The Visual Studies Workshop event aims to break down the perception that video games are used purely for entertainment or commercialization, and explore their place in the art world.
“People ask me, 'Oh, you work in video games, right?' and they're thinking of Mario or Pokemon or Zelda,” said Nilsson Carroll, assistant curator and preservation specialist at VSW. says. “But no, that's not the kind of game we're talking about. We describe ourselves as underground or punk, really outsiders.”
On April 25, VSW will host Hardware and Software as part of its Salon Spring Event Series, featuring arcade games and live performances by experimental gaming collective Barnyardia.
The interactive installation will feature more than a dozen games that focus on destructive or silly game mechanics and alternative controllers. For example, “Scrapeboard'' uses a skateboard as a controller for a “Dance Dance Revolution'' style, while “Playzine'' allows players to cook chicken nuggets as they progress through the game.
Carol first learned about Blake Andrews and Frank DeMarco, who make up Barnyardia, through her interest in niche online gaming communities. He describes himself as coming from the “underground, queer, punk” art movement, which had a lot of intersectionality with the experimental gaming space.
“Blake is someone I admire who has been at the heart of this very niche online gaming community for a long time. This work is very playful and sometimes edgy, but also vulnerable and sometimes sad. It’s also about things,” Carol says. “Then I found out about[Bunyardia Collective]and it’s always been a dream of mine to do a show with them.”
At the event, Andrews and DeMarco will play and explain the games they created.
Carol hopes this event inspires people to think about how interactivity changes the art experience. Interacting with the game makes people pay more attention and react directly to the art on the screen.
A previous VSW event for the game featured “Grandpa's Growth!” Carroll recalls one participant who played the game all night. The game is an experimental point-and-click game with horror elements that takes about an hour to complete, and I was captivated by the experience.
“They played the whole game, they saw everything in the game, it was like a secret ending. On the way out, they said to me, 'This is amazing, this is the best thing in my life. 'My heart is racing,' says Carol.
“It's possible for someone to have that kind of relationship with a painting, and that's not abnormal or anything. But I think there's something about the interaction that makes people have this kind of visceral, physical reaction. ” he says. “Playable video games can also be a form of performance by visitors. They're kind of acting out the artwork.”
Events like this can also empower people by showing them that the barrier to entry to this type of art is lower than some people think. Carroll likes to point out that, like many people in the experimental gaming field, Andrews and DeMarco don't have extensive experience in computer science or coding.
Game programming languages, supportive online communities, and open marketplaces like Itch.io make it easy to participate. As a child, Carol wanted to work for Nintendo so she could create games.
“It's empowering to see something impactful like that and think, 'Oh, maybe I can make something similar,'” he says. “There's so much energy around games in Rochester. RIT has this big games education program, and the Strong Museum is all about games right now. But we're trying to transform that into art games, artist-made games that are more accessible. I think bringing it into smaller areas is something that isn't really being done.
“In the history of VSW, we started thinking about photography as art and in different experimental ways,” adds Carroll. “So I think this concept of digital art and gaming is following in these forward-thinking footsteps.”
jacob schermerhorn He is a contributing writer and data journalist for the Rochester Beacon. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers that follow our policies. Comment policy This includes using your full name.Submissions to letter page must be sent to [email protected].
