AS Long As Possible

AS Long As Possible (ASLAP) a 1000 year long animated GIF loop created by Juha van Ingen in collaboration with Janne Särkelä

ASLAP is presented as an installation in FISH Gallery Helsinki

The starting point in making AS Long As Possible was to make a one extremely long animated GIF loop. ASLAP is made of black frames with a white number indicating the frames position in the loop. There are 48 140 288 frames which change in c.a. 10 minute intervals making the total duration of the loop 1000 years.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a file format developed by CompuServe in 1987and come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability. GIF is still among the most popular image formats on the Internet.

The name of ASLAP is hommagé to John Cage composition ”ORGAN2/ASLSP” (1987) which is played with Halberstad organs for the next 625 years. The abbreviation of Cages composition included and instruction to the performer of the piece: As SLow aS Possible

However, if the piece was to be played as slow as possible the first note should be played for ever.

As humans capability to comprehend eternity is limited, it is easier understand the dimensions of a composition lasting hundreds of years than something playing for ever.

Also in AS Long As Possible the progress is made visible though viewing the whole piece is impossible.

In the first stage in 10.9.-20.9.2015 ASLAP is presented in an installation in FISH Gallery Helsinki

In the second stage in 2017, when GIF turns 30 and Finland celebrates its Centennial of independence, the ASLAP animation is started and the progress can be followed in real-time until year 3017 when the loop starts over.