Josh Bricker

After receiving over 23,000 submissions from 91 different countries the YouTube-Guggenheim Museum Biennial of Creative Video collaboration announced its list of 25 finalists on October 21, 2010. The top 25 videos which Guggenheim Director and Chief Curator Nancy Spector called, “the ultimate YouTube playlist”, included 1998 Fillmore High graduate Josh Bricker’s video entitled ‘Post Newtonianism’. The video utilizes the mash up technique to contrast actual war footage and audio with footage and sound taken from the popular video game ‘Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare’. According to Bricker, the video is an investigation into the growing use of war as a primetime source of entertainment by the media and the resultant merging of reality and simulacrum. Additionally, it serves as a meditation on the power of the Internet as both a political and artistic tool. A graduate from Cal State Channel Islands, and recent recipient of a Masters Degree from Parsons in New York City, Josh says that his “intention was to make something ‘High Art’ using the internet and YouTube. As a result every piece of footage and sound was harvested from the internet in an effort to create a work political, both in content and form. Rather than act as a piece of didactic propaganda or my own political soap box, my wish and intent is for the work to spark critical debate and dialogue among the American general public.” In addition to the YouTube Play Biennial, Josh has recently participated in The Wassaic Project as an artist in residence and in November will exhibit as part of a group show at Apex Art Gallery in New York City.