Last month it was comic books. This month it's video games. If you didn't know better, you'd think the recent programming at Altered Esthetics was dreamed up in a dorm room. But you do know better. Because you probably have already been to either "Lutefisk Sushi," the gallery's celebration of comic art (which closed two weeks ago), or the biannual "Level 13" show, a call for artists to riff on the imagery of old-school video games. Both are signature AE events that tend to find pathos and politics in schoolkid diversions. This fourth installment of "Level 13" has a twist: The art includes works inspired by outdated technology. And since the show originated in 2004, the gadgets from that first year might already qualify as hopelessly retro. So in addition to Pac-Man and Mario, you might catch some more recent dinosaurs: non-flat-screen TVs, a chunky first-gen iPod, MySpace. Techno-retro isn't just from the '80s anymore.
about the writer
Gregory J. Scott
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