Since 2012, James Kerr has garnered more than 51,500 Instagram followers with his GIF-making abilities as Scorpion Dagger. | Photo: Nicolas Denicourt
A GIF — graphics interchange format — is a computer file format for that compresses and stores visual digital information. It’s also an image or video stored in this format.
Kerr’s GIFs are somewhat like an animated, alternative version of the 2006 movie Night at the Museum, where museum figures came to life after hours. “I want to take the characters on these canvases and explore their world off the canvas ¾ where they go after the museum closes, where they go hang out,” Kerr says.
The figures in Kerr’s GIFs derive mainly from European art from the 14th to 17th centuries. “It’s bridging the time difference by introducing the characters to new technologies and seeing how they react to it,” he says.
What started off as a side project has developed into Kerr’s career. The popularity of his animations has attracted companies such as Gucci, Adult Swim, Amstel and Old Spice. They commission Kerr to create animated advertisements for their products.
“I mainly make money through the commercial work, but it’s all in the style of Scorpion Dagger. Agencies who hire me are looking for the style,” he says.
In 2016, he was asked to contribute animations to Jim Jarmusch’s documentary film Gimme Danger, about the notorious, Iggy Pop-led American punk rock band The Stooges.
Concordia’s influence
Kerr’s time at Concordia proved valuable. As a student, he studied political science and history. “I fell in love with learning at Concordia. I felt really inspired by my professors,” he says. “I just think it’s such a great space.”
Although it may seem like an unlikely trajectory from the social sciences to animation, there were several moments at Concordia that foreshadowed Kerr’s future. “I took an art history course and that’s when I fell in love with Renaissance paintings,” he says.
Also, Kerr was able to meet people at the university who introduced him to the creative world. “All my friends were creative arts or fine arts students. We started an art collective and I started doing collage art and exhibiting. We even owned a gallery at one point on St. Laurent [Blvd.],” he says.
Morning Joe, 2017 by James Kerr