To be fair to curators the world over, video games are (compared to paintings, sculptures, pottery, performance, photography, and even comics) a new medium. In the early 2000s, the pixelated aesthetic of games slowly infiltrated art galleries with artists like Cory Archangel modding NES cartridges into multimedia masterpieces. By the 2010s, art games struggling to get space in traditional venues spread online through digital storefronts and forums. Only recently have games in their true form – as things to be played – begun to find more predictable purchase in prestigious venues.
Helping to lead the charge is Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley. The artist is using video games in art galleries across the world to pursue ambitions worthy of such important venues. Through play, she forces hard conversations, archives too-often erased communities, and, to put it not so artistically, makes the world a bit less shitty.
What follows is a sprawling interview with Brathwaite-Shirley about her process and her work, ranging from online games like BlackTransArchive.com to gallery experiences that inspire difficult conversations about the most timely topics, from war to climate collapse.
Now, I’m keenly aware that talking about video games as art is a high-wire act amongst my fellow chronically online gamers. For that reason, I will need you to agree to the Terms of Service. By proceeding, you accept the risks that come with the consumption of conversations about art and games. They are listed as follows.
Section A: You may, in the early moments of this conversation, feel Skeptical. To talk about art is to talk about the new, and the new can be intimidating and even a little scary. The new is alien, and upon first contact, we’ve yet to form confident opinions on whatever it may be.
Life online has instilled us with terror at having wrong opinions. So, when coming in contact with the new, the human brain often, as a method of self-preservation, rejects the new when it contradicts or threatens established beliefs. It defaults to the proven and safe.
To process this interview, I strongly encourage you to proactively loosen your assumptions about art’s power or lack thereof. Within the safety of the conversation, lower your shields of skepticism. And open yourself, if only momentarily, to contradiction.
Section B: As the interview progresses, you may feel Discomfort – particularly if you identify as a white cisgender man. You will certainly feel uncomfortable with the episode if the mere use of the term “white cisgender man” triggers a renewed skepticism. For reference, see Section A.
Section C: Before the interview concludes, you may feel Vulnerable. Great art isn’t purely about craft. The craft is a means to an end. No, great art operates like a rope, connecting the viewer to the artist, other viewers, the community, the culture, and human history. That magnificent power of art often makes people feel vulnerable, which can manifest as Skepticism and Discomfort.
To best appreciate both art and conversations about art, embrace the vulnerability. As my guest, artist Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, would say: Enjoying this interview is a two-way relationship. If you don’t put the work into the conversation, you don’t get the reward. But if you do put the effort into it, friends, you will gain access to aforementioned riches.
These Terms of Service constitute a legally binding agreement made between an entity and the podcast. Post Games will provide one episode about video games as a progressive art form displayed in museums and digital venues, including but not limited to web browsers. Riches, as references in Terms, are limited to the metaphorical and spiritual planes. No monetary riches guaranteed.
Chris Plante is the host of Post Games. Imagine if NPR cared about games, and you get the gist. He previously co-founded Polygon. He currently hosts The Besties, one of the longest-running and most beloved gaming review podcasts.
Chris Plante
