Cory Arcangel, Super Mario Clouds, 2002

Narrator: Have you ever played a video game? What about Super Mario Brothers? If so, did it look like this? Probably not! For one thing, there's no Mario in this version. No coins, no bricks. And no SOUND. What else is missing?

To make this installation, Cory Arcangel hacked into the version of Super Mario Brothers he played when he was a kid and took out everything except the background. Now, just the pixilated clouds scroll across, slowly, quietly.

If you were to hack into this—or your favorite video game—what would you take out? The heroes? The prizes? The challenges?

How much could you take out and still recognize the original game?

Look at the rest of the installation. See the tangled cords. The projections, and the video screens. It’s all on display as part of the artwork.