Video games invade the world of art: My New York column
New York magazine has just published an art column by me, in which I talk about the increasing use of old-school video games in today's art. I reference various pieces, ranging from hip-top tracks that sample gaming sounds to Lucky Wander Boy to Cory Arcangel, who hacked a Super Mario cartridge so that it would produce only a blue sky with an infinite parade of those hallucinogenic Nintendo clouds:
The piece — Super Mario Clouds — was part of this year’s Whitney Biennial, and when you look at it, you realize those early games were practically Impressionistic in their stripped-down beauty. Since they have no complex 3-D to hide behind, gazing at these images is like observing the internal life of a computer: You can peek through the screen and see the truly alien mind of the machine. Retro video games are what computers think about when we’re not around.
You can read the entire column online here for free!
Posted by Clive Thompson at July 12, 2004 06:51 PM
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My college computer professor was quite the philosopher and he claimed that advancement in technology and media created art out of the depricated/replaced.
For example, the bound book makes a scroll more like art. The electronic book makes the book more like art.
I believe the comparisons are endless - and your example of the retro game is certainly one.
Posted by: Jeff at July 13, 2004 2:49 PM
Excellent point! It's actually like Marshall McLuhan's point about how each new media is initially filled with the content of the old.
Posted by: Clive at July 13, 2004 11:06 PM
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My college computer professor was quite the philosopher and he claimed that advancement in technology and media created art out of the depricated/replaced.
For example, the bound book makes a scroll more like art. The electronic book makes the book more like art.
I believe the comparisons are endless - and your example of the retro game is certainly one.
Posted by: Jeff at July 13, 2004 2:49 PM
Excellent point! It's actually like Marshall McLuhan's point about how each new media is initially filled with the content of the old.
Posted by: Clive at July 13, 2004 11:06 PM