Chris Selig

Cory Arcangel is a computer artist whose work is concerned with technology's relationship to culture and the creative process. He is known for his use of physical computing, cartridge hacks, and game modifications. He also recycles and reworks old consoles such as the Commodore 64, Atari 800, and Nintendo. Cory is probably most famous for his Mario hacks such as Super Mario Clouds and Naptime. If you have a Nintendo emulator then you can run the roms of his work:

Super Mario Clouds
Mario Movie (Naptime)

One must understand that Cory Arcangel does not view his work as art, but rather as a form of rebellion and pranking. He hates programming and using his hands, but he likes changing and manipulating things that people think are important and will pay attention to. Cory describes his work as follows:

"This is hard to pin down. I really have no general interest: each project tends to be different, cause I like to tinker with stuff. Take it apart, put it back together again, etc, etc. The art part of it in many ways is a seperate interest. They collide, cause basically I want these things I make to in some way affect people. Therefore I can't just tinker, I have to tinker with something people care about." ~Cory Arcangel

Screenshot from Super Mario Clouds

I believe that video games, whether out of the box or modded into something completely different are a form of art. Super Mario Bros. is a piece of digital and technological art consisting of graphic art, programming, and computer technology. To me, how this comes together to form one of the most beloved and played games in history is amazing. It is art within itself. Cory Arcangel has merely taken it to another level of design. His work is art taken from art, which is what his work is all about and has had a major impact on how I approach the process of design for interactive multimedia.