Filip Kostic

ARTICLE: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN MY BED AND MY PC

VRAL is currently showcasing Filip Kostic’s 2019 game video Filip Kostic VS. Filip Kostic in a brand new format. Today, we conclude our exploration of the Serbian artist’s oeuvre with a closer look at his monumental project(s) Bed PC.

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Filip Kostic’s bed-centric projects, including Bed PC (2020), Bed PC 2 (2022), and Bed PC (Twin) (2022), examine the convergence of art, life, work and leisure in the context of the 2019/2020 pandemic lockdown.

Bed PC (2020) functioned as both a bed and a workspace in Kostic’s bedroom from 2020 to 2022. This work seamlessly blended art with everyday life, reflecting the artist’s “deep adaptation” to the pandemic’s new reality, not to mention its lingering effects. The follow-up, Bed PC 2 (2022), was designed for Scherben Gallery in Berlin. This transition marked a shift from a personal, functional piece to a public exhibit. It encapsulates Kostic’s evolution from a personal experiment to a broader exploration of art and technology before an audience. Similarly, Bed PC (Twin) (2022) made its debut at Hunter Shaw Fine Art in Los Angeles, expanding the scope and goal of the project. The term “twin” hints at the potential for parallel experiences, suggesting a deeper contemplation of the symbiosis between art, life, and work, but also about the possibility of sharing such experiences with others, both remotely and in situ.

Central to all these works is a custom-built water-cooled computer seamlessly integrated into the bed’s frame. Multiple screens form a protective cocoon, immersing the occupant in a multisensory environment. The installation includes peripherals like a keyboard, mouse, streaming microphone, and cameras for live streaming. It is ironic that Kostic’s attempt to reduce physical clutter to increase ‘efficiency’ relies on much “heavy equipment”.

Kostic’s experimentation reached a pinnacle with the Bed PC 24 Hour Stream (2021), an endurance performance where he continuously live-streamed on Twitch for a full day. During this marathon stream, he engaged in various activities, from gaming to art creation and insightful conversations with friends who called in. Topics ranged from art and gaming to the dynamics of motion versus sedentary lifestyles, the future of art and its institutions, and the cultural significance of Yugoslavian monuments. Among other things, he watched Adam Curtis’s documentary The Century of the Self (2002), reviewed some political ads, and slept, always on camera.

Among the key themes of this monumental series of artworks, at least four stand out…

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Matteo Bittanti


Works cited

Filip Kostic

Bed PC 

Custom built water cooled computer built into the frame of the bed. Variable screens to create a shield like shape, blanket, and pillows. Variable peripherals including keyboard, mouse, streaming microphone, and cameras for live streaming, 2020-2022.

All images and videos courtesy of the Artist

This is a Patreon exclusive content. For full access consider joining our growing community.

ARTICLE: FREE WILL IN THE AGE OF AI

VRAL is currently showcasing Filip Kostic’s 2019 game video Filip Kostic VS. Filip Kostic in a brand new format. Today, we discuss Open Loop (2017), which explores the concept of agency and determinism through the use of an AI character trapped in a repetitive cycle.

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Open Loop is a massive, real time installation by Filip Kostic which examines the notion of agency and determinism through the use of an AI character stuck in a repetitive - and ultimately nihilistic - sequence. Here, the AI character’s actions and behaviors unfold in real-time, mirroring the interactivity found in video games and digital environments. The original installation at Roger’s Office gallery in Los Angeles utilized eight monitors in order to create an immersive and engaging visual experience for viewers, evoking the “man cave” milieu of hard core gamers. The custom-built computer functioned as the central nervous system of the installation. This was not just any computer: it was meticulously designed and crafted to meet the high computational requirements of the AI simulation. It sported neon lights, a hallmark of gaming PCs, serving both functional and aesthetic purposes. In Open Loop, the neon lights symbolize the intersection of art and technology, blurring the boundaries between gaming and artistic expression. The gaming PC also has a transparent cabinet,  allowing users – in this case, Kostic – to showcase the internal components, e.g., powerful GPUs. In an upcoming article, we will discuss Kostic’s fascination for the custom built pc as a modern day sculpture. In the context of the installation, these transparent cabinets invited viewers to contemplate the inner workings of the AI simulation and the technology that drives it.

As previously mentioned, Open Loop investigates the role of agency within AI systems. In this context, agency refers to the ability of an AI program or ”agent“, to make decisions based on its programming or training data. However, in Open Loop, the AI ”character“ lacks agency, as it is trapped in a predetermined, repetitive cycle of actions, unable to exercise free will. In this context, these actions or behaviors involve walking, dying, and respawning, all occurring devoid of any external control. 

Open Loop was originally conceived and developed in 2016, at a time when artificial intelligence was on the cusp of gaining cultural prominence and mainstream adoption. Back then, the artist was studying the design of Non-Player Characters (NPCs) in Unreal Engine and became fascinated by the limits of programmed behaviors. In many ways, he was ahead of his times: behavior trees in NPCs can now be seen as viral trends in livestreams and tiktoks where individuals mimic NPC behaviors, like Pinkydoll. His further research led him to explore the concepts of open and closed loop systems…

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Matteo Bittanti


Works cited

Filip Kostic

Open Loop

real-time AI simulation, eight monitors, custom built computer, custom GPU and CPU cooling loops, steel and acrylic structure, installed at Roger’s Office in Los Angeles, California, 2017

All images and videos courtesy of the Artist

This is a Patreon exclusive content. For full access consider joining our growing community.

ARTICLE: FILIP KOSTIC’S FRAME RATE THEORY

VRAL is currently showcasing Filip Kostic’s 2019 game video Filip Kostic VS. Filip Kostic in a brand new format. Today, we present his 2020 follow up, Running at Frame Rate, which explores the tangible ramifications of computational prowess and the relentless pursuit of photorealism made possible by game-based tools like the Unreal Engine.

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Running at Frame Rate examines the fraught relationship between computer graphics, visual perception, and notions of photorealism. At its core, this digital installation explores frame rate, i.e., the frequency at which consecutive images are displayed, as a dynamic variable that impacts both the computer’s performance and the viewer’s phenomenological experience.

The “main character” is the computer itself, continuously optimizing its graphics rendering while pushing against its own limitations. Kostic personifies the machine, framing its real-time computations as a form of exertion, endurance, and even drama. The computer monitors its own stress levels, sometimes strategizing to work more efficiently or resetting itself when overworked [additional details about the nature of this dynamic performance are provided below].

The main goal of Running at Frame Rate is scrutinizing the literal and figurative “economics of realism” in CGI. Pushing frame rates ever higher makes tremendous resource demands: faster processors, more memory, more powerful GPUs, etc. Kostic implies there are hidden financial, social and environmental trade-offs involved. The piece renders visible these opaque costs by illustrating the computer’s escalating strain and struggle. When rendering crosses a complexity threshold, the machine visibly falters, failing to maintain smooth, glitch-free output.

Kostic suggests that blindly pursuing maximum specs and graphics fidelity has become an expensive, wasteful, and ultimately nihilistic arms race - an endless progression of incremental upgrades that lose meaning, purpose and value (think about the notion of marginal utilityin economics). As a game designer and artist, he offers a critique from within the industry…

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Matteo Bittanti



Works cited

Filip Kostic

Running at Frame Rate, software, installation, 2020, Serbia

Hereby presented as a “documentation of play through high end pc”, 16’ 50”

As of today, Running at Frame Rate is not available as a downloadable and playable game, but there are plans to make it accessible in the future. The artwork was originally presented at Ars Electronica in 2020 as part of art+science lab, the Belgrade Gardens.

All images and videos courtesy fo the artist and Ars Electronica

This is a Patreon exclusive content. For full access consider joining our growing community.

ARTICLE: A CLOSER LOOK AT FILIP KOSTIC’S FILIP KOSTIC VS. FILIP KOSTIC

VRAL is currently showcasing Filip Kostic’s 2019 game video Filip Kostic VS. Filip Kosticin a brand new format. Today we dig deeper into this specific artwork by discussing the longer cut currently hosted on the artist’s website.

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For the record, there exist at the very least three distinct edits of Filip Kostic VS Filip Kostic: the artist’s website features a 22 minute and 10 second version. Additionally, Kostic tailored a unique cut exclusively for VRAL, with a duration of 16 minutes and 28 seconds. Interestingly, an even longer edit can be found on the internet. In this article, we focus on the 22-minute version, which can be watched on this very page.

The most widely debated book of Fall 2023 is, undoubtedly, Naomi Klein’s Doppelgänger, which explores a bizarre case of “identity crisis”. The Canadian author finds herself constantly mistaken for another esteemed public figure who happens to share her first name, Naomi Wolf, and Jewish heritage who gained fame through unexpected and controversial bestsellers, with Klein’s No Logo (1999) and Wolf’s The Beauty Myth (1990), among other things. In her unconventional memoir, Klein methodically elucidates the moments of mistaken identity, specifically in the context of online discourse and social media. Klein explains that this persistent confusion has left a lasting impact on her life and career over the years and led to existential self-questioning. She adds that the mix-ups became more frequent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Wolf’s visibility increased significantly due to her controversial stances on lockdowns and vaccines. Klein kept Wolf at both literal and metaphorical distance. Despite the occasional unplanned overlaps, they never met or engaged in direct interaction.

In contrast, years earlier the Serbian artist Filip Kostic took a radically different approach when confronted with his own doppelgänger, Serbian soccer star Filip Kostic. Rather than avoid his twin, Kostic staged an elaborate performance directly engaging with the notion of identity, celebrity, and performance. In 2019, Kostic was contacted by the athlete’s PR team, wishing to purchase his @filipkostic Instagram handle. For years, Kostic’s account had been incorrectly tagged in posts of the soccer player due to homonimy. Declining a straightforward transaction, Kostic instead suggested a unique proposition: a FIFA Soccer match, streamed live before an audience, where the coveted prize would be ownership of the Instagram account.

As Kostic explains in the VRAL interview, “I was then linked to Filip’s manager via WhatsApp, whom I managed to convince that it is in Filip’s best interest to have a presence on Twitch.” The athlete’s management team warmed to the idea initially, hoping to generate media buzz. But apprehension set in when his soccer club caught wind of the plans. Nonetheless, the absurdist face-off proceeded as Filip Kostic VS Filip Kostic, staged as a flamboyant eSports event…

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Matteo Bittanti

Works cited

Filip Kostic

Filip Kostic VS. Filip Kostic, digital video, color, sound, 22’ 10”, Serbia, 2019

Filip Kostic VS. Filip Kostic, digital video, color, sound, 16’ 38”, Serbia, 2023 [2019]

All images and video courtesy of the artist

This is a Patreon exclusive content. For full access consider joining our growing community.

ARTICLE: FILIP KOSTIC IS GAMING THE ARTWORLD

VRAL is currently showcasing Filip Kostic’s 2019 game video Filip Kostic VS Filip Kostic in a brand new format. To contextualize this specific artwork as well as the artist’s oeuvre, we will be discussing a series of artworks influenced, inspired and/or developed with video games and game tools, such as the Unreal Engine. Today we are happy to present Booty Bay Open Studios (2020).

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Kostic’s amusing Booty Bay Open Studio is a fascinating intersection of art and gaming unfolding through the virtual persona of “Jerrysaltz the Undead Warlock,” clearly modeled after Jerry Saltz, America’s preeminent art critic. Situated in the fantastical realm of World of Warcraft, this avant-garde initiative poses compelling questions about the valuation and interpretation of art within a simulated, magical world. Employing a diverse toolkit of visual aids – ranging from in-game photography to meticulously constructed diagrams, mind maps, and charts – the project engages participants in an enthralling artistic journey in a land ruled by Orcs, Goblins, and Warriors.

The setting for this experiential foray into art criticism is the fictitious Booty Bay Studios, hereby described as an iconic trading hub, renowned as the largest of its kind in all of Azeroth and the Horde territories. The experience transcends the usual paradigms of art exhibits, turning into what can only be described as a whimsical, yet incisive, art crawl. But the true depths of the project’s humor and subtext can be fully grasped only by those proficient in two distinct dialects: the specialized lexicon of WoW’s geography and gameplay mechanics, and the nuanced vocabulary of contemporary art critique.

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Matteo Bittanti

Work cited

Filip Kostic

Booty Bay Open Studios, digital video, color, sound, 7’ 18", Serbia, 2020

All images and video courtesy of the artist

This is a Patreon exclusive content. For full access consider joining our growing community.

ARTICLE: FILIP KOSTIC’S FORTNITE REMAKE AS A COMMENTARY ON NEOLIBERALISM

VRAL is currently showcasing Filip Kostic’s 2019 game video Filip Kostic VS Filip Kostic in a brand new format. To contextualize this specific artwork as well as the artist’s oeuvre, we will be discussing a series of artworks influenced, inspired and/or developed with video games and game tools, such as the Unreal Engine. We begin with Fortnite: 007 Merciful Angel, an artistic remake of Epic Game’s popular battle royale video game.

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Filip Kostic’s Fortnite: 007 Merciful Angel is a reimagining of Fortnite, engineered using the Unreal Engine 5. This project was originally commissioned by curator Aaron Moulton for his groundbreaking exhibition The Influencing Machine, first showcased at Nicodim Gallery in Bucharest, Romania in 2019, and later revisited at the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, Poland in 2022. Fortnite: 007 Merciful Angel was subsequently presented in the context of the Manic American Humanist Show at Public Works Administration in New York between March 10-26 2023, alongside the works of other core members of the internet collective Do Not Research.

In The Influencing Machine, Moulton explored the nuanced relationship between institutions and media in societies transitioning from socialist to capitalist systems. Within the domain of visual arts, the curator explored the evolution from socialist realism to creative freedom, albeit constrained by the stipulations set forth in open-call exhibition guidelines. Recontextualizing the art of the 1990s within the modern-day milieu, both the exhibition and its related publication provide an intellectual platform for critical discourse on the global art ecosystem, interrogating key thematic areas, such as the integral role of activism in the artistic sphere, the influence of ideology on creative production, and the potency of institutional critique.

Curated by Abbey Pusz, the exhibition Manic American Humanist Show was situated in the aftermath of a decade marked by internet-enabled political experimentation, making it, historically speaking, a sort of follow up to The Influencing Machine. It also presented a US-centric view as opposed to the more European focus of Moulton’s show. Specifically, Manic American Humanist Show explored how the digital age – from the Occupy movement in 2011 to the election of Donald Trump in 2016 – has contributed in giving rise to a new kind of American citizen with increasingly specialized and highly tribalistic political leanings. The exhibition humorously engaged with this phenomenon through the lens of Post-Internet art, analyzing how contemporary alienation manifests in the fringe political spaces online before it reaches the mainstream…

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Matteo Bittanti


Work cited

Filip Kostic

Fortnite 007: Merciful Angel, interactive game, 2022-in progress, Serbia/United States

All videos (Fortnite: 007 Merciful Angel: Opening Sequence and 007 Merciful Angel: Scarlet Witch Monologue, both 2022) and screenshots courtesy of the Artist

This is a Patreon exclusive content. For full access consider joining our growing community.

EVENT: FILIP KOSTIC (SEPTEMBER 29 - OCTOBER 12 2023, ONLINE)

Filip Kostic VS Filip Kostic

digital video, color, sound (1920 x 1080), color, sound, 16’ 28”, 2019, Serbia/United States

Created by Filip Kostic

Online premiere (new edit)

Filip Kostic VS Filip Kostic (2019) is a performative artwork by artist Filip Kostic, staged as a live Twitch stream. In the piece, Kostic plays a match of FIFA Soccer against Serbian athlete Filip Kostic, who shares his name and nationality. The prize at stake is the @filipkostic Instagram handle. For years, Kostic’s online identity was conflated with that of the athlete due to sharing a name and IMDb page. After being contacted by Kostic’s PR team to purchase his Instagram handle, the artist instead proposed this competitive FIFA face-off to settle the score. Presented as an eSports event, the Twitch stream featured a custom layout with sponsors and a halftime show performance. It is now presented on VRAL in a novel edit.

Filip Kostic is an interdisciplinary artist working across video, performance, sculpture, and interactive media. His video and new media works have been shown internationally at venues including Ars Electronica Festival, Ujazdowski Castle Center for Contemporary Art, and SPRING/BREAK Art Show. He has exhibited sculpture and installation works at galleries in the US and Europe. Kostic holds an MFA from Bard College and a BFA from ArtCenter College of Design, where he currently teaches in the Interaction Design and Fine Art departments. He has previously taught at Otis College of Art & Design and Cal State Northridge. From 2018-2021, he worked as a technical artist and game designer at WEVR on VR experiences for the Harry Potter franchise. Through his multimedia practice, Kostic invites viewers to examine and challenge assumptions about identity, reality, and the role of technology in shaping human experience. His work aims to collapse boundaries between the real and the simulated. Originally from Belgrade, Serbia, he is currently based in Los Angeles.