Socialfeedia: Mesmerizing GIFs From Saatchi Gallery and Google+'s Motion Photography Prize

By Miabelle Bocicault | Feb 22, 2014 | 9:57 am | Permalink

London's very own Saatchi Gallery partnered up with Google+ to create a contest that caters to today's technology-loving generation. Now that Smartphones can share photos through every social networking medium, Google+ has added a new feature that allows users to turn still photographs into motion photography. Marrying the digital age with artistic creativity, Saatchi Gallery and Google+ launched the Motion Photography Prize. Beginning Feb. 5 and running until April 1, the competition consists of six different categories of GIF art that are announced on a weekly basis.

Winners of the Motion Photography Prize will be selected by a star-studded jury, including film director Baz Luhrmann and artists Shezad Dawood and Cindy Sherman, and will show their work in a special exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery. Grand prize winners will win a trip with the photographer of their choice.

Nigel Hurst, CEO of Saatchi Gallery, said of the competition:

The Gallery has been collaborating with Google since 2009 because our joint aims of bringing new art, culture, and information to the widest possible audience and making it accessible dovetail so well. Through the Motion Photography Prize ,we hope to engage a new generation of photography enthusiasts and enable them to use Google+'s state-of-the-art technology to realize their visual ideas. Some of the entries to date have been truly remarkable, and we look forward to hosting the exhibition of the finalists' motion photography at the Saatchi Gallery this April.

Check out some of the submissions below in Mesmerizing GIFs From Saatchi Gallery and Google+'s Motion Photography Prize.

Artist Abbie Hulson studied illustration at the University of Sunderland in the UK. She is a self-proclaimed 2D traditional animator/artist.

Based in Munich, Germany Andrea Peipe is devoted to digital photography and the possibilities of digital post-processing.

Visual artist Carlitos Zanahoria studied at Le Fresnoy National Studio of Contemporary Arts in France.

Artist Eka Sharashidze currently lives and works in Berlin, a city that inspires her style of photography.

Francesco Romoli is known for his use of mixed media images of photography and digital graphics.

Artist Gopakumar R is influenced by many different mediums, such as Conceptual art, Abstract art, Indian Tantrik Art, and African Textile design.

Former commercial photographer Heather Buckley enjoys experimenting with style and processing.

Artist Kitsune Kowai is located in Antwerp, Belgium. His pieces are available to purchase on the Saatchi Gallery website.

Located in England, Marie Francesca is a photography graduate, graphic designer, adventurer, and maker. Filmmaker and photographer Marius Krivičius is located in Vilnius, Lithuania.