Game Art: Robert Overweg's "Shot" [Event]
Robert William Overweg , "Shots", digital photographs, 2007-2009 (All images courtesy of the artist)Game artist and virtual photographer Robert William Overweg is presenting his in-game photographs in Breda at the "City Limits" exhibition. Artist's statement: "I have been photographing virtual environments since the end of 2007. I felt a need to document these worlds because I see them as the new public spaces. I was grasped by their perfect beauty, most of the time copying our own real world. But with constant highlights of beauty. These documentary photographs evolved into a journey of research and questioning. " (RWO)
"Robert Overweg sees the virtual environments of (First person and third person shooter) games as the new public spaces of contemporary society. He dwells through these worlds as the street photographer of the virtual world, documenting his experiences. He discovered a beauty behind the violence, where it normally is the goal to shoot each other in these worlds, Robert was grasped by the flickering sunlight, beautiful reflections and swarms of birds flying in patterns on ideal locations. The by human hands created virtual worlds are often a direct copy of our own (real) world but with a higher frequency of beauty. The experience in viewing a photograph made in the virtual world and one in the (real) world is often the same. The border between the (real) world and the virtual world fades. Is there a difference between a photograph of a simulated object and a photograph of the object taken in real life. Another interesting question, when does popular culture leave the copyright protected arena and become public domain? Aren't captured experiences instantly the property of the viewer/capturer? " (RWO)“City Limits” opens at the Galerie 48 in Breda on 19-09-09 at 3 pm. Galerie 48 (Markendaalseweg 48, 4811 KC Breda, 076 - 5436510)Link: Shot, official websiteLink: Robert Overweg's personal websiteRelated: Robert Overweg on videoludica