SPACE INVADERS. ART IN THE COMPUTER GAME ENVIRONMENT.
UNTIL 6 NOVEMBER
NIMk
>The role of the artist has long been seen as an attempt to draw back the curtains, exposing a small piece of our world to the masses. The purpose of video games has traditionally been seen as pure escapism – an accessible fantasy for the masses. As Space Invaders, the latest exhibition at the Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk), shows, however, art and gaming culture can coexist. As well as the actual art of games, it’s the escapism of gaming, the gamers themselves, and the impact this multi-billion euro industry has on the world that the exhibited artists seem drawn to.
>Light years away from the 8-bit superheroes and adventure games, the advancement of the internet has seen the world of the computer game develop to hyper-realistic levels. Now gamers create alternate worlds and social networks where players have the freedom to exist in an environment that looks and reacts like the real world. A crossover into reality has occurred in the virtual world, and consequently, the virtual world now has perceptible qualities in the real world. Ubermorgen.com deals with this in the piece ‘Chinese Gold’ (2006), documenting Chinese sweatshop gamers huddling in crowded rooms, building World of Warcraft characters to be sold to Western players via eBay. The real virtual game becomes the virtually real money.
>In Walter Langelaar’s disturbing installation ‘Notmatch’ (2010), participation is rendered obsolete, as a manic joystick struggles to correct and overcome the random motions of a camera view projected onto the screen. Another highlight is Julian Oliver’s ‘Levelhead’ (2007), brilliantly mapping virtual information over physical objects, while the participant steers a small figure through a series of 3D rooms.
>The diversity of this exhibition is its true strength. From fabulous retro simplicity to blood dripping body counts, the barriers between the virtual world and the real one are blurred and we’re made to look at the two as one symbiotic entity. Escapism is an intrin- sically human diversion, some might even say need, and with Space Invaders NIMk has provided us many ways to escape. Be it only virtually.
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October 10th, 2010at 4:20 pm(#)
[...] 'daily life' is an example of the merging of two worlds, which has been the key focus of NIMk's Space Invaders exhibition. The artworks illustrate the migration of the physical world into gaming-systems and, in [...]
December 14th, 2010at 11:50 pm(#)
[...] to in Amsterdam was the Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk). The exhibit they had was called Space Invaders, which was an exploration of the virtual arenas that video games are played in. Some people even [...]