Join us on Thursday, November 16, at 7:00 pm, for a screening of twohundredfiftysixcolors, with director Eric Fleischauer in attendance. Fleischauer, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Film, Video, New Media and Animation at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, will introduce the film and answer questions following the screening. The film will feature live improvised musical accompaniment by Skidmore Professor Adam Tinkle.

twohundredfiftysixcolors is an experimental feature length film made entirely of animated .gifs that traces the file format’s arc of increased complexity and pointed use since it was introduced in 1987. Crafted from over 3,000 animated GIFs, twohundredfiftysixcolors is an expansive and revealing portrait of what has become a zeitgeist medium. Once used primarily as an Internet page signpost, the file type has evolved into a nimble and ubiquitous tool for pop-cultural memes, self-expression, and artistic gestures. The film is a curated archive that functions as a historical document charting the GIF’s evolution, its connections to early cinema, and its contemporary cultural and aesthetic possibilities. Our screening will feature live improvised musical accompaniment by Skidmore Professor Adam Tinkle. This event is part of Whole Grain, our new experimental film and video series.

twohundredfiftysixcolors (Eric Fleischauer & Jason Lazarus, 2013, 97 min., digital)

About Whole Grain

The Tang Teaching Museum’s new series Whole Grain explores classic and contemporary work in experimental film and video. Our series of six programs this fall features programs highlighting found-footage pioneer Bruce Conner (October 7), contemporary digital animation (October 26November 28), short films in the Cubist film tradition (November 4), Maya Deren’s experimental documentary on Haitian Vodou (November 11), a feature-length exploration of the animated .gif (November 16), and the campy world of brothers George and Mike Kuchar (December 2).

Whole Grain is programmed by Museum Store and Publications Manager Sean Fuller and Educator for College and Public Programs Tom Yoshikami. All events are free and open to the public.