CATS - Horses aren’t cats, sorry. 0/10
AESTHETIC - At first glance, one’s instinctual assessment might be of dismissive derision - it’s a low resolution gif, what can I say? Look closer, I suggest: There’s nothing the artist could have done with the resolution of the original gif, but the way the horses seamlessly appear out of the smoke cloud is wonderfully engaging, and their gaits are as beautiful as if they were galloping across a dusty plain! Magnificent! Striking! Awe-inspiring!
(Still though, pretty low-res, ugh.) - 5/10
TECHNIQUE - As described, the horses appear seamlessly from thin air as if they were there the whole time. I’m almost inclined to believe this gif hasn’t even been ‘doctored’ and the horses were trampolines from pixel one. M Night Shyamalan said it best when he revealed his shocking twist “I am a highly paid professional director”. Is he the author of this animated gif? Fuck, I don’t know! I’m not a research expert, I’m an art critic. But probably, yes - 10/10
THEMATIC - To answer this question, we must first ask of ourselves: “who rides horses?”
A: Cowboys.
Then we must ask of ourselves “where do cowboys roam?”
A: Same place the Buffaloes do: on the range.
“A range is a homograph, what else does it mean?”
A: An oven.
Now here’s where it gets tricky. If you’re a misogynist you’ve already assumed the theme of this gif is that women don’t belong on trampolines, they belong “on the range,” or “in the kitchen.” The mirror of society has been turned right back at you, reflecting your own inner sexist turmoil.The turmoil is calling from inside the house!
If, like me, you’re not a sexist, then you’ve already figured out that this gif has nothing to do with cowboys and everything to do with trampolines. That’s right you guessed it, it’s a commentary on how we view trampolines in modern gym culture. And a good one, I might add - 8/10
ORIGINALITY - 10/10
HUMOUR - 10/10
STYLE - It’s a classic absurd surrealist gif, 'and a good one, I might add,’ as I have been known to say. Ceci n'est pas une trampoline - 9/10
SCALE - The fact that the artist, clearly an expert in gif-making, was working with lower resolution actually increased the difficulty of this project, as the horses needed to look as though they belonged in this world of giant pixels and yoga mats. 9/10
TOTAL SCORE - 61/80