REIFF/KORSMO PWN KOLIN!1 (aka v.gnome)

February 19, 2005 1:49 AM

There's Someone at the Door, He Says He's From the Future. "Two men spend two years making a random 18-year-old gamer the subject of their art project, in which he is informed he is the savior of the future human race." Hoax as art. [via snarkout sideout, a bit more, previously noted here :]
posted by kliuless (22 comments total)

Seems stupid. They could have created something which explored the ideas without involving a deluded teenager. What about involving the audience in the unreal situation?

It seems like they're using the fact that they set all this up to add a false weight to their work - the ideas don't seem that original.
posted by lunkfish at 4:14 AM on February 19, 2005

FYI, the pertinent entry is by "DYLAN REIFF AND JOE KORSMO" about 4/5 the way down the page.
posted by armage at 4:47 AM on February 19, 2005

It's a virtual who's who of interesting freaks. Some of these installations and happenings sound like very cool things. Others, well, not so cool. But the glass is half-full, so thanks a bunch, klieuless.
posted by squirrel at 5:33 AM on February 19, 2005

I think the original link was much more interesting, but to find out that it was a couple of artists who picked the guy at random... cool.
posted by graventy at 6:14 AM on February 19, 2005

I think people get turned off cause its featured in a high-art instituion and are weary of the implications surrounding that ( real or imagined). However, if you met the guys who did this and they told you the story, showed pics of it, all that, you'd have thought it was brilliant.Because it is brilliant and hilarious.
posted by Luke Pski at 7:13 AM on February 19, 2005

Where is the link to the forum where the kid posted the scans of the book, y'know, the one that got 40K hits?
posted by fixedgear at 7:37 AM on February 19, 2005

Scans of the book
Part 2
posted by Zed_Lopez at 8:22 AM on February 19, 2005

fixedgear, it was on the Something Awful forums.

Here's VG's posts, in the archives (archives access required):

"There's someone at the door for you, he says he's from the future." [pics] (38,898 thread views)
Help me solve a puzzle from the future. (347 thread views)
How I saved the world from Armageddon: Stalker from the Future Part II (19,438 thread views)
posted by mrbill at 8:27 AM on February 19, 2005

They could have created something which explored the ideas without involving a deluded teenager.

It doesn't look as if the teenager ever got deluded - he seemed to take it as a joke/game from the start, and apparently had a great time "saving the future". He was a gamer, after all - he enjoyed the game.
posted by mdn at 8:48 AM on February 19, 2005

This is absolutely brilliant. Especially the Robocop 3 references.
posted by cmonkey at 9:01 AM on February 19, 2005

I would have enjoyed this much more if the guys who did it never told anyone about it, and it was all told from the perspective of their target. It's still interesting, though.
posted by buriednexttoyou at 9:06 AM on February 19, 2005

That's probably the coolest thing that's ever going to happen to that kid.
posted by fshgrl at 9:09 AM on February 19, 2005

The book is sort of crappy though; instead of commiting to the premise ( a book made by guys from the future) the guys made a little crappy sketchbook like every artschool freshman's. I understand the humor of the whole thing, but the ironic tone of the book detracts from the real humor.
posted by Luke Pski at 9:58 AM on February 19, 2005

i remember seeing the book a while back and wondering, "what does secret of mana have to do with the future?" i mean, it's my favorite game of all time, but still.
posted by Igor XA at 10:39 AM on February 19, 2005

Whether it's art is irrelevant when something as cool as this occurs. p.s. - notice that by trying to define either "art" or "cool" you'll run into the same problem.
posted by Vallenwood at 11:05 AM on February 19, 2005

All I can say is What the Fuck.

My friend IM's me right after i start looking at all this, I find out that not only does he know this kid, but that Kolin and I have many common acquaintances. I recognize the people in books. Im thoroughly freaked out.
posted by Kifer85 at 12:06 PM on February 19, 2005

Also, here is a current SA thread where VG (Kolin) will be posting pictures from the exhibition of the "project" that he's the subject of.
posted by mrbill at 5:26 PM on February 19, 2005

jesus, I should have figured someone from Antioch was involved! As somenoe who practically grew up in Yellow Springs, Ohio now finding out it was a student there behind it, after reading Kolin's website some time ago.
posted by Dome-O-Rama at 6:01 PM on February 19, 2005

Seems like something I've spent my life trying to do in smaller ways. Break through and take the joke to another level. It's outrageous, to be sure. Admirable, indeed. But it could have gone wrong in many ways, and so therefore it deserves a good stern Marge grumble. Some here have already done the honors.
posted by squirrel at 10:26 PM on February 19, 2005

This is good art. Enjoyable for the artist, the art, and the audience.
posted by CaptMcalister at 3:35 AM on February 20, 2005

Haha, holy shit! I grew up around Joe Korsmo, and I must say, I am not at all surprised.
posted by samh23 at 8:31 PM on February 21, 2005

And here's another followup from the SA Forums:

Saving the Future Part 2.5: "The End Day" (with video)
posted by mrbill at 8:34 PM on February 21, 2005