When most advertising techniques, storefronts, and clothing are painstakingly predesigned to look grungy and half-destroyed to maintain their edge, it has to be acknowledged that consumerism has taken an odd turn. Brooklyn-based art duo Faile and their collaborator Bast aim to transport us back to the genuine roots of the Lower East Side in their newest exhibit, which is less minimalist paintings and cheap champagne, and more video games and energized entertainment. Back when the illusion of billboard graffiti wasn't premeditated by ad execs to channel youth, the Lower East Side lived and breathed by music, graffiti, DIY culture, and street art. Deluxx Fluxx is a reimagining of the classic video arcade, an entirely interactive exhibit that allows the audience to be fully engaged in the experience. Their aim is as humble as it is original; to draw the viewer in so fully that they will be too busy basking in their nostalgic gratification to remember they are at an art exhibit.
FREE and open to the public
Wednesday thru Sunday
3PM to Midnight
running through May 27th
FAILE x BAST Deluxx Fluxx Arcade
158 Allen Street
(next door to Reed Space)
NYC
photos courtesy of Perry Rubenstein Gallery and Deluxx Flux.