Rare Pepe, Or Why Post Internet Art Is Stupid – by Ryder Ripps.

15oz, 18kt yellow gold, 6.7mm X 5mm X 2.3mm.

Ryder Ripps has rendered one of the most popular internet memes, Pepe The Frog, in 18kt solid gold – effectively creating the rarest Pepe in the world. Pepe the frog is a ubiquitous meme that started in 2005 and has been seen on everywhere from Miley Cyrus’s feed to your mom's. The meme’s irony is that one digital image can be “rarer” than another, which is also its punchline. This subject of rarifying digital artifact is a hot topic today in the creating of internet and new media art. How does one commodify the popularity of digital ephemera? This is the question Ryder Ripps is commenting on. Rare Pepe will be on display at Postmasters Gallery, NYC from January 30th - March 12, 2016.