Tijuana-based artist Simon Pecco's .gif art will blow your mind based on the visual component alone, but his work is more than just interesting imagery. Outside Mexico some of the political context is lost, but inside the country, Pecco's art provided a vital and viral digital resistance to the recent National elections. This shareable art is both transient and permanent, both reflective of the fast-moving Mexican counter-culture and helping to define it. Interview by Steven Rodriguez, a pocho cyber punk living in L.A. working with social practice art, anarchist-organizing, new media art and some occasional writing. Translation by Alma Soto.
Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you started making .gifs?
Making .gifs is mostly fun. The beginning for me was a product of boredom from a vacation period around 2007 and other moments of procrastination. . . just to entertain myself for a moment and to share them in chats with people in other places. . . I have saved the first .gif that I uploaded on the internet. . . haha
It’s about these two fools fighting. . . it was funny. . . I made it on an applet to animate stickfigures, it’s very stupid haha...
By doing those kinds of things, without much concrete reasoning, I explored more and more tools to create animated chaos. . . I like to create fictitious function for imaginary software, check out my tumblr, it’s a recap of a timeline of what I do sometimes.
How much of your .gifs come out of your political concerns and what do you see as the political life of a .gif?
I have no eloquent or correct response, haha the political life of a .gif?
These are some reminders of what happened in my life and of those that surround me...
I did not burn down the Peña sign / I applaud the person who did. That’s more or less an invitation. Fuck the law! Those kinds of heroes are needed so that people can become aware that they need to get with it.
What role does the internet play in the emerging Tijuana music scene your graphics are a part of?
Well, you have to move through the internet because it’s what’s most effective and inexpensive, no? Besides, it’s cool because we’re all addicted. . . I see it as a platform where the exchange of ideas takes place – matrix shit, the fountain and deposit of info0101010.
What software do you use?
Depends on what I’m going to make, to export on .gif format, I always use photoshop, powerpoint, excel, youtube, windows. . . whatever works is good, the point is to make it work. . . as much as I can put in the computer as long as it doesn’t jam. . . jejeje
What are your favorite blogs, artists, music, etc?
This blog is getting good: http://sinonda.tv
Cool music: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y749Hixl2aw
Inspiring art: http://hankrhon.tumblr.com
etc: https://youtube.com/watch?v=hs4aZj7zzY0
Where can we find the best tacos in Tijuana?
Haha I don’t know. . . if you’re really hungry, any tacos will taste like heaven. . . once I tried some birria tacos in downtown that were fucking awesome but they got rid of them because they were street vendors, also they had some “de vapor” in the park downtown. ..
There’s also those called “los xolotacos” in honor of the xoloitzcuintles of Tijuana, “ERREBE LES XEELEEESS!!” They say they are “next level shit.”
What are you currently working on?
I am doing some collabs with los macuanos, also with rap/rap/rap. . . I hope to do some more collabs when I get more pro hardware, I want to do something with Siete Catorce, Dani Shivers, los LOWERS, and homies that do other cool things.
Mostly videos but I’d like to so some visual shows accompanied by my “homies’” musical projects.
