Spooky. Hypnotic. Lush. Witty. Sublime. The extraordinary films of San Francisco-based artist Bill Domonkos call up a descriptive vocabulary that never seems to capture the fluidity, the aesthetic metamorphoses, of the director's vision.
- Michael Hardy, Boston Globe -
I'm happy to have a collection of animated GIF's available on the MEURAL DIGITAL CANVASS.
Meural Digital Canvass Collection
Behind the Scenes with Bill Domonkos: The artist talks about his ideal work setting, experimentation, Christian Marclay & more
My presence has replaced my message
My sweat has replaced my head, 2016
Performance: Ana Borralho & João Galante
Humain Trop Humain - Montpellier, France | December 7-9, 2016
Video/GIFs/Projection: Bill Domonkos
ALLEZ MOURIR PLUS LOIN
A short film by Bill Domonkos that uses manipulated archive film footage and animation. Featuring the music of Paul Mercer.
LIMBO is an ambient video of 20 animated death/life masks
from the Laurence Hutton Collection of Life and Death Masks.
This video loop is designed for exhibition on a wall mounted
digital display or projection.
Watch LIMBO
Artist Statement
Iview my work as a collision and recombination of ideas. My process unfolds gradually and spontaneously—using found materials such as archive film footage, photographs, and the internet. I experiment by combining, altering, editing and reassembling using digital technology, special effects and animation to create a new kind of experience. I am interested in the poetics of time and space—to renew and transform materials, experiences and ideas. The extraordinary thing about cinema is its ability to suggest the ineffable—it is this elusive, dreamlike quality that informs my work."
- Bill Domonkos
A physics based puzzle game by Bill Domonkos with 90 progressively challenging levels.
In search of the sublime, Mr. Fireman spends most of his time conducting radical experiments of self-obliteration, an ecstatic process in which he puts himself into a hypnotic trance, mentally deleting parts of his body.
A short film by Bill Domonkos featuring music by Hugo Carvalhais. Inspired by Philip K. Dick’s "VALIS".
Recent Exhibits & Press
MYSTIC DETECTIVES - The influences and echoes of Surrealism in contemporary art
Oct 16 - Dec 2, 2018 | Samek Art Museum | Campus Gallery
STOP AND GO - The Art of Animated GIFs
June 14 - August 19, 2018 | International Centre of Graphic Arts
Lubljiana, Slovenia
Liminal Ethereal Space | Austin, TX
May 9, 2018 - Experimental Response Cinema
Foster/ Dixon/ Domonkos Experimental Films at The Museum of Human Achievment in Austin, TX.
(un)Common | 92Y Art Center, NYC
January 11 - February 19, 2018
(un)Common showcases art that remixes, reimagines and references work from the public domain (or “the commons”)
DIE NACHT. EVERTHING BUT SLEEP
Museum for Communication Berlin
September 30, 2017 - February 18, 2018 - Featuring animations by Bill Domonkos in the night-time Carousel of Thoughts
FILE SÃO PAULO 2017: Bubbling Universes
International Electronic Language Festival
July 18th - September 3rd, 2017 - Featuring Fig, 370 & Ornithologist by Bill Domonkos
ALLEZ MOURIR PLUS LOIN
Performance: Ana Borralho & João Galante
Humain Trop Humain - Montpellier, France | December 7-9, 2016
Video/GIFs/Projection: Bill Domonkos
Photos of the performance →
18 Surreal & Hypnotic GIFs To Get Lost In
BuzzFeed: San Francisco visual artist and filmmaker Bill Domonkos takes vintage photos and film and transforms them into surreally bizarre GIFs.
FESTIVAL VERÃO AZUL - Lagos, Algarve
Shorts Program - LARS Gallery | November 6, 2016
The Mysterious Videos of Bill Domonkos
Moving Image Archive News | August 8, 2016
The Surreal, Hypnotic GIF Art Of Bill Domonkos
Buzzworthy | August 19, 2016
Frame by Frame by Wheeler Winston Dixon | July 14, 2016
Bill Domonkos and The Archive of Dreams
COLOSSAL Magazine | June 1, 2016
Artist Bill Domonkos Remixes Archival Footage and Photos into Surreal Animations
WIRED Magazine | July 6, 2016
Weird, Creepy GIFs Take You Into the Twilight Zone.
PAGE Magazine | June 30, 2016
Faszinierende Gifs aus kostenlosen Public-Domain-Bildern
STOP AND GO - L’arte delle gif animate
smART - polo per l'arte | April 5th - July 22nd, 2016
Piazza Crati 6/7, Rome
Exhibition catalogue PDF →
Video projection loop preview →
Other Cinema: Haunted Screen - San Francisco
ATA Gallery, 992 Valencia (@ 21st) - May 16, 2015
On Digital Art with Bill Domonkos
IDOL Magazine, November 19, 2014
Polona/Blog - The National Library of Poland
Featuring GIF's by Bill Domonkos based on the Library's collection.
Futur antérieur - Le French May - Hong Kong
March 22, 2014 to July 05, 2014 - The intense fascination for the future revealed by certain past works by contemporary artists is inspired from the historical form of modernism.
Futur antérieur - Galerie du jour agnès b. – Paris
March 24, to May 26, 2012
A collection of 3D stereo images by Bill Domonkos that combine altered, archive stereograms and 3D computer graphics.
About
Bill Domonkos is a filmmaker, GIF maker and stereoscopist. His work combines computer animation, still photography, live footage and manipulated archive film footage. His work has been broadcast and shown internationally in cinemas, film festivals, galleries and museums.
Exhibitions PDFPress PDFPhotoArtist Statement PDF
A note about copyright: All of my films, images and gif animations use archive photos and film footage that are in the public domain. I only use music/sounds that are under the creative commons license or I purchase the rights to use a specific piece of music — or I have permission from the author.