Marina Abramovic Exhibit, 'The Artist Is Present,' Gets A Video Game

From the man who brought us "Safety Instructions" and "Let There Be Smite!" now comes "The Artist Is Present," the latest in experimental video gameism.

"The Artist Is Present" imitates the experience of the 2010 MoMA exhibit of the same name, the one where you had to squeeze through naked people to get to the artist, Marina Abramovic, sitting in a chair for hours on end so you could sit opposite her and stare.

It's not a game in the truest sense of the word, considering it's surprisingly realistic and not a lot of fun. The maker of the game, Pippin Barr from Copenhagen, had this to say on his blog:

Critically, these alternate games seem like they're not going to be fun. And it's all very well to talk about how games don't have to be fun, they can be "interesting" or "challenging" or "disturbing" and so on. This is true, but it's also true that basically nobody's going to play those games except the brave vanguard. The question then becomes whether the vanguard can convince anyone else to play them too.

So this game isn't just about art. It is art! Before we get too meta, we'll just offer a word of caution: Lines are not shorter, or faster, in alternate video game land (we learned the hard way). Be prepared to gaze at Matisse's "Dance (I)" while you wait.

Click to play.