Game Art: Stephen Surlin's "War, Depression, Suicide: A Collection of Studio Works" (2011)
"War, Depression, Suicide" is a collection of studio works created by multi-disciplinary artist Stephen Surlin at University of Windsor. As Surlin writes, "The works deal with an exploration of the themes of violence, especially as it is seen in war and internal violence that for many turns into a kind of self inflicted violence, the most extreme being suicide (particularly in the way it is so connected with the arts and artists)."
Of particular interest is Surlin's work on game culture:
"Another theme is the gender and sexuality that creates complex systems of meaning. The "girls" and gun phenomenon has greatly increased through video games with sexualized female characters like "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and viral media like YouTube, where one can find thousands of videos of women shooting guns for primarily male consumption. Though, one of the most violent aspects of this online presence is the highly aggressive and objectifying language that can be found in the comments section beneath the videos. This is what inspired the title's of the paintings." (Stephen Surlin)
Moreover, Surlin investigates the relationship between passivity and interactivity, ideology and simulation in his fascinating installation "Wargames"
"The interactive installation "War Games" is meant to bring the viewer into the often passive viewing experience of war media. The theme of the apache helicopter is strong throughout because of two main connections. The recent popularity of WikiLeaks and the leaked helicopter footage mirrors the kinds of language and attitudes found in playing video games, especially ones that feature "Middle Eastern" conflicts like "Desert Strike: Return To The Gulf" for the Sega Genesis. The Sega controller is attached to an Arduino that controls a Max/MSP/Jitter patch on a laptop. The arrow keys act as fast forward and reverse and the "A, B, C" buttons change to a random clip from a collection of reapropriated and manipulated material from the internet." (Stephen Surlin)
Link: Stephen Surlin
Submitted by Matteo Bittanti