NES pad + anything = art

by Conrad Quilty-Harper { Jun 1st 2006 at 3:05PM }

Jonic over at Re:Retro provides some heated commentary on the latest example (pictured right) of the iconic NES pad being commandeered for use as art.

"That's right folks... To be considered an artist paying homage to the video games of days gone by all you have to do is glue a NES pad to absolutely anything you damn well please! I mean, some fucker will blog about it!"

I don't want to get into the whole "what is art?" debate on this humble blog post, but I agree that slapping a game controller on a traffic light button is stretching the definition a little. Still, that's not to say there aren't guides for turning the NES controller into something practical. In the past we've linked to how-tos for turning the NES controller into a laser mouse and a USB gamepad. There's also a guide for making a NES controller digital audio player which will add that little extra touch of nostalgia to your daily NES tune chillout session. That's if you're not busy performing music on your NES controller musical instrument. There's even a guide for turning the NES pad into a TV remote. That's the last NES pad mod we're gonna link to, we promise. OK, one more.

Tags: Art, NES, NES controller, NES pad, NesController, NesPad, Traffic light, TrafficLight

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Caleb @ Jun 1st 2006 3:15PM

In all reality, its one of the greatest controllers ever. Viva La OLD skewl.

Thomas Werewolf @ Jun 1st 2006 3:16PM

Now, if he just made the controller out of Legos, half the internet would be saying, "Man, I want to cross THAT street!"

Derbeste @ Jun 1st 2006 3:34PM

Personally, I think art has only 2 prerequisites:

1) It needs to portray a message from the artist.

2) There needs to be some sort of talent involved.

Number 2, of course, is the kicker. I just don't believe that you can stick a NES pad in a bucket of phisces and think you've created art.

It is NOT art because you got someone's attention.

It takes work, practice, and commitment to make art.

This is why I DO think games CAN be art.....but this isn't it.

Mike @ Jun 1st 2006 3:44PM

You dont need talent to be artisits. Their are million dollar paintings of nothing but paint splotches and lines which are considered "art" yet a pre-school child could paint a better picture.

Dylan @ Jun 1st 2006 3:47PM

I think portraying a message IS talent enough, if somehow almost every avarege guy walking by the button sees it and think "yeah, I totally know what he means!", then it would be art.

Jason @ Jun 1st 2006 3:48PM

If one person says something is art and at least one other person agrees -- then you have art. Doesn't need talent, a message or anything else. Totally subjective.

Derbeste @ Jun 1st 2006 3:48PM

*points to the words "Personally, I think" in my last post*

Art is obviously in the eye of the buyer. Isn't it?

You don't see me buying any of those paintings. Do you?

If you want my money, you need more than my attention. You need talent.

White Rose Duelist @ Jun 1st 2006 3:53PM

I have an NES pad that I consider art. It's connected to an NES.

PhoenixGeek @ Jun 1st 2006 3:56PM

Art is anything someone wants to call it anymore, I was recently in an Art Museum in St. Louis and on the 3rd floor they had a piece of wire on the wall in a seemingly random shape, it was in the same room as a blank canvas and a cube made of glass. There are people who don't consider any of these art but obviously there are others that do.

32_Footsteps @ Jun 1st 2006 4:01PM

Here's my question - why does it have to be art? Why not do something like this for sheer entertainment value?

Actually, worth noting that for all we know, that's the reason this was done in the first place. So rather than get caught up in what's art (which has been pointless since around 1920, thanks to Dada), let's just focus on fun.

futurebiblehero @ Jun 1st 2006 4:04PM

Am I the only one thinking this whole retro trend is really damned getting old? (No pun intended). I grew up on the NES, still collect NES games to this day and the invocation of an icon from my childhood for amusement's sake stopped working on me somewhere around when Hot Topic started selling shirts with the Konami code on them.

What once felt nostalgic and fun now just feels plundered and lazy.

futurebiblehero @ Jun 1st 2006 4:05PM

Getting really damned old, I mean.

It's 4PM and I've still had no caffeine. Go easy on me.

Dave Hoffman @ Jun 1st 2006 4:18PM

Art is anything you want it to be.

There is, however, good art and bad art. To me, good art doesn't require "talent" or even a direct intended message. Good art should inspire thought and spark the imagination of its audience.

It should make you think more than "Wow that's totally awesome looking, I bet it took a really really long time to do!"

So is this good art? Who cares? Maybe it will jostle someone's brain out of normality for a minute of their life.

benjamin @ Jun 1st 2006 4:21PM

First of all, throughout history artists have obliterated the quotidian in order to construct their own worlds, but their art enriches vision. One might argue the ineptitude of the artist yet to me futility and purposelessness are givens in life and do not diminish my appreciation.

The piece is a consumerist statement which, alone speaks as articulately as the TV shows encountered in channel-flipping, yet taken as a whole is a delightful alchemical transformation. Once an aesthetically vapid object, now an eccentric gesture of whimsy.

ChrisRX @ Jun 1st 2006 4:52PM

There's a constant 3 way race war into who can turn our town into the biggest craphole (and have succeded, Luton, UKs official crappest town)
So I actually wish something like this would happen in my town, the closest we get stuck to the road crossing buttons is chewing gum or a nice warm dog turd

Kamalot @ Jun 1st 2006 5:03PM

And the NES Bluetooth Controller Headset...

http://www.joystiq.com/2005/09/20/the-nes-controller-bluetooth-headset/

Which I made. ;-)

32_Footsteps @ Jun 1st 2006 6:09PM

See, now I have the following exchange in my head:

Artist: You see, my piece shows the inherent misogyny of the modern culture, as designated by the symbol of control over that culture transposed with the source of masculine power. Moreover, by the usage of artificial lighting effects, I demonstrate the inherent falsehood of such an arrangement, and thus modern society. It is the absent feminine that is the real source of power, which this picture clearly lacks and thus demonstrates the sterility of modern society.

Critic: Dude, it's a picture of an NES controller balanced on an erect penis, with a lens flare Photoshopped in.

Artist: Well, if you want to be technical about it...

idrinkjp74fun @ Jun 1st 2006 7:07PM

Another first-party NES controller destroyed and defiled.
Good job.

Raikage @ Jun 1st 2006 7:50PM

As long as it meant something to the artist...wouldn't it be art? I mean if I walked by that it would make me think a little and appreciate the good old days when their were pixels instead of polygons and gameplay ruled over all other catagories.
P.S. I want one of those NES belt buckles...

The Raikage

Joe @ Jun 1st 2006 7:51PM

"9.Why not do something like this for sheer entertainment value?
...
for all we know, that's the reason this was done in the first place."

I'm pretty sure it was a joke. I doubt this guy even had art on his mind at all.

The ZeroCorpse @ Jun 1st 2006 10:10PM

I've said this for a while now. This 8-bit nostalgia is not art. It's silly.

The same goes for all the love you guys give to the 8-bit cover bands. It's not talent. It's not art. It's a bunch of slacker Gen-Y kids playing tunes they heard a few thousand times from memory on real instruments. No creativity, no talent (aside from the skill to play at all) and no audience outside of other nostalgic Gen-Y kids.