“shoot” is a media sculpture work that uses machinima “machine-cinema” to replicate Chris Burden’s 1971 performance piece of the same title. machinima is the act of using real-time video game graphics engines to create cinematic productions.
In 1971, Burden was responding to the common media motif of being shot in america. Also since the 1970s, video games have been heavily criticized for allowing people to perform violent action in a virtual world. “shoot” depicts a simulation of Burden’s performance in four different video games, released from 2006 to 2010.
each simulation has different properties and yields vastly different responses from the avatars getting shot. the work is an uninterrupted media experience utilizing video games to convey an incredibly simplistic story of an avatar getting shot.