Critical Thinking On Review Of Cory Arcangel

Cory Archangel is a creative artist who gets artistic inspirations from unusual objects ranging from bestseller music albums, YouTube video clippings to Photoshop gradients, and unlikely machines like outdated pen plotters and decrepit turntables. Appropriation is the strategy this young and promising artist uses to explore the prevailing trend of cultural or intellectual production and utilization in a world driven by overuse of technology and media. Cory is also the first among the current artists obsessed with digital hacking to enter the world of art. Cory is practically dissolving the boundaries between different art forms to prove that functioning digitally is an ordinary process to do extraordinary art forms. Cory’s creativity merges traditional arts and paintings that mainly rely on oil and pastoral landscapes with an ultra modern internet savvy art form synergizing Photoshop, digital images and the computer screen.
In all fields of science, particularly the field of computers and information technology, new technologies and applications periodically replace the older ones thus making the older generation naïve in handling the new applications. More often, the successive generations never have a chance of witnessing and evaluating an older practice or technology which is no more in use. Cory’s strategy of using the obsolete games and systems for the new art form to give new application to the erstwhile technologies inspires one to think about finding new applications for outdated technologies in many fields of science and technology, besides introducing them to the new generations. Similarly, his methodology of manipulating and modifying programs to replace or delete unwanted graphics and effects enables anyone to have a customized video game with moderate background effects or movie with audio of his or her choice. Thus, one can incorporate his culture into the video games or other interactive videos taking inspiration from Cory. In Cory’s views, the new form of art by manipulating and modifying does not require a genius but the challenge is making it appear simple to the user, is a message to the creative and inventive fraternity that taking technologies to the common man is the real issue one has to address while promoting them.
Cory’s exhibition showing a series of bowling games in which his hacking permits only the gutter balls to roll by points out how foolish and time wasting video games are to the younger generation. Video games mostly target the attention of youngsters before stealing away their time by giving a persistent obsession toward the game. Cory’s hacking technique to manipulate the video games tends to reduce the attraction in playing, and exposes the young users to another creative possibility of the video games. Revealing the hacking code would motivate the youngsters to try their hands in modifying and manipulating the games instead of wasting their time playing the games for long hours. Even manufacturers may adopt a strategy of disclosing limited hacking codes to the users so as to reduce the detrimental effects of playing video games.
Real inventors of computer applications and video games do not reap the benefits of their creativity and invention due to the obvious nature of the digital industry. The fast changing trend and preference of the audience promoted by the industry known for unlimited possibilities and innovations makes technologies and novelty obsolete swiftly. Blending outdated technology with the modern one by creative minds, like that of Cory’s, would thus benefit the inventors and motivate youngsters to explore new avenues in the burgeoning digital field.

Sources

Heilmann, Mary. "Art Cory Arcangel." Interview. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. <http://www. interviewmagazine.com/art/cory-arcangel/#_>.
Scott, Andrea K. "Futurism Cory Arcangel Plays around with Technology." The New Yorker. 30 May 2011. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. <http://www.newyorker.com /magazine/2011/05/30/futurism/>.