PJ Martin Brown

Music. Games. Code. Art!

PJ Martin Brown is a technology artist who works with both code development and digital audio composition. Much of their practice involves unpacking the division that exists between ‘fine arts’ and ‘consumer audience’ experiences in relation to digital game experiences. These divisions often stem from a lack of respect between these two worlds. Their work seeks to disrupt norms in both spaces, particularly in calling attention to implicit class divides and how that influences expectations for a game-engine work. Brown uses their unique perspective as a player of commercially developed games and as a contemporary artist to blend aspects of both design philosophies into cohesive and accessible experiences. Their work attempts to question the distinction of audience vs. player when carrying game design into the field of contemporary art.

Their works create self-contained experiences that offer the opportunity to their players/audience to step outside of themselves and inhabit an unfamiliar perspective. The recognition of the self in the other is a driving force in their art, ultimately seeking to create feelings of understanding and empathy in players by inserting them in virtual environments which require them to occupy a state of mind different from the one they inhabit in daily life. While Brown’s work often carries elements of humor and satire, game behaviors are developed specifically with the intention of making players question why mechanics work the way they do. In challenging the logic of the system, players can engage on a deeper level with the work’s messaging and begin to challenge other narratives they see repeated in games or reflected in the broader social culture.