in general i think if you like weird computer games it's worth trying to follow up on the sources they draw from.. i don't like a lot of those surreal game icebergs bc they always suggest that if you like 'yume nikki' then the only way to explore that is by getting ever deeper into "esoteric" channer art which is mostly as deep as a puddle and has the same sensibility as an editorial in the atlantic once you get the trappings off. i've never seen one of those things where the lower levels are like "gertrude stein" "weird roadside attractions" "get really into basquiat" to name three among an infinity of options etc
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in reply to @thecatamites's post:
in reply to @thecatamites's post:
With the pretense that this is said from a fundamentally United States centric point of view;
I do wonder if the lack of exploration in the genre is done a disservice by how it's initially presented. If you were to Google "surrealist artists" the first results would likely be Dali and Magritte. Many pre college institutions won't teach the life and times of those two, leaving only the intrepid to try and plumb the depths. From there, it's easy to imagine young students finding one (or both) of those artists' politics offensively objectionable. Thus, not digging deeper and ending up with this very shallow view of surrealism.
This is a very highschool level scenario but, to be rude about it, a lot of gamers and game developers pivoted to tech rather than arts and still operate on that highschool level understanding.
An unexamined assumption sealed the doorway to history shut for so long that the vines growing on its calcified surface were treated as the furthest one could dig.
yeah, it's not a moral failing or anything to not want to dig deeper into a near century old art cult that could be very offputting and whose materials remain very scattered. i've just thought about writing about it even from my very limited knowledge just because i think a lot of what's there would be interesting to people - dream spaces, new forms of practice, odd twists of sensibility, etc
Oh yeah, I don't think it's a failing on any level other than like "art education could be better".
And for what it's worth, your writing has given me names I want to explore more as well!
weird roadside attractions
I've always appreciated that the first Sam & Max was just this for nearly its entire runtime. Although I would argue it had more to do with exotica and Gen-X detachment from Americana than surrealism.
"esoteric" channer art which is mostly as deep as a puddle and has the same sensibility as an editorial in the atlantic once you get the trappings off
This line is a banger.
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