The Game: The Game by Angela Washko

Origi­nal post can be found here

The Game: The Game is a video game presen­ting the prac­ti­ces of seve­ral promi­nent seduc­tion coaches (aka pick-up artists) through the format of a dating simu­la­tor. In the game these pick-up gurus attempt to seduce the player using their signa­ture tech­ni­ques taken verba­tim from their instruc­ti­o­nal books and video mate­ri­als. Pitting players up against six promi­nent seduc­tion coaches who are vying for your atten­tion at a bar, the game provi­des the oppor­tu­nity for players to explore the comple­xity of the cons­truc­tion of social beha­vi­ors around dating as well as the expe­ri­ence of being a femme-presen­ting indi­vi­dual navi­ga­ting this compli­ca­ted terrain. It is accom­pa­nied by a musi­cal score thought­fully compo­sed by Xiu Xiu.

*The work was suppor­ted in part by funding from the College of Fine Arts Faculty Fund for Rese­arch and Crea­ti­vity and a Frank-Ratchye Fund for Art at the Fron­tier Grant.

PRESS RELE­ASE FOR SOLO SHOW AT THE MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE: 

Compo­sed enti­rely of scena­rios, tech­ni­ques, and language from texts and instruc­ti­o­nal videos crea­ted by these seduc­tion coaches, The Game: The Game flips the script on the itera­tive proces­ses of some of the world’s most promi­nent pick-up artists. If their tech­ni­ques are syste­ma­ti­cally mani­pu­la­tive, The Game: The Game allows you to tacti­cally explore, expose, and defuse them. But it also makes you compli­cit in their frequently dehu­ma­ni­zing beha­vior: refu­sing their advan­ces results in a brief game. Only by acti­vely consen­ting to parti­ci­pate in your suitor’s methods—w­hich can range from cheesy to violent—­will you be able to more fully unders­tand them. The game is at turns funny and alar­ming, an expe­ri­ence heigh­te­ned by a diso­ri­en­ting origi­nal score from Xiu Xiu. The Game: The Game is the product of seve­ral years of rese­arch by artist Angela Washko in the pick-up artist (PUA) commu­nity. Sorting through this often trou­bling mate­rial, she rejects the pola­ri­zing language that frequently surrounds PUAs, offe­ring a nuan­ced view of power and desire in the complex world of contem­po­rary sex and dating by giving players the oppor­tu­nity to expe­ri­ence these systems first­hand. -Jason Eppink, Cura­tor of Digi­tal Media at the Museum of the Moving Image

Exhi­bi­tion and Insta­lla­tion Views

Game­play Stills

Exhi­bi­tion Cata­log

Seve­red Women As Objects