I’m still finding myself in the liminal state between the end of my MA and the beginning of my PHD. The defense date for my MA thesis has finally been determined (Sept 23rd), where I’ll return to Toronto, defend and then come back to Montreal. While I’m prepping for my defense (rereading my thesis a couple of times a week, going over my literature, etc), I’m also prepping for my first year of course work at the PhD Level.

I’ve finally figured out my course work for the year, which has been challenging due to being a student in the INDI program. Without any required courses or parent discipline, I often found myself unable to register for certain courses because of the fact that several were mandatory for other programs. Thankfully though, that it done, and I find myself with two games studies courses, a course on media history and historiography, and a directed reading on psychogeography and peripatetics in literature. I’m excited for the year for several reasons, one of which has to be the fact that even though my MA was technically focused on game studies, that I have not taken a single course on the subject. The media history course is exciting due to my MA thesis work in alternate historical narratives centred on digital gaming platforms. Finally this directed reading will start my research into the historical traditions of psychogeographical practices in literature, which is part of the foundation I need to move forward with my PhD research linking these practices with those found in digital games.

Meeting with Andre Furlani, the English professor I’ll be doing my directed reading with, was a great experience. We discussed what I knew about psychogeographic literature, how I thought of its relationships with games, and my specific interest in its intersection with digital architectures and ludic cartography. It was one of those meetings where we were both so energized by the conversation, that we (at least I) didn’t really want it to end.

With the usual beginning of the year tasks out of the way, I’ve turned my attention to something to settling into the city, getting out and exploring, and visiting as many galleries as I can. One of the most exciting exhibitions I discovered was a Cory Arcangel retrospective currently on display at DHC ART in old Montreal. The show spans the work from his career, from video pieces, game hacks, sculpture, image, etc. Having a particular preoccupation with game art, I was eager to see what the exhibition had on offer.

The exhibition featured Arcangel’s ROMhack of the Nintendo game Hogan’s Alley, now called I Shot Andy Warhol. Displayed on an original NES with the Zapper (lightgun) accessory, gallery visitors could play the game on an old CRT television. In this game you must “Shoot Only Andys” and not the other pop culture icons that Arcangel has included in the game: The Pope, Colonel Sanders, and Public Enemy’s Flava Flav. It’s a fun, cheeky piece about celebrity culture and worship. Compounded by the fact that the piece is off in it’s own small space, feeling like a secluded confessional box.

Self Playing N64: NBA Courtside 2, is an interesting piece that combines automation, games and failure in an interesting way. Using a custom circuit board to modify a Nintendo 64 controller, Arcangel created a system for automated gameplay, removing the player from the equation. This modified system plays the game NBA Courtside 2‘s free throw mini game, featuring Shaquile O’Neil attempting to land a shot in the basket. However instead of creating a form of automation that would see successive shots landed, the system was designed to ensure a missed shot every time. The mini game is looped on itself, with the sounds of a basketball hitting the floor rhythmically, filling the room in the gallery. The idea of the automating failure is a common theme in Arcangel’s work, as he tends to create works which often bend and break the digital media that he is using in his artwork. Here’s a 7sec video I took of the piece (7sec is like Vine, but with a whole extra second of footage!)

The final game related work that was on display at the exhibition was Super Mario Clouds, which is, perhaps, Arcangel’s most famous work. A ROMhack of the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES, SMClouds removes all elements from the game, except for the clouds in the game, which then languidly move across the screen. By subtracting all of the other elements, SMClouds poses interesting questions on the nature of the medium of games and states of play. The game is no longer played but it rather played back, much more like a film or video. It highlights the underlying structures of ludic conditions within a game by removing them outright. While the piece itself is still one of my favourites, I have to say that I am disappointed by the installation at DHC. I have seen images of other SMClouds installations, and the DHC install seems, underwhelming by comparison.

Here is an image of the piece being shown at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York:

And here are photos I snapped of the installation at DHC:

While I feel like I understand what curator John Zeppetelli was trying to accomplish here, I feel that it lacks any real aesthetic that does justice to this piece. I get that placing it above the line of sight of visitors that the install asks us to look skyward, much like we would do if looking at real clouds. However, I look at this and can’t help but think of televisions installed in classrooms, large hulking beasts bolted to the walls for so-called security. I feel like it distracts from the piece, rather than highlighting it.

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Other than gallery hopping (this week I plan on going to the Contemporary Art Museum, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture), I’m reading Peter’s Ackroyd’s London Under, a fascinating recantation of the city that exists under the city. I’ve also begun getting back into creative production. Working on a new maquette for a large scale sculpture project which relates to the creation side of my dissertation work, as well as getting back into some digital manipulations such as game circuit bending and cartridge pulling. Here’s a sample of what my bending endeavours have gleaned so far.

Otherwise, excited and raring to go for coursework, and getting back into the swing of things, academically speaking.