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11/26/2006 Archived Entry: "level_13 Game Art (of the wall hanging kind)"

Recently, Alterd Esthetics in Minneapolis, MN, US, held their level_13: bonus round exhibition of artwork inspired by games and game culture. A bit of a different angle on video game art.

From Alex Paik: "It’s tough to really take an artistic stance when the radical ideas of Dada are employed by companies to sell more burgers (see: Burger King’s 'Wake up to the King' ad series) and when the proud traditions of Abstract Expressionism can be bought in watered-down, mass-produced form at Ikea (I think I even saw Laurie from Trading Spaces make a fake Hans Hoffman to match her room). The idea of a sincere statement seems completely foreign to someone like me who grew up watching cartoons that were filled with irony and shows like Pee Wee’s Playhouse which seemed to revel in their absurdity. Being brought up in this sort of environment made it difficult to me to answer questions like "Is this work ironic or isn’t it?" from older critics. My answer always was: 'It’s both… I guess.'"