Paper First Person Shooter Glasses

I thought this was at the same time amusing and thought provoking. These glasses were created by German performance artist Aram Bartholl for use in one of his projects. Bartholl describes his intent as follows:

"In the project First Person Shooter, the arm holding the weapon of the video game Counter-Strike (Valve 1999) is transferred into physical space... When a player wears the glasses, the arm holding a weapon always remains in the front, regardless of the direction in which the player moves his or her head... The First Person Shooter glasses are, of course, a provocation and a comment on violence in video games. By transferring the typical first-person (shooter) view to the real world, the player is confronted with his or her actions in the game. At the same time, the project shows how separate everyday life in the physical world is from virtual gaming space, with its own rules."

To learn more about the First Person Shooter project visit Bartholl's website at http://www.datenform.de/fpseng.html. Look for the PDF link near the top of the page to download your own pair of the glasses.