A Modern Totem

I saw this striking image from boing boing of what I consider a modern totem or tiki statue. A group of Dutch artists carved a tree trunk into the shape of a full-sized stand-up arcade video game.

It’s an interesting work on a number of levels, but this medium and style of video game is slowly going away. The iconic image of this style of arcade game seems dated in the world of personal video game systems, hand held gaming and the internet. I suppose there are still arcades, but this style of game system belongs, like the Jedi Knights, to an older more civilized time. Like the 80’s.

Perhaps someday people will puzzle on the meaning of this totem and it will be as unrecognizable as the fallen Moai of Rapa Nui or Easter Island. If video killed the radio star, who killed the arcade game?