artist quatre

domestic

Mary Flanagan is a New Media Artist that uses the media of video games to explore a deeper and more personal investigation of the world and of the self. Unlike some of the other artists I've written about, Flanagan is not trying to critique the abundance of violence in games, but rather, twist the "game for artistic purposes". Her piece, domestic, almost mirrors a popular game called "Unreal Tournament", except that instead of having the main point be shooting, the game focuses on the player's past and psychological development. According to the article, she wanted to prove that video games are just designed for hell bent little boys, but for everyone, no matter what their appearance may be. I just think it is interesting that she changed the overall intent of the game from physical to psychological violence. True, today's society lack of shock over violence is scary, but I think psychological is far more powerful and dangerous. You never know what you can uncover when you dig deeper into the mind...