It's pretty amazing to me to be able to think of how GIFs have exploded in recent years, because it wasn't too long ago where they were relegated to being weird flame animations on people's MySpace pages that I found to be annoying as hell (I didn't even know what to call those at time, and the various articles helped me understand that's what GIFs were in their relative infancy). But they are important to my generation, as are most forms of communication that we are responsible for creating. They can be used to emphasize or surmise an entire point into one, simple visual cue. It's very common to see someone tweet "When you see two friends argue on the timeline" and attach this GIF to it.
GIFs work because of how hypnotizing they can be. When utilized properly, they trim any and all fat of a moment and instead merely show exactly what the audience wants to see. They appeal to our inherent laziness by automatically reloading without relying on a cue from the user, so we can pay attention to detail uninterrupted. And they serve any and all purposes. Humor, artistry, sports, and (because it's the internet) porn, amongst countless others.
Now, does that make them "art"? I suppose so, since defining art is famously difficult to pinpoint. Do I think people should be paying thousands of dollars for a GIF to display in a museum? No, because I think GIFs were invented with the purpose of ready availability to any and all who want to see them (And have easily placed watermarks for those who want their work acknowledged). But it does speak to just how much Tumblr in particular helped this form of communication reach insanely hot levels figuratively overnight. And it shows that anything that is condensed down to its quickest, purest form will always have a place in hearts worldwide.
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