Mario-me

Artist Statement

            I grew up playing the Nintendo games of Mario and Zelda. To this day, I can recognize the sounds, sights, and even the controls of those classics. I do, however, view video games in a different way today. Through this project, I attempted to reconcile both my childhood view of video games and my current view of this media. In the process, I also reconciled my childhood view of myself and my current view of myself.

            Much as in Jenkins’s How Texts Become Real, as a child, I viewed video games as something malleable and moldable that eventually became mine through use. I couldn’t consider myself to truly be in possession of Mario Kart until I knew where all of the secret passages were, which character I drove best with, and how to get a boost every time I accelerated from the starting line. In light of this, I decided to add the name “Seth” to the foot of Mario, much in the manner that Andy in the Toy Story franchise writes his name on the feet of his toys. This shows both in the films that the toys belong to Andy and is often used to remind the toys to whom and where they belong.

            As I’ve aged, I’ve played fewer and fewer video games, although the ones that I do play are much different. Beginning with Goldeneye, I played a number of games that put me in the feet of the main character. Games have become more story driven and more personal. I attempted to show this by putting my face in place of Mario’s. Through this process, I began to recognize how I identify myself with video games and gamers.

            As a child, I tended to view myself more as a character in the video games I would later play. Life was my adventure, and I knew that it had a happy ending. There were goals and accomplishments and I knew that sooner or later I would achieve the ultimate goal. Now, however, I identify more with the very early games, such as the early Mario games. I realize that more often than not, I feel as though I am chasing after something, despite the almost certain knowledge that I will never achieve it. Mario is constantly chasing after Peach and (in the earlier games), he never reaches her. Not only that, but she never even acknowledges him. I feel, in much the same way, that I constantly work towards things without any recognition or achievement. It was because of this that I chose Mario as my subject as opposed to Link or one of the other earlier video game characters. Perhaps there is a happy ending, but for the Marios of the world, we’re still waiting.