Super Mario Cloudz (by Lee T)

Super Mario Cloudz is a lo-fi patchwork reworking of Cory Arcangel’s Super Mario Clouds sans computer/software/console. Arcangel’s Super Mario Clouds is a minimalist video work appropriating an already aged technology. Rather than use software or hardware to remix the original, my appropriation uses older, base technology. I’ve sewn a quilted (pixelated) background blue sky, clouds and use a fan for wind. Instead of digital animation or programming video game sprites, the clouds (which appear in the order of appearance, and size from the original piece) are animated using blued-out “unseen” stagehands, like the stage crew that move props between acts or bands during performances, or the invisible code that renders the action on a computer screen. The audio is a live recording of the sound in the studio during the filming mixed with a decayed, frayed loop that has been played back through a cheap amp and aimed at the camera’s microphone.

This video will be exhibited as part of Lost Levels v.2010 in conjunction with Meta Data Phile: The Collapse of Digital Information at the Begovich Gallery at California State University, Fullerton, curated by Jennifer Frias and Lilia Lamas, opening Aug 28, 2010.