Christoph Niemann's 'Traffic Pong' Video Art Goes On Sale for $3,000 USD

For the first time ever, a video piece by Berlin-based artist Christoph Niemann has been made available to collectors for $3,000 USD. The piece, titled Traffic Pong will be on view at Contemporary and Digital Art Fair (CADAF) during Art Basel Miami, exhibited by Praise Shadows Fine Art. Niemann has previously been recognized for his many museum shows, the creation of cover art for various publications, including The New Yorker, and being a subject in Netflix’s Abstract series.

Traffic Pong is a video loop that cleverly depicts an aerial view of Avenida Paulita in São Paulo, Brazil with slight animations that overlay Atari’s original game Pong over the video. As a ball bounces from paddle to paddle – hitting many cars along the way – viewers are left with a different, lighthearted impression of the bustling city center. The piece is set to similar audio as the original game for added nostalgia.

The video art piece is sold as a special edition of ten. Each edition comes in the form of a USB drive with a certificate of authenticity and is signed by the artist. Those interested in collecting video art can purchase Christoph Niemann’s Traffic Pong for $3,000 USD over on Artsy’s website.

This news comes at a time where many artists and brands are trying to find new ways to sell moving digital art – a medium that’s typically offered for free with little or no compensation given to artists. Recently, new brand Infinite Objects partnered with various digital artists to sell physical frames that house each digital piece on loop, thus giving collectors the same experience as collecting art prints or photographs.

Watch Traffic Pong above and then check out some more whimsical video art by Christoph Niemann below.