September 18, 2011, 11:10 am

ArtInfo reports that artist Pippin Barr created an 8-bit video game to simulate the experience of sitting with Marina Abramovic at MoMA, which was available in real-life in Fall 2010.  The game includes waiting in line and paying museum admission.

Players are confronted with a long queue of 8-bit people replicating the hours-long lines Marina commanded at the museum for the chance to sit with her. Starting at the back and following as other people take their turns, it could take hours of passive monitoring to make it to Marina – if you miss moving up in line, another non-player character will cut you, and you’ll have to wait longer. Barr wrote that at last play-through, it took him five hours to reach the game’s end. The reward is sitting and staring at a Marina Abramovic sprite.

Maybe simulation is a strong word – Abramovic’s famed exhibit of herself provides a background to explore frustration and waiting.  Fun!