Daily Style Phile: Cory Arcangel, Art And Technology Combined

by Kirby Allison · June 2, 2011

    Brooklyn artist Cory Arcangel's new feature exhibit at  The Whitney opened last weekend.  Cory Arcangel: Pro Tools fuses art, technology, and culture using a variety of mediums like sculpture, drawing, video and photographs, to name a few.

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    Bio

    32 years old

    Brooklyn based artist

    Self proclaimed computer programmer, web designer and artist. He has made a name for himself doing video game ROM hacks.

    Best known for Super Mario Clouds v2k3 which debuted at The Whitney Biennial in 2004

    Cory Arcangel: Pro Tools is currently on exhibit at The Whitney through Sept. 11, 2011.

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    His Work

    Arcangel's best known works are hacked Nintendo game cartridges and reworkings of obsolete video games from the 80's and 90's. All of his works show the marriage of technology and art. Whether Seinfeld is playing on an old TV set or mechanical tables are twirling in unison, Arcangel has brought pop-culture and technology into the are world to comment on the social culture today.  With many exhibitions all over the globe, Arcangel is becoming a big name in the modern art world. He is likely to be around for a while considering his use of outdated technology-in some cases- makes work timeless.

    Super Mario Clouds v2k3

    What to Expect at the Whitney

    Stepping off the elevator into the Cory Archangel: Pro Tools exhibit was what I can only imagine a  bad acid trip is like. With 4 different large projectors showing images from different bowling video games, the noises they have and some other tech soundtrack blaring my eyes and ears were immediately assaulted.

    I was drawn to the silent pieces, mechanical spinning side tables, some mechanically shaped steel and a Photoshop gradient display that consisted of several rainbow colored prints. If you know what you are getting yourslf into (a lot of video and sound instalation) then it isn't as shocking when you first see the exhibit. But, I will warn you, if you have any history of seizures this exhibit is not for you. All of the sounds colors, pictures and video is a small attack on your senses. Don't say you weren't warned.

    Other than the potential for an epileptic fit, it is very interesting to see this artists' take on technology and how it comments on our society.

    His work, which also includes performances and video installations, is about technology as an extension of the human body—but also as a power that has limits. At the Whitney, highlights include a projection-video bowling alley, made with backgrounds from bowling video games, as well as a golf game that invites viewer participation. No need to bring your own clubs. Says the critics at Time Out New York

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