GAME ART: LUCA MIRANDA’S GRAND THEFT SMILES (2020)
Luca Miranda's Grand Theft Smiles is currently on display in the context of the collective exhibition, installation view
curated by Alessandra Cecchini
March 1 - April 1 2024
Via S. Biagio Platani 7, 00133 Roma
With Grand Theft Smiles, Luca Miranda ventures into the depths of Grand Theft Auto V’s expansive virtual environment to critique the relentless pursuit of happiness and the paradoxes of our performance-driven society. This digital exploration, inspired by Byung-Chul Han’s philosophical inquiries in Burnout Society and Robert Frank’s seminal photographic project The Americans (1955-1957), stimulates a reflection on the emotional and psychological landscapes of our time.
The backdrop of this critique is a world inundated with messages encouraging positivity, wealth, and happiness. Such mandates are not merely modern phenomena but have roots extending back to the Enlightenment, as William Davies elaborates in The Happiness Industry (2016). However, the current era distinguishes itself through the mediasphere’s saturation with motivational dictums, urging an ethos of constant self-improvement and enjoyment. Yet, this incessant demand to “Enjoy!” as dissected by Slavoj Žižek, following Jacques Lacan, reveals a darker underbelly characterized by mental health issues like ADHD, depression, and anxiety—a distressing counter to the advertised utopia of wellness and positivity.
By navigating the virtual world of San Andreas, Miranda undertakes a photographic journey, akin to a digital ethnography, to document the expressions, attitudes, and demeanors of its inhabitants. The outcome is startling yet unsurprising: a populace marked by a profound sense of dissatisfaction and melancholy, challenging the preconceived notions of virtual escapism as a realm of unbridled joy. Through 200 meticulously captured screenshots, Grand Theft Smiles unveils the grim visages of San Andreas’s residents, embodying the disquietude pervading both the virtual and real worlds.
This artistic endeavor, through the lens of a video game, underscores the critique of society’s transition from a disciplinary to a performance model. Byung-Chul Han argues that we now live, or rather survive, in a performance-based society, incessantly demanded to exhibit and enhance our productivity and happiness. The video game medium, inherently based on performative acts, becomes an apt space for investigating the visual manifestations of societal pressures and their psychological repercussions.
Grand Theft Smiles not only interrogates the constructs of happiness and societal expectations but also prompts a reflection on the authenticity and sustainability of these imposed ideals. It posits that the relentless chase for positivity and performance may indeed be counterproductive, fostering a culture of dissatisfaction and burnout rather than genuine contentment. Through the digital microcosm of Grand Theft Auto V, the artwork offers a mirror to the contemporary human condition, questioning the real costs of our societal pursuit of happiness and success.
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