Apr 1, 2008
Despite having a tiny space compared to the number of people standing outside, Swiss Institute pulled off a fairly quiet and unique anti-Armory type show on the 28th of March. Going along with the theme of the evening, I thought it would be unfair to use a flash if the artists themselves weren’t allowed natural or electric light. Turns out I should have allowed for a slightly longer exposure. Whoops.
Also in one of the more poorly-played moments of the evening, I excused myself from a conversation with an artist exhibiting that night to return a missed call from a potential employer. Of course, as soon as I called I was told that I had misread the recent calls screen on my phone; I was the one who had accidentally dialed said potential employer from my pocket in the first place. Between the embarrassing phone call and the conversation unfortunately cut short, I don’t think I’ve failed so hard in recent memory. Double whoops.
The rest of the very few pictures I took at the Dark Fair that night are here.
And some pictures from The Armory Show that afternoon are here.
Mar 28, 2008
Paul Robertson, the mind and hand behind “Pirate Baby’s Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006″ (caution: long load time), has returned with his latest film short and, as I had hoped, it is just as gloriously unhinged as his previous foray into 8-bit retro animation.
As with last time, “Kings of Power 4 Billion %” features side-scrolling graphics reminiscent of Double Dragon. This time, though, the adrenaline shot of cartoon violence comes loaded with even heavier anime undertones. On just one viewing its hard not to see a connection to the slipstream narrative style of Satoshi Kon, the pseudo-religious themes of Evangelion, and pretty much every gratuitous up-skirt shot from any Japanese animation ever made.
Robertson seems to be coming from the same space as other new media artists like Cory Arcangel, riffing on both the history of games and pop culture in a broader sense. Robertson, however, has a far more entertaining low-brow take on the subject. I think it explains why I like him so much more, and also why he isn’t getting featured at the MoMA or the Whitney while Arcangel is.
In case it wasn’t readily apparent, the video contains extreme cartoon violence, mild sexual innuendo, and a bizarre melange of obscure pop culture references. As such it should be considered Not Safe For Work, Not Safe For Kids, and Not Safe For Anyone Raised Before 1975.
I’m sure there will be Youtube videos popping up very shortly with “Kings of Power 4 Billion %” but for now I’d rather just link straight to Robertson’s website here where you can download the high quality version from either bittorrent or a variety of mirrors.
(Photo Credit to Paul Robertson / probertson.livejournal.com)
