GAMESCENES

EVENT: ALAN BUTLER (SEPTEMBER 13 - 26 2024, ONLINE)

26 GASOLINE STATIONS

digital video (1920 x 1080), colour, sound, 4’ 23”, 2016, Ireland

created by Alan Butler

September 13 - 26 2024

Introduced by Matteo Bittanti

vral.org

 

26 GASOLINE STATIONS is a digital homage to Ed Ruscha’s iconic 1963 photobook, 26 Gasoline Stations. Ruscha’s work famously documented the mundane yet intriguing petrol stations along his route from Los Angeles to Oklahoma City. In contrast, Butler’s reinterpretation situates this journey within the virtual world of Grand Theft Auto V’s San Andreas, transforming the act of driving across America into a navigational exploration and documentation of digital spaces. Executed as both machinima and an ebook, the project captures each station from the confines of Butler’s studio in Ireland, emphasising the shift from physical to virtual mobility. This transformation not only pays tribute to Ruscha’s artistic exploration but also probes deeper into the evolving relationship between real and simulated environments, highlighting how digital media can extend and challenge traditional notions of landscape, place, and documentation in the age of video games.

Alan Butler is an artist who employs both traditional and new media to probe themes surrounding digital culture and its influence on shaping realities. His creative approach incorporates various materials and techniques from the annals of image–making, scrutinising the ideological and political implications of technologies like 3D graphics, video games, and cloud computing. His recent solo exhibitions include We are Now in the Mountains and They Are in Us at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin (2023); The Need To Argue In The Master’s Language at Visual Carlow, Ireland (2018); and Down and Out in Los Santos at the Malmö Fotobiennal, Sweden (2017). He has also participated in notable group shows such as Open World: Video Games and Contemporary Art at The Akron Art Museum (2019) and Digital Citizen: The Precarious Subject at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, UK (2019). A key moment in his career was representing Ireland at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021 as part of the collective ANNEX. His works are held in several collections including the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Office of Public Works, Ireland, The Arts Council of Ireland, and Trinity College Dublin.

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GAME ART: MAK2'S ART SURVIVORS (2024)

Mak2, Art Survivors (2024). FPS action video games, edition of 3 + 1 AP. Dimension variable. © Mak2. Courtesy DE SARTHE, Hong Kong.

Art Survivors (2024), a new artistic first-person shooter game developed by Mak2, transports players into the gripping setting of a fictional art fair, perhaps the ultimate theater of war. The game begins with a familiar artistic milieu, showcasing the artist’s own AI-generated artworks. But the serene atmosphere quickly spirals into chaos as all the non-player characters within the game transform into feral zombies. In this high-stakes environment, players are thrust into a survival scenario where they must navigate through the dystopian art fair, which has now turned into a complex maze, to combat and eliminate the infected attendees. Dressed in business casual attire, these zombies add a surreal contrast to the harrowing tasks players face. As the living dead advance, the game cleverly intertwines hysterical gameplay with deep narrative elements, making the experience as intellectually stimulating as it is exhilarating. Art Survivors cleverly juxtaposes the calm, elitist, sophisticated world of art fairs with the intense, frantic nature of your average zombie apocalypse. The game employs this scenario as a satirical exaggeration to explore and critique the often-unseen competitive dynamics within the art community and belongs to a long tradition of institutional critique through video game means. Art Survivors reflects on themes of hierarchy, competition, trauma, and strategic thinking, all cleverly wrapped in the guise of an art fair turned survival battleground: the battle royale equivalent of an art fair. The work is currently on display in the context of the aptly titled show Art Survivors (May 4 - June 22 2024) at De Sarthe art gallery in Hong Kong.

Art Survivors, Mak2.2024 installation shots ©  Courtesy DE SARTHE, Hong Kong.

Mak2 (b. 1989, Hong Kong) is a multidisciplinary conceptual artist whose oeuvre addresses contemporary issues through an exploration of philosophy, art history, cultural shifts, socio-political changes, the internet, and emerging technologies. Her artistic expressions, characterized by a blend of humor and keen inquiry, span various mediums including installations, paintings, drawings, video works, YouTube videos, stand-up comedy routines, and Instagram filters. Mak2’s art has gained international recognition, with exhibitions across various prestigious venues including the Shanghai K11 Art Mall, Beijing Inside-Out Art Museum, X Museum in Beijing, de Sarthe in Hong Kong, and the Pedro Cera Gallery in Lisbon. Her works have also been showcased in significant exhibitions such as Mirage or Reality in Shanghai, The Principle of Hope in Beijing, and at cultural institutions like Whitechapel Gallery in London and the CAFA Art Museum in Beijing. Mak2 lives and works in Hong Kong.

LINK: Art Survivors at De Sarthe

LINK: Mak2

GAME ART: ROBERT WHAT'S ALTERNATIVE SCREENSHOT ART EXHIBIT (2024)

Robert What's Alternative Videogame Screenshot Art Exhibit presents a meticulously selected and refined collection of virtual photography, showcasing the artistry found within video game screenshots. This tongue-in-cheek exhibition replete with quotes from Neil Postman and Jean Baudrillard and Guy Debord among others drawn from a diverse community of gamers and artists, featuring a wide array of styles and subjects will blow your mind. What's selection deliberately avoids marketing-driven imagery known as "bullshots". Instead, the curator focus is on celebrating the uniquely kitsch, the everyday moments, the beautifully bizarre, the easily missed, and the delightfully unexpected within the virtual worlds of video games. This collection currently parked on itch.io boasts 3,219 images, collected in five mega folders, all in stunning shiny and new 4K resolution, culminating in a total size of 3.9GB. Seriously, take a look!

LINK: Alternative Videogame Screenshot Art Exhibit 

LINK: Robert What

EVENT: THOMAS HIRSCHHORN'S FAKE IT, FAKE IT - TILL YOU FAKE IT. (JANUARY 24 - MARCH 2 2024, NEW YORK)

Installation view, Thomas Hirschhorn: Fake it, Fake it – till you Fake it., Gladstone Gallery, New York, 2024.

 

Thomas Hirschoorn: Fake it, Fake it – till you Fake it.

Gladotone Gallery

January 24 – March 2, 2024

530 West 21st Street, New York

 

Fake it, Fake it – till you Fake it. at the Gladstone Gallery in New York, presents a thought-provoking exploration by Thomas Hirschhorn that dives deep into the role and responsibility of art in times rife with conflict, entertainment, destruction, and societal upheaval. The exhibition cleverly confronts the dichotomy between the analog, tangible world and the pervasive influence of the digital, especially in the format of social media, video games, and the vernacular, urging a critical examination of our 'fake-utopian' reality where the digital transformation has both connected and divided, creating a façade of perfection that fails to acknowledge its inherent rotteness. Hirschhorn's self-proclaimed commitment to 'the real world' through his 'analog' creations ignites a dialogue about authenticity, representation, simulation, and the essence of truth.

Fake it, Fake it – till you Fake it. stands out for its inventive use of materials and form. The Precarious Sculpture, crafted from everyday items like cardboard, transforms 'fake' computers, video games and credit cards into a poignant commentary on consumerism, digital dependency, and the quest for authenticity. This artistic choice underscores the significance of materiality and the artist's willingness to embrace the fragility, ephemerality and impermanence of the medium. The inclusion of several Call of Duty cut-outs serves as a multifaceted commentary on the intersections between reality and digital simulations, especially in the context of war and violence. These cut-outs, representative of Activision's popular first-person shooter video game, underscore the blurring lines between entertainment and the harsh realities of conflict, challenging viewers to reflect on their perceptions and engagements with digital warfare.

Moreover, Hirschhorn's engagement with the Silicon Valley ethos of "Fake it, till you make it" (think Elizabeth Holmes's monstrous Theranos start-up) adds a layer of introspection and critique to the exhibition. By weaving self-irony, modesty, and a conscious rejection of deceit into his work, the artist reflects on the broader societal implications of 'faking' as a survival strategy, questioning the ethical boundaries between simulation and authenticity, need and deception.

Hirschhorn interrogates the contemporary landscape, where the lines between the real and the virtual, truth and fabrication, are increasingly blurred. The artist invites the audience into a space of reflection and inquiry, where art becomes a medium to challenge, question, and perhaps, understand the complex web of fake-utopian ideals shaping the so-called reality.

LINK: Thomas Hirschhorn at Gladstone Gallery (all inages courtesy of Gladstone Gallery)

EVENT: LARS PREISSER (NOVEMBER 10 - NOVEMBER 23 2023, ONLINE)

HOME/NOME

Video installation, SNES game consoles, animation, video, Hi8, miniDV, Bang & Olufsen 90s TV sets, hereby presented as digital video, color, sound, 4’ 16, 2021-2022, Germany

Created by Lars Preisser

 

NOME/HOME is an immersive video installation exploring the relationship between memory, interior design, and video games. Specifically, NOME/HOME recreates Preisser’s former Berlin apartment through the pixelated rendering of Mario Paint, breathing renewed life into the spaces he once inhabited. Participants traverse disorienting rooms as Preisser’s own voice echoes hauntingly around them. This audible tableau juxtaposed with the visual fragmentation of the gaming software creates a palpable sense of nostalgia and loss. Visitors are transported into uncanny reimaginings of real spaces that over time have been distorted by the urban forces of gentrification. By reviving the past through both analog and digital artifacts, Preisser contemplates the ephemerality of memory and the erasure of history in the built environment. NOME/HOME provides an entry point to meditate on the entwined nature of place, recollection, and selfhood within the ever-changing terrain of the city.

Lars Preisser is a multidisciplinary German artist whose work spans various media including weaving, drawing, and moving images. Born in 1984 in Lindau, Preisser holds degrees in textile art and media art from Otago Polytechnic and HGB Leipzig. His research-intensive projects result in intricate formations that address issues like gentrification, technology, climate change, and post-colonialism through a personal lens. Preisser’s family heritage and background in industrial machinery inform his practice. The artist has exhibited internationally at venues like Bauhaus Dessau, nGbK Berlin, and the contemporary textile art biennial Contextile among others. Preisser spent formative years in New Zealand before returning to Berlin where he currently lives and maintains an active studio practice.

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GAME ART: ALEX MACKIN DOLAN'S FULLY FUNCTIONAL GAMBLING AMUSEMENT MEDAL MACHINES (2022)

In his 2022 solo exhibition Really New God at Davis Lewis Gallery (November 4, 2022 - December 22, 2022), Alex Mackin Dolan presented custom-built video game machines that illuminate the addictive and extractive techniques of modern media. The show's title refers to the acronym RNG, or Random Number Generator, an algorithm that determines random outcomes in video games and computer programs. RNG is colloquially known in the machine gambling industry as Really New God.

The machines in the show, handcrafted from wood and spare parts, are modeled after "medal games"—a type of amusement machine popular in Japan that involves exchanging money for tokens without the ability to convert tokens back to cash. Though lower stakes than casino games, medal games simulate and normalize machine gambling. As Dolan's work suggests, these types of games share DNA with today's ad-driven apps and websites, which employ addictive design to capture user attention and "bleed" funds over time.

Alex Mackin Dolan, Untitled (Really New God), Computer components, paint, wood, 45x 26 1/2 x 29 in, installation view at David Lewis Gallery 2022

Through his constructed arcade cabinets, Dolan draws connections between gambling mechanics, algorithmic systems, and the extractive attention economy of digital media. Blurring recreation and addiction, his works reveal the underlying programs that fuel obsessive consumption. Ultimately, the exhibition imagines algorithmic code as the new omnipotent force shaping social behaviors and desires.

Additional information about the exhibition is available here.

Dolan (b. 1990, Colorado) is based in New York. His work has been exhibited globally, including at the Serpentine Gallery, Swiss Institute, LUMA Westbau, and the Park Avenue Armory. He was featured in Shumon Basar, Douglas Coupland, and Ulrich ObristHann's book Age of Earthquakes: A Guide to the Extreme Present.

LINK: Alex Mackin Dolan (All images courtesy of the Artist)

GAME ART: JULIANA HALPER'S CIVILIZATION (2023)

Juliana Halpert, My castles, archival inket print on cold press paper, found frame, unique, 32x41 inches, frames, 2023

press release

"Civilization by Los Angeles–based artist and writer, Juliana Halpert [...] reconstruct the artist's long-standing pastime playing the turn-based strategy video game, Civilization in which players lead a human civilization over several millennia. The exhibition centers around the artist’s chosen game character ueen Maria eresa, the eighteenth-century ruler of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire. Displayed throughout the gallery and domestic space, the text and photographs piece together Halpert’s built world within the game’s skewed historic and geographic realms.

In line with the fragmented and re-assembled world histories found in the game, Halpert’s photographs span various timelines and she has utilized multiple techniques for capturing and printing the work. While some images have been sourced and photographed or scanned by Halpert from within old history books, others have been captured directly by the artist in present-day California. The photographs and text works have then either been traditionally processed in the darkroom as silver gelatin prints or digitally processed as archival inkjet prints on cold press paper."

Juliana Halpert  Civilization, February 13 - April 16 202, Larder, Los Angeles; images courtesy of Larder; Photos: Evan Walsh 

Juliana Halpert (b. 1989, Montpelier, VT) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. Halpert holds an MFA from ArtCenter College of Design (2020). Recent exhibitions include Plasma at Scherben, Berlin (2022); Animal at Gattopardo, Los Angeles, CA (2022); Everything at The Finley, Los Angeles, CA (2021); Wake up sleepers! at No Moon LA, Los Angeles, CA (2021) and The Goodbye Present at Kristina Kite, Los Angeles, CA (2021). She has contributed writing to Artforum, Bookforum, Aperture, Frieze, Art in America, and X-TRA, among other publications. 

LINK: JULIANA HALPERT

LINK: Civilization @ Larder, LA

GAME ART: ISABELLE FRANCES MCGUIRE'S LOOP (2023)

Isabelle Frances McGuire, Bust2{“Assassins Creed NPC”, “Normandy”, “New United States Flag”}, 2023. detail

Isabelle Frances McGuire, Bust1{“Elvis”, “Modern WarFare II NVG”}, 2023

animatronic Elvis bust, night vision goggles, wood, 66 x 17 x 20 inches, 167.64 x 43.18 x 50.8 cm

Isabelle Frances McGuire, SelfPortrait2 {“Ghost”}, 2023

PLA plastic, fabric, children’s tactical vest, cord, leather boots, metal, children’s knee and elbow pads, 49 x 29 x 24 inches, 124.46 x 73.66 x 60.96 cm

"In LOOP, Isabelle Frances McGuire fabricates icons of video games, television shows, and American popular culture to create a disorienting playground of re-enactments. While re-enactments are typically meant to honor the integrity of the past or reproduce a figure of fact or fiction, McGuire abandons the art of faithful imitation in favor of animatronic chimeras of readymade repetition.

On Level 1, the viewer is greeted by three sculptures sitting on wooden plinths modeled after those used in ballistics testing. Sitting at 5’ 6”, the plinths position the sculptures roughly at eye level with the artist. The viewer first encounters Bust2{“Assassins Creed NPC”, “Normandy”, “New United States Flag”}, a wax model of a non-playable character from the Assassin's Creed video game franchise. Monstrously unblinking, the chain-mail adorned bust stares the viewer down with the eyeballs of a berserk mutant. While static, a motion sensor embedded in the head of the bust triggers a sound bite from Call of Duty: WWII, depicting the Allies landing at Normandy. The muffled chorus of mortar shells and machine gun fire complements the New United States of America (NUSA) flag visible under the chain mail, which is taken from the dystopian future state of the multimedia Cyberpunk franchise. With its back to the assassin, a readymade Elvis Presley animatronic moves with mechanical jerks and gyrations.

Titled Bust1{“Elvis”, “Modern Warfare II NVG”}, the slowly deteriorating bust spits readymade hallmark quotes in an endless cycle of middle-American sentimentality. The ice blue irises of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll are obfuscated by a fully functional pair of night vision goggles modeled after the in-game equipment of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. What should serve as a novelty for gawking onlookers instead renders the viewer an unwilling target of tactical convulsions." (continues) (Max Hart, curator)

read the full text

Isabelle Frances McGuire (b. 1994 Austin, Texas) lives and works in Chicago, IL. McGuire received a BFA from School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Recent solo and duo exhibition include LOOP, King’s Leap, NYC (2023); Bailey Connolly & Isabelle Frances McGuire, Scerben, Berlin, Germany (2022); Dedicated to Those Who Continue to Dwell in Lightless Descent, King’s Leap, NYC (2021); Dresses Without Women, Mickey Gallery, Chicago (2020); Snafu, Shitshow, Clusterfuck, Julius Caesar, Chicago (2020); and P**** B**** Arena, Curated by Good Weather held at Et Al., San Francisco (2020). Recent residencies and awards include Saas-Fee Summer Institute of Art (2021), Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grant (2020), Artist Residency, Latitude Chicago (2019) and Alternative Worksite Residency Program (Founded by Linda Burnham and supported by the Robert Overby Estate) (2018).

Images courtesy of the artists and King's Leap Fine Arts, New York. Photos by Stefany Lazar.

LINK: Isabelle Frances McGuire

LINK: LOOP (April 20 to June 17 2023)

EVENT: MORITZ JEKAT (MAY 5 - 18 2023, ONLINE)

Moritz Jekat

The Blue Seals. Extinct and Happy

machinima/digital video, color, sound, 5’ 25”, Germany, 2023

May 5 - 18 2023

Introduced by Matteo Bittanti

 

In The Blue Seals. Extinct and Happy the artist tackles the multifaceted theme of memory and its impact on our sense of place and identity. Exploring the notion of “home” as a deeply personal and evolving construct, the artist delves into their relationship with the city of Berlin, a metropolis which has undergone significant transformation over the past decade. Through the medium of an immersive bus simulation game set in 2021 Berlin, the artist takes us on a virtual journey through the city’s ever-changing landscape, one that mirrors the shifts and fluxes of their own being. The work weaves together a complex interplay of past and present, real and imagined, personal and collective, as the artist reflects on their fading memories of a love that once bloomed amid the streets of Berlin. The Blue Seals is an evocative exploration of the ways in which we are shaped by the spaces we inhabit and the memories we carry within us.

Moritz Jekat is a visual artist hailing from the vibrant intersection of Berlin and Lausanne, whose practice spans the mediums of computer-generated imagery, sculpture, and installation. With a distinguished BA in Visual Communication from Potsdam under their belt, Jekat has since gone on to further refine his craft as a participant in the esteemed Master program of Photography at ECAL in Renens, Switzerland. At the core of Jekat’s practice lies an incisive exploration of contemporary developments within western and specifically German society, with a particular emphasis on the role of identity and digital culture. Investigating the themes of co-existence, cohabitation, and the multiplicity of ideas that converge in shared spaces, Jekat’s work often draws on his own immediate surroundings before expanding outward to explore broader universal truths. Jekat explores the intersections between human experience and technological advancement, with computer-generated imagery and the use of AI serving as powerful tools in his artistic arsenal. Their work stands out as a thoughtful, insightful exploration of the rapidly evolving landscape of modern life, reflecting a deep engagement with the pressing questions and issues of our time.

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EVENT: MACHINE VIOLENCE (MAY 5 - 31 2023, NEW YORK)

MILTOS MANETAS, RGB, 1998, oil on canvas, 40 x 48 in 101.6 x 121.9 cm (MM0001)

 

Machine Violence
May 5 - 31, 2023
Opening reception Friday, May 5
6 - 8pm  Postmasters 4 Bond Street, 10012, NYC

press release

Featured artists: Chando Ao, Damjansi, Huntrezz Janos, Gracelee Lawrence, Miltos Manetas, Eva and Franco Mattes, Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, Jen Catron and Paul Outlaw,Eddo Stern

Postmasters 5.0 is a moving target - our next exhibition will occupy a spectacular ground floor space on Bond Street in downtown Manhattan.

Machine Violence is a show for this moment, a visually stunning exhibition of topical relevance. It will bring together works in all media from software to painting.  Several historic projects by digital pioneers (McCoys, Matteses, Manetas) will be presented alongside current works of the new generation (Huntrezz, Damjanski).

Machine violence invariably fosters fear and disruption on an individual or societal scale. As artworks in this exhibition attest, it is left to humans - artists, in this case - to redirect, subvert, and/or transcend the literal narrative.

Fitting the current moment of intense uncertainty along the art-technology axis, this show can potentially triangulate two significant museum exhibitions currently on view in New York: Signals at MoMA and Refigured at The Whitney Museum.

The exhibition location, a former carpentry shop with skylights, brick walls and a 20 foot-tall ceiling, will be cleaned but otherwise left “as is” - raw - freeing the artists’ projections, screens, sculptures, prints and paintings from the homogeneity of a white box. Art can survive anywhere. Joining a salient history of co-opting raw spaces for art: Gavin Brown's Harlem space, Triple Candie, The Project, Sculpture Center - we will continue this countering flow at the moment of extreme showroom effect.

The exhibition centerpiece will be Horror Chase (2002) by Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, who have worked collaboratively since early 2000 (Kevin McCoy is also widely recognized for creating the first art NFT in 2014). Newly remastered into 4K, Horror Chase is based on the climactic chase sequence from the film Evil Dead 2 re-enacted on a custom stage set. Each shot is digitized individually and processed by a custom computer program that selects clips randomly. The chase becomes a continuously variable incarnation of an endless - and futile - escape attempt. The images are projected on a cinematic scale, and the computer hardware is installed in a black briefcase which forms a part of the installation. Given the recent explosion of interest in generative art, the McCoy's piece may be one of the earliest examples of algorithmically created cinematic footage - a software/hardware combination of object and projection.

EVA AND FRANCO MATTES, Freedom, 2010, single-channel video(color, sound), monitor, inflatable mattress, cables, media player(optional), dimensions variable; running time: 8:56 mins, edition of 3 (#2/3), (EFM072)

 

Eva and Franco Mattes are the notorious Italian artist's team working with internet and digital media since the late 1990s. One of their most iconic works, Biennale.PY, Perpetual Self Dis/Infecting Machine (2001-2003) is an aesthetically alluring, customized computer encased in plexiglass, with all parts exposed. It only has two software programs installed:  the virus that the artists made in 2001 for the Venice Biennale, and the "Norton Utilities" antivirus patch. The computer is in a perpetual mode of being infected, then disinfected, then rebooted; a machine locked forever in a fight between good and evil.

EDDO STERN, Vietnam Romance, 2003 digital video, NFT Time 19:09 (ES0018)

 

MILTOS MANETAS, Flames, 1997, digital video file, machinima, NFT, time 23:49, Edition of 3 (MM0002)

 

There will be three early key works of machinima in the show: Miltos Manetas’ Flames (1997) of Lara Croft committing suicide; Eddo Stern’s masterwork Vietnam Romance (2003) where key war scenes are recreated through video games like Grand Theft Auto and MASH; and Eva and Franco Mattes’ Freedom (2010), a haunting montage of death scenes from iconic first-person shooter games.

 

Damjanski will present his app, Bye, Bye Camera (2020), the AI-powered camera for the post-human era, which automatically removes people from any picture someone takes. The tool digitally detects and erases body shapes, but keeps human traces like shadows. The app will be shown along with photographic prints of Post Human Dog (2020),  his pandemic-time series of dogs with no owners.Gracelee Lawrence will present two large scale, 3D-printed sculptures of fragmented, battered bodies.

 

Jen Catron and Paul Outlaw  are making a lamp, a huge, functioning, fruit flies - killing zapper encased in plexiglass.

 

Chando Ao’s kinetic sculpture in the show will be a computer driven chair/cradle for grownups that belies its mean and ominous torture device look, to soothingly rock the sitter.

 

Huntrezz Janos will show - as AR - two Instagram filters that recast the user as armored, warrior-like characters and a related 3-D printed sculpture.

 

Also on view will be Miltos Manetas still life paintings of computer components from 1998-2010. A mid-show performance is planned where Manetas will, via WhatsApp and a local assistant, paint a still life remotely from Bogotá.

 

LINK: MACHINE VIOLENCE