Keyboard Cat, Rebecca Black, Diet Coke and Mentos; we've all watched the viral videos. Capitalizing on that popularity is artist Stefan van Zoggel -- by simplifying a handful of the hilarious, embarrassing and often horrible memes from the world wide web, van Zoggel has turned used-to-be internet trash into artistic treasure.
Van Zoggel started a series of "Meme Movie Posters" by using the clips that entertain us most as inspiration for sophisticated, minimalistic posters. The posters could easily be mistaken for Saul Bass' work if you weren't one of the more than 3,900,000 views on "Two Girls, One Cup".
In an email conversation with The Huffington Post, van Zoggel said the minimalist aesthetic behind the posters was more compelling than a detailed account, using the example of "Fenton" where only the end of the leash and the leg of the running man is in view.
"It would be a challenge to use as little as possible to tell a story, distilling things as far back as possible," he said.
Van Zoggel is a London-based creative director and graphic designer. Though he is a full-time employee at populist creativity organization DLKW Lowe, he has his hands in a variety of projects including design company Ritson & van Zoggel with his pal Neil Ritson, and his own endeavors, like the meme posters.
So far, Zoggel has created 29 posters ranging from the G-rated "I Like Turtles" zombie kid to the graphic "The Angriest Guitar Player in the World," though he said his work is not finished.
"These are some personal favourites, some of the biggest ones, some of the most controversial ones, but this shouldn't be the end of the project," Zoggel said, adding that people are welcome to suggest memes by sending him a tweet. "It's fascinating how they become such a big hit in no-time."
