The Widget Art Gallery (WAG) was created in 2009 by Rome-based new media artist Chiara Passa as a space to show art without any logistical restrictions: any time, anywhere, and for free. All you need to enter the virtual room is a mobile device and an internet connection—so you’re out of excuses not to visit. And due to the personal nature of our handheld devices, …
Anybody who has used a computer has surely experienced those programmed messages and icons that occasionally pop up on screens—from “Do you want to quit?” to “Something’s not right” and the Chrome browser’s dinosaur that appears when an internet connection fails. The typical response is to brush it off and move on—but for others, it’s a moment that stirs up something buried underneath. By stripping …
Of all the good things the internet has brought us—increased connectivity, the ability to look up anything anywhere, music streaming, weird animal videos and so on and so on forever—perhaps one of the most universally appreciated is GIFs. Starting out as little more than quirky animations (flames that moved; website titles that spun around), when the internet was in its nascent stages, GIFs have evolved …
