Politics can be a touchy subject, especially when it comes to the frighteningly outdated comments about immigration of Presidential hopeful, Donald Trump. Rather than getting angry, artist James Kerr decided to use his work to let the absurdity speak for itself.
Otherwise known as Scorpion Dagger (the name of his hugely popular Tumblr page), Kerr primarily creates hilarious GIFs from Northern Renaissance Paintings. These are not your standard two second moving image; Kerr collages the renaissance paintings to a surprising and humorous effect that combines the sacred and the profane.
The GIFs range in tone from absurd to topical, from a Jesus in a bathrobe getting into a front lawn argument with the big man, to a bunch of Renaissance bros kicking back with a few beers at a house party. Some of the best GIFs are those that display modern topics in the context of centuries old works, like spilling coffee on your shirt, accidentally stumbling onto internet porn at work, or farting in the bathtub.
“If you look at these paintings completely out of context, alot of times you will say what the hell is going on,” says Kerr of his source material, “Have fun with it, imagine that Da Vinci was into sasquatches.”
It may not be the most high-brow stuff, but its hard to watch these and not laugh. While you’re sitting around at your parent’s house for the holidays, definitely scroll through the Scorpion Dagger’s Tumblr to see the rest of his work. While you’re at it, buy someone his book, Do You Like Relaxing, on limited edition release from Anteism.
All GIFs and Images © James Kerr (Scorpion Dagger).
Like this article? Check out the hilarious and satirical animated paintings of New York-based artist, Federico Solomi, or other artists that fuse comedy and social commentary with their artwork.
