From the title you can understand that this was originally an Andy Warhol peice, originally an Campbell Soup product. This animation is it's attack move.
You two are right: the flashing was intended to be similar to an in-game effect (like when an enemy dies). It also helps the animation loop without it looking choppy or incoherent.
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Weekly Challenge: A Real Work of Art
Amazing! Lovely job, very interesting animation.