This episode examines surrealism in the context of a discussion about the salient features of the Super Mario Brothers. They make a case for Mario's inclusion into a canon of art wider than "Video Game".
Super Mario Brothers — the world's greatest piece of surrealist art? Watch this.
3 comments:
That's an original notion and I found the video entertaining, but I think the link is superficial. Dadaism is not like nihilism, but was a genuine shunning of reality in rebellion against a society which had spawned an atrocious war. Surrealism grew on the roots of dadaism because people were intrigued by the quirks of the mind which had been exposed and sought genuine meaning in surprises created by surrealist artists. You couldn't have SuperMario Brothers without surrealism having led to an acceptance of strange juxtapositions but I would have said the purpose of surrealists is to maintain the conceit of being serious artists whereas the purpose of video games is to entertain with fun ideas. Both surrealist artists and video game creators intrigue their audiences with what is described in the video as non-sequiteurs, but with different aims. Although if you want to be cynical about it, both groups essentially have the same goal: to make money from their creations.
I forgot to say thank you, Henry, your posts are fascinating and always make one think.
I'm not really an art lover, but I do like the Salvador Dali painting with the melting clocks!
Thanks Henry.
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