets you with the line 'many have come, but I like you the best'. Or maybe it is rather the wry and witty take on social life both on- and offline that is so appealing.

On the site, you can find what Frank calls 'educational videos'. In these videos Frank provides us with some creative responses to frustrating social situations, like dancing in public, dealing with clients, and dating. In this respect, Ze Frank's work immediately evokes some of the more banal interactions we have on the web, especially the notoriously weak genre of the 'personal website', advice columns, and pictures or videos of people's pets. (I must mention, however, that in the latter category, those inclined towards seeing pictures of people's animals online should definitely visit www.mycathatesyou.com for a new take on the subject).

Apart from the videos, on Frank's website one can also find what he calls 'Art Toys', such as the 'drawtoy' and the 'collage maker'. These Art Toys are online applications that invite the users to interact with the website and produce images and texts of their own, which are subsequently published on his site. I was particularly drawn to the drawtoy, which allows one to, in the software style of Photoshop, make drawings on the screen. What makes this interesting, however, is the fact that the brushes are not designed to imitate real life media, but rather consist of small, animated elements. The result is a fun, vibrant and distinctly non-Photoshop, in a way that can only be realised on the web.

There are also less ambitious projects, a highlight of which for me is the Trees project, where we are told that 'art is like green trees'. Frank further has a number of satirical texts on the site, such as the 'analysis' page, in which he advises people on ways to play tricks on their analysts. Then, there are games, short animations, and a host of charming pages to view and interact with - and even buy the t-shirt. Ultimately, in this site, one is spoilt for choice of playful artworks, which are all in some way refreshing variations of the more common and suspect material usually found on the web.

Ze Frank's works turn many of the genres and conventions associated with digital media on their heads. He engages with and subverts our common expectations of digital media, and in this way, reveals to us how limited our conception of the possibilities of these media are. And, of course, most of all, it is really amusing seeing his take on uncomfortable social interactions, and other less-than-glamorous situations. One comes away from Ze Frank's work not feeling like an unaffected observer, but with a sense of having interacted with a vibrant and energetic personality through well-conceived works. This is quite remarkable, as the material is accessed through what many consider to be an alienating device - a personal computer.

For those lucky enough to be attending the Ninth Design Indaba in February (Cape Town), Ze Frank will be delivering a presentation on his work, which should be well worth attending.
 


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