Educated in music, media art, and experimental film, Arcangel heavily focuses on the idea of play. He also uses his are to play with themes of the obsoleteness/change of technology as time progresses. In this interview by Nowness, Arcangel says he likes to pull things out of digital culture and “take them to a space where people can reconsider them.” He also does what “hasn’t been done before because it’s so stupid that no one would have been willing to take the time.” Which I thought were good points that summed up his work.
This photoshop series he made was extremely simple and he even gave the instructions for recreating it in the title itself. It is very straightforward, and almost (as Arcangel says himself) “simple and pointless.” I think it’s very pleasing to look at, and the simplicity is nice to appreciate, though I definitely think it’s less geared toward thinking about meaning and more toward the process of making it.
This piece is one of many Arcangel made using the screens and fast food monitor/display devices. He seemingly uses random images and creates a “lake” rippling effect on the bottom fourth of the screen. I think it’s an interesting repurpose of the screens and the technology for the screens, though I do feel it is a bit bland the more I look at them (as in: I think they’re pretty neat but I wouldn’t go to a museum or similar place just to look at these).
“Isn’t it the whole job of art to let new things in the door?” Cory Arcangel has a store called “Arcangel Surfware Flagship” that is both a gallery and a shop. The website is pretty vague on what exactly the store is about, but it seems almost like an interactive exhibit mixed with a gift shop. It’s a totally different space than anything I’ve seen, especially with the capitalistic nature of America, so I thought it at least interesting as a concept.