Arno Coenen

Arno Coenen’s works involve new media, animated films that both humorously criticize and question stereotypical Western iconography and society. Coenen also works in a variety of mediums such as mosaic, ceramics, stained glass, computer generated film and digital video, yet his drive remains the same. He brings various aspects of high cultures, subcultures, and religion together, and leaves them in the same ring to box it out. His film titled The Last Roadtrip is a real and virtual-computer animated view of America by car, shot in a video game meets MTV style, using aspects of the board game Monopoly. Coenen coaxes the viewer to investigate his redefined world where nothing is hidden and the superficial Americana clichÈs of hamburgers, cardboard communities, murder, and “tits-and-ass” are all that remain. Coenen’s work as a whole is spirited by his travels and the interaction of different cultures, a place where multicultural societies, religions, and trends are held up for scrutiny. - Marisa Prihodova (catalogue txt for exhibition "Stay" @ futura Prague 2003)