Artwork Description: 8/4 was a micro art and sound series founded by Chiaki Watanabe and The Tank NYC in 2004 that presented multi-disciplinary audiovisual live performances, art exhibitions and related events. "8" stands for 8-bit, lo-fi, micro music arts and "4" stands for four seasons. 8/4 was formed to celebrate, explore and promote 8-bit style art and music throughout the year. The lo-fi art style “8-bit” derives its name from the early 8-bit computer programs used to create this form of electronic music and art. The 8-bit art is an aesthetic to create nostalgic and futuristic visual and aural landscapes. Merging new and vintage technology with the aesthetic allows artists and musicians to create a hybrid and new form of electronic art.

The video piece on display here is a recording and document of one of the live performances in the 8/4 series. This performance featured video by Chiaki Watanabe and Giles Hendrix, along with music by Bit Shifter.

Artist Bio: Chiaki Watanabe is a media artist based in New York. With minimalist and abstract aesthetics, she works in multiple forms including video, motion graphics, installation and live video performance. Sound, form, color and movement are her primary sources of creative inspiration.

Her works have been presented internationally in various venues ranging from media art and video festivals such as the New York Video Festival, Microcinema International, European Media Art ... More >>

Artist Statement: Every attempt to create the ultimate in innovative gameplay ended in a complicated mess of rules and controls. Finally I stopped running, stood still and realized that even the simplest of things can be the most beautiful of things. Thus my tribute to the simplest games that I know: the abstract shoot-em-up.

Artist Bio: Jonathan Mak is tired. Prior to being tired, he made a game called Everyday Shooter which won some awards at the Independent Games Festival. Before that he made a bunch of games nobody's ever heard of. Sometimes people ask him to speak at the Game Developers Conference. One of these talks ended with the room being filled with balloons. Now, Jonathan feels that people will never ask him to speak at GDC again.

Artwork Description: These animations are two works by Michael Miles from AMODA's Digital Showcase archives. These pieces perfectly capture the lo-fi aesthetic of retro video games in their colors and highly pixelated art style. However, the game worlds that they conjure are entirely unlike any commercially released game. One of the pieces portrays a surreal interpretation of the Salem Witch Trials, while the other follows the wanderings of a muppet-like creature as it experiences a series of bizarre events.

Artist Bio: Although Michael Miles went to high school in the turn-of-the-millennium greater Houston area, it was not until he moved to Illinois to attend the Art Institute of Chicago that he became fascinated with and a participant in contemporary youth culture. This has translated to warehouse parties, spinning dance music at venues around the Windy City and appearing on a video compilation alongside Paperrad. His video work takes scenes of rebellion from history and re-imagines them as... More >>

Artwork Description: FSKN continues Nullpointer's exploration of game mods/hacks. In this version a multiplayer video game 'deathmatch' is presented sequentially from each players perspective recording. The hacked graphics engine re-interprets the recorded narrative of the online match. Using a static script of events FSKN duplicates the players actions in an abstract architectural space, full of trails and glitches. FSKN toys with the idea of a videogame 'attract mode', reusing the terminology but divorcing it from the actual act of game playing to create a painterly documentary of a networked deathmatch.

Artist Bio: Tom Betts work focuses on both a formalistic deconstruction of digital forms as well as an approach to developing new methods of interaction and critique. He has produced numerous software artworks over the past several years including modifications and hacks of video game engines in order to create abstract architectural spaces. He has also produced experimental electronic music under the alias Vendor Refill, and helped create the generative internet radio website "rand()%".... More >>

Artwork Description: The four Paul Robertson pieces being shown tonight are titled "Devil Eyes", "The Magic Touch", "Pirate Baby's Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006", and "Kings of Power 4 Billion %". All of these pieces are elaborate animations that emulate the art style of retro video games. And two of them look like actual recordings of someone playing through a vintage, side-scrolling fighting game. However, while they perfectly capture the look and feel of these early games, there are a number of highly surreal elements in each of the animations. They seamlessly combine extreme violence, ultimate cuteness, bizarre pop-culture references, and intense meditations on mortality.

Artist Bio: Paul Robertson is based in Melbourne, Australia and graduated from RMIT's Media Arts in 2002. He has worked for several computer game companies and animated a several short films, video clips and TV commercials. He is inspired mostly by video games, and Japanese animation.

Artwork Description: Cyporn is a subversive set of 5 animated "pixel porn" scenes inspired by the avatars of the Korean social network called Cyworld. This kitsch parody aims to criticize the "cult of cute" and point out the paradoxical sexual behaviors of the South Koreans in a country where the sex industry is unacknowledged. Cyporn is, in fact, the exact opposite of what you can see on the Cyworld portal, where 90% of 24 to 29-year olds have an account. It is "sexplicit" and dirty.

First showcased in the "Gamerz" exhibition in France, Cyporn was displayed on GameBoy micro, with a scenography that recalls love hotels. Cyporn is also the second part of a triptych about "playful voyeurism" that offers a quick and surprising experience to the viewers.

Artist Bio: Pierrick Thébault is a French interactive designer and a journalist for Amusement Magazine. He blogs about the convergence of art and media and is interested in video game development. Pierrick is the founder of the llllllllllllllll (L16) Collective and is inspired by his stay in Asia to create interactive installations involving dolls, user generated content, and imagery from Kawaii.

Artwork Description: We are excited to have Paris in Austin for a live video performance featuring his unique tools and aesthetic. He will be performing live video that was specifically created to accompany tonight's performances by Nullsleep and Bit Shifter.

Artist Bio: Paris Treantafeles comes from a background of music and mathematics. He has worked as a musician, recording engineer, computer programmer and video artist. He lives in New York and performs regularly as a video artist. He uses handheld game console systems such as the Gameboy Advance to create visuals for his live performances.

Artwork Description: On display tonight are three videos created by Wyld File for Beck's "Hell Yes" release in 2005. This EP featured 8-bit style remixes of Beck songs. Therefore, these videos include many references to the visual aesthetic and culture of video games.

Artist Bio: Wyld File is an American Multi Media team specializing in the production of music videos for interweb, DVD-ROMs and televisions. This team includes the talents of Paper Rad, E*Rock, and Cory Arcangel, all three of whom are well-known media artists in their own right.

They first worked together on a video for Beck's "Gameboy Homeboy" remixes, and this is when the concepts of Faxelism and "Dogman 99" were born. Dogman 99 is a loosely based value system consisting ... More >>

Born Richard Alexander Caraballo in New York City, minusbaby is a musician, designer and photographer. Focusing primarily on software-based composition, minusbaby uses lo-fi electronic synthesis to create polyphonic, rhythm-driven electronic music. Loudly.

Since 1999, he has come to prominence in the chip music scene, with a foundation in New York City and the 8bitpeoples, of which he is a longtime member. minusbaby has performed extensively, having been featured in London's DMZ Media... More >>