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It's a lofty concept to grapple with, but imagine if our ancestors had the Internet at their disposal while exploring the once-wild American frontier. That's what artist Shawn Huckins wondered, and instead of blogging about it, he put brush to canvas.
The American __tier rather brilliantly parodies the way we communicate by juxtaposing "Internet speak" with old Americana paintings. "The physical act of typing very fast on small devices has undeniably impacted spelling, grammar, and punctuation, encouraging a degree of illiteracy that has become the new social norm," Huckins says. "These additions do not signify the death of the English language, but rather as a growing and evolving method of communication which changes as does our world," he continues.
Visually, the portfolio is fantastic. It's current and approachable. Like the Doge meme, the painted phrases make sense with what's underneath. They're also vague enough to distance themselves as separate entities, like a status update or a tweet, bits of unrelated phrases that, when put together, shape and mold the zeitgeist. If anything, Huckins has taken the virality of what could've been done in Photoshop, and complicated it by physically painting the meme-like works.
We've only got one thing to say: #luvit.
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