Videogame Art's Evolution from Gallery Outsider to Critical Medium

The art world’s embrace of video games has transformed since Cory Arcangel's Super Mario Clouds graced the cover of Artforum in March 2009. Arcangel's 2002 piece reinterpreted Super Mario Brothers, while Myfanwy Ashmore's Super Mario Trilogy (2000–04) offered an existential perspective by eliminating power-ups. More recently, Gabriel Massan's Third World: The Bottom Dimension (2023) was showcased at the Serpentine, featuring a character named Funfun and drawing inspiration from dystopian narratives like Annihilation (2018). This work utilizes a 'play-to-earn' system for NFT creation on the Tezos blockchain. Bianca Bosker's book, Get in the Picture, critiques gatekeeping in the art scene. Additionally, alternative venues and festivals have elevated video game art, culminating in institutional acknowledgment, such as the Victoria & Albert Museum's exhibition in 2018.