Sato Ryotaro, Dummy Life #11, 2022, Inkjet print, 12.4 ｘ 14.8 cm
MACHINE LOVE: Video Game, AI and Contemporary Art
February 13 - June 8 2025
Mori Art Museum
6-10-1, 六本木ヒルズ 森タワー 52F, 六本木, JP 106-6150
Curated by Kataoka Mami, Martin Germann, Yahagi Manabu
press release
With the explosive growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and the integration of the virtual and real worlds, the latest cutting-edge technologies have quickly penetrated our daily lives. This tendency has become especially apparent since the COVID-19 pandemic, when many human activities shifted towards virtual space. Looking back, the progress of art and technology has run parallel to each other throughout the course of history, which is especially evident in the field of computer art and video art. While recent innovations in video game engines and AI offer unprecedented possibilities for artists, the advent of generative AI also has raised significant concerns. Such developments are now attracting considerable attention in various fields and industries, including the contemporary art world.
MACHINE LOVE introduces contemporary artworks that employ game engines, VR and AR, and other innovative technologies that have the capacity to extend human creative power, such as algorithms and generative AI. These works explore new aesthetics and image-making through the use of various data-sets that exist in the digital space, while demonstrating novel approaches to art making made possible by interactive networks of countless individuals. Other works examine how online avatars and characters can nurture new types of gender and racial identities that lie beyond the reach of social norms. By adopting these methods, artists delve into the most pressing challenges facing contemporary society, including the environmental crisis, historical interpretation, humanity, ethics, and diversity.
By exhibiting artworks jointly created by “machines” and artists, and offering immersive spatial experiences through large-scale installations, this exhibition provides a platform to contemplate the relationship between humankind and technology, which evokes emotions of love, empathy, elation, fear, and anxiety. Join us in a space where reality and virtual space overlap in order to envision better ways to live out an uncertain future.
Participating Artists: Kim Ayoung, Lu Yang, Sato Ryotaro, Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Adrián Villar Rojas, and others
In this video, Marco De Mutiis and Matteo Bittanti introduce The Photographer's Guide to Los Santos, an online companion to the eponymous exhibition which took place in the context of Fotofestival Lenzburg between May 22 and June 23 2024 in Lenzburg, Switzerland.
The Photographer’s Guide to Los Santos is several things at once.
Firstly, it’s a curated archive and expanding resource center documenting the most significant artistic projects created with Grand Theft Auto V in the past decade.
Secondly, it an educational project, introducing students to virtual photography practices through a thematic overview and a series of hands-on exercises.
Thirdly, as an "how to guide", it provides a series of manuals intended to photography and media arts students interested in experimenting with the game.
This online resource currently collects nine projects created by international artists working with Grand Theft Auto V, that is, 2girls1comp, Alan Butler, Raphael Brunk, COLL.EO, Mattia Dagani Rio, Elizabeth Desintaputri, Claire Hentschker, Mascha Negri, and Georgie Roxby Smith, which were all featured in the very first themed exhibition.
The repository is expected to expand substantially over the next few months.
In this video, the curators discuss the nine notable works currently featured in the online archive.
Step into a realm where pixels and imagination collide, where the touch of a button can unleash entire worlds and shape the very fabric of society. Whether you're nestled in the comfort of your bedroom, lounging in the living room, or on the move with your device snug in your pocket, video games are the threads that weave through our modern existence. Welcome to an immersive experience where you hold the reins. Choose your avatar, your digital embodiment, and chart a course through the intricate levels of this boundless universe. Whether you traverse alone, delving into the depths of solo gameplay, or join forces with fellow adventurers in multiplayer escapades, the journey is yours to shape. But this exhibition is more than a mere celebration of pixels and polygons. It's an exploration into the very essence of how video games shape our world. Delving deep into the technical intricacies that bring these virtual realms to life, we journey alongside a sociological perspective, unraveling the intricate tapestry of human interaction and societal impact. Prepare to be enthralled as we integrate not only games themselves but a myriad of mediums to showcase their influence. From captivating images and immersive videos to hands-on manipulations and tangible 3D objects, every facet of the gaming experience comes to life. And alongside these, discover works of art meticulously crafted by visionary artists like Mélanie Courtinat, Pascal Greco, and Robert Overweg, each piece a testament to the profound connection between art and gaming.
20 Ames Street Bakalar Gallery, Building E15 Cambridge, MA 02139
The MIT List Visual Arts Center is showcasing Jeremy Couillard’s first solo museum exhibition, List Projects 30: Jeremy Couillard, from July 18 to October 6, 2024. Couillard, originally trained as a painter and self-taught coder and digital artist, integrates various forms like playable games, web projects, and video installations in his work. His distinctive style features imaginative character design and humorous, absurd scenarios.
The exhibition highlights an installation of his latest game, Escape from Lavender Island (2023), set in a dystopian city with whimsical elements and social critique inspired by anthropologist David Graeber. Visitors can engage with Couillard's newest game, navigating through the surreal and dystopian cityscape. The game’s neighborhoods, such as the Corporate University Prison Town and Clown Crypt Renovation Zone, are filled with hidden quests and enigmatic public sculptures, providing an engaging and layered narrative experience.
Visitors can also play the game and view a video simulation, Zede’s Dream, featuring music and narrative vignettes. This continually generated video simulation offers a guided tour through Lavender Island, accompanied by an evocative soundtrack and narrated vignettes. This piece provides a cinematic glimpse into the lives of the game's characters, blending elements of reality and fantasy.
List Projects 30: Jeremy Couillard also includes new acrylic paintings linked to the digital art within the game. Couillard’s new series of paintings utilize a process of masking and layering to create intricate designs. These paintings, derived from digital assets within the game, bridge the gap between digital and physical media, offering a tangible connection to the virtual world of Lavender Island. The exhibition features wooden sculptures and design elements that bring the digital flora and fantastical objects from the game into the physical space of the gallery. Notable pieces include wooden sculptures of digitally rendered flowers and a giant neon sweater reading “Depression,” providing a poignant commentary on modern life.
Jeremy Couillard, Zede’s Dream, 2023 (still). Video game simulation, color, sound, loop; run time variable. Courtesy the artist
The exhibition is curated by Natalie Bell, with assistance from Zach Ngin, who have carefully selected and arranged Couillard’s works to create a cohesive and immersive narrative. The curation emphasizes the thematic elements of Couillard's work, such as the critique of societal norms and the exploration of alternative realities.
Jeremy Couillard, Zede’s Dream, 2023 (still). Video game simulation, color, sound, loop; run time variable. Courtesy the artist
The MIT List Visual Arts Center has planned a series of events and programs to complement the exhibition. These include artist talks, interactive workshops, and guided tours, aiming to engage the public and provide deeper insights into Couillard's creative process and the themes explored in his work. For a full list of events and programs, please visit this page
Jeremy Couillard, Zede’s Dream, 2023 (still). Video game simulation, color, sound, loop; run time variable. Courtesy the artist
The exhibition is supported by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Council for the Arts at MIT, and the Mass Cultural Council, among other generous donors. The backing of these institutions underscores the cultural and educational significance of Couillard’s work, and their support has been instrumental in bringing this innovative exhibition to life.
Jeremy Couillard, born in Livonia, Michigan in 1980 and based in New York, has exhibited at notable venues like Denny Gallery, Times Square Midnight Moment, and the Rotterdam Film Festival. He holds an MFA in Painting from Columbia University and teaches New Media at LaGuardia Community College in Queens. His achievements in the gaming world include multiple award nominations. HIS work bridges the gap between digital art and traditional media, reflecting his versatility and innovative approach. His interest in blending physical and virtual realities is evident in his previous projects, which often involve interactive elements that challenge the viewer's perception of reality. Couillard's work is also influenced by his exploration of speculative fiction and surrealism, creating worlds that are both bizarre and thought-provoking. His use of humor and satire allows him to address serious themes such as consumerism, corporate control, and existential dilemmas in an engaging manner. His teaching role at LaGuardia Community College enables him to inspire a new generation of artists in the field of new media, contributing to the evolving discourse on digital art and its implications. Couillard's ability to merge art with gaming has positioned him as a unique figure in contemporary art, where his exhibitions continue to draw attention from both art enthusiasts and gamers alike.
All images and videos in this page courtesy the Artist
The exhibition Choose Your Player: Game Worlds from Dice to Pixel at the Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen in Germany, running from May 17, 2024, to April 27, 2025, focuses on the multifaceted role of games as a cultural and artistic medium. This exhibit showcases the evolution of gaming from simple escapism to a significant force in shaping future societies and emerging communities. By adopting the persona of one of five unique characters, visitors can deeply engage with the gaming world.
The showcase underscores the diversity of human gaming behavior, enhanced by rapid advancements in technology that continually redefine the ways we play. From traditional board and dice games to cutting-edge computer, console, and virtual reality games, the exhibition provides a comprehensive view of the cultural significance of gaming. It examines the narratives and mechanics embedded within games and their reciprocal influence on society. The exhibition also explores the artistic dimensions of gaming, featuring immersive artworks that entertain, critique, and expand viewpoints.
Specifically, the exhibition focuses on four thematic areas, each represented by a major art installation:
Playgrounds: This segment illustrates how games serve as a versatile platform for experimenting with various skills and perspectives. It encourages visitors to challenge conventional views on identity, nationality, and gender, prompting a reevaluation of human existence. Installation: LuYang - LuYang NetiNeti Arcade
Power Games: Highlighting the profound social and political commentary within games, this section examines their impact on historical perceptions and the reinforcement or subversion of stereotypes. Games are shown as mirrors and molders of power dynamics, often aligning with or questioning mainstream narratives. Installation: Larry Achiampong - Mama’s Bootleg Fight Club
Expanded Horizons: Exploration remains a central theme and a pivotal game mechanic across numerous video game genres, with survival games often emphasizing endurance within perilous settings. In these narratives, airships frequently appear as a vital resource for navigating apocalyptic landscapes. Installation: Afrah Shafiq - Where Do the Ants Go?
New Communities: Beyond mere gameplay, certain video games transform into vibrant hubs for creativity, social gatherings, and even entrepreneurial ventures. These platforms foster innovative ideas about the future and alternative modalities for living and community engagement. Installation: Keiken - Morphogenic Angels: Chapter 1 – Omoiyari
These segments of the exhibition illuminate how video games transcend entertainment, acting as catalysts for cultural reflection and evolution. Each installation not only enhances the thematic exploration but also invites deeper interaction and contemplation from visitors.
Public space is also a relation between strangers. A place that not only unites, but also reveals what divides us. City playgrounds are particularly significant public realms because it is here that the tension between rules and freedom, the familiar and the unknown, borders and transgression, the present and the future, risk and security are constantly negotiated.
While many exhibitions are considered finished upon opening, Radical Playgrounds challenges this notion, embarking on a journey together with architects, artists, mediators, researchers, neighbors and visitors to transform and expand the art parcours with its overarching program starting at the end of April. Embracing the motto “From Competition to Collaboration”, Radical Playgrounds invites everybody to convert the former parking lot of the Gropius Bau into a vibrant public space. Through a series of workshops, talks and guided tours, participants will build real and imaginary bridges together, invent games and embody collaborations. In weekly discussions with international guests, the on-site playable installations will be contextualized, and the diverse meanings of play and its socio-political implications will be explored. The program poses questions: How does Radical Playgrounds sound, speak, feel, smell and taste? What can practice and opportunity spaces for coexistence and collaborative interaction between humans and nature look like? How can spatial infrastructure be made more inclusive, social and equitable? The public program is an invitation to play, but also a platform for contemplation that strengthens community bonds, especially right now, and creates opportunities to deepen existing neighborly relationships.
CentroCentro is an intercultural meeting space, a large public square for citizens and a setting for participation, action, leisure and learning in Madrid. Located in the emblematic Cibeles Palace, the former Communications Palace, and current headquarters of the Madrid City Council, its objective is to activate critical thinking in the face of the challenges of the present and the future. It is to this space that our exhibition The Visible City / The City at Play will arrive from April 12 to August 25, 2024 (Floor 4). The opening will be on April 11 at 7 p.m., with the presentation of the exhibition and a small catering.
Synopsis
The city is built in many ways. Through material manipulation but also through languages and constructions of symbolic worlds that operate and shape it. Different artefacts and technologies amplify this effect. Our entire relationship with reality is technologically mediated and if there is one technology - and one language - that has become the spearhead of this interaction, it is clearly the video game.
It is possible today to understand the video game as a laboratory for the construction of citizenship, and as a communication language capable of establishing a distance dialogue between the actors who inhabit urban, material and virtual spaces. The interactive nature of digital games and the representation of the city in them encourages the development of a collective intelligence that, in a living way, recursively imagines and writes the present and future of urban spaces.
With this exhibition we propose a look at the video game from its potential to reflect and transform the city, proposing a journey through different interventions, projects and experiments that show how the urban is represented and constructed through this medium.
Video games form a unique relationship between city designs, architecture and urban planning, allowing new ways of understanding the creation of inhabited spaces, physical or virtual. Game environments, and their technologies, can teach us about architecture and the role it plays in society. Virtual worlds allow us to explore and travel through imagined spaces as well as interact and explore existing places from our homes, allowing new ways of relating spatially.
In the two poles of utopian or dystopian future imaginaries, video games are, on the one hand, a tool for the subtle manipulation of our behaviour through playful or gamified dynamics that increasingly mediate the ways of living, travelling and interacting with the city. and its inhabitants and, on the other, spaces from which to experience joint decision-making about our cities so that they are more sustainable, ecological and inclusive.
Through a set of national and international projects that use different compositional and aesthetic techniques, from photography to sculpture through installation and video games, this exhibition proposes an open route articulated in different transversal sections. Presenting different artistic works and recreational interventions, it aims to share with visitors a critical perspective that broadens the vision of the video game beyond a mere object of consumption and pointing to the transformative function of the ludus as a space for collective creation and reflection around the city.
The exhibition has been enriched by the work of artists and thinkers such as Aida Navarro, Mathias Klenner, Sofía Balbontín y Joan Lavandeira, Santiago Bustamante, Fundación Cotec, María Ignacia Ibarra, Gianluca Saporito, Dinosaur Polo Club, Leo Sang, Elise Aubisse, Pablo Garrido Martinez, Outconsumer - Roc Massague, Augustina Isidori, Jose Sanchez, Carlos Padial, Keiichi Matsuda, Mónica Rikić, Dimopoulos, K., Gerber, A., & Götz, U., Navarro Redón, A., Shaw, J., Tan, E., José Tono Martínez, Zemos98, Gira Zapatista and Gall Negre.
The exhibition features the wonderful museography design of Meritxell Ahicart, who has managed to intervene in the center room to recreate a unique experience, the graphic design of Colectivo Buenu and the architectonic design of Paz Artiagoitia and Maximiliano Aguayo.
About ArsGames
Arsgames is an organization based in Barcelona with more than 15 years of experience in artistic creation and social innovation through the use of video games and digital technology. Its co-directors are responsible for the most successful video game exhibitions in the history of Spain: Videojuegos: Los dos lados de la pantalla, curated by Eurídice Cabañes and produced by Fundación Telefónica, which has reached 250,000 visitors in less than three years of activity, and Homo Ludens: videojuegos para entender el presente, curated by Luca Carrubba for Fundación La Caixa, which exceeded 150,000 visitors.
Fondation Louis Vuitton 8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi 75116 Paris France
press release
In his multidisciplinary practice, Lu Yang favors the use of advanced digital technologies and wide-ranging collaborations with specialists such as designers, composers, psychologists, dancers, engineers and scientists. He creates virtual worlds that unfold in immersive video installations. His fantastic imaginary realm, one with postapocalyptic overtones, is born of a syncretism in which Buddhist spirituality dovetails with transhumanist theories and neuroscientific research. Through these combinations, the artist brings to life hybrid creatures that transcend identity concepts of gender, sex and nationality to better understand what it means to be human in the 21st century.
For Open Space #14, his first solo exhibition in a French institution, Lu Yang has conceived a unique video installation centered around his new film DOKU The Flow, the second chapter of the “DOKU” series. Rooted in the Japanese concept “DOKUSHO DOKUSHI”, which reflects on the solitary nature of birth and death, DOKU is a virtual character born from the digitization of the artist’s facial features. Blending technological expertise with Buddhist philosophy, the film traces the multi-faceted avatar’s solitary odyssey. Through DOKU, Lu Yang transcends the limitations of the physical body, enabling him to explore a newfound freedom through digital reincarnation. Here, the boundaries between mental, physical, and spiritual dissolve, giving way to a poetic and evocative narrative full of transformative possibilities.
Curators: Claudia Buizza and Ludovic Delalande (Fondation Louis Vuitton)
As a partner venue of the Fondation Louis Vuitton (Paris), K11 will host DOKU The Flow by Lu Yang in K11 Shenzhen next spring 2025.
Born in 1984, Lu Yang is a multimedia artist who lives and works in Shanghai (China) and Tokyo (Japan). Recent solo exhibitions: Mudec, Milano; Kunsthalle Basel, Basel; Palais Populaire, Berlin; ARoS Museum, Aarhus; M Woods, Beijing; MOCA Cleveland; Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; Zabludowicz Collection, London; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo and Kunstpalais Erlangen. Recent group exhibitions: Centre Pompidou-Metz; Muzeion, Bolzano; La Biennale di Venezia; Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai; CCA, Tel Aviv; ICA, London; Muzeum Sztuki, Poland; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin; Fridericianum, Kassel. Lu Yang is represented by Société, Berlin.
Public Works Administration 1627 Broadway, New York, NY
Enter via Downtown 1 Train at 50th
See a solo exhibition surrounding Angela Washko’s (2020 Awardee) Creative Capital project Mother, Player, an experimental narrative video game. Set within a backdrop of the tense 2020 United States election and a terrifying COVID international health crisis, players explore the maternal healthcare industry and parenting culture as a burnt out pansexual artist who has decided to have a child despite an increasingly discouraging geopolitical climate that deprioritizes and devalues care. (Creative Capital)
Angela Washko is a media artist, filmmaker, and experimental game developer who creates new forums for discussions about feminism in spaces frequently hostile towards it. Her practice spans interventions in virtual environments, performance art, media installation, documentary film, and video games. A recipient of the United States Artists Fellowship, Creative Capital Award, Franklin Furnace Performance Fund, Impact Award at Indiecade, and Jury Awards for Best Documentary at the American Film Festival, San Francisco Documentary Film Festival, and Buffalo International Film Festival, Washko’s practice has been highlighted in The New Yorker, Frieze Magazine, Time Magazine, The Guardian, ArtForum, The Los Angeles Times, Art in America, The New York Times and more. Her projects have been presented internationally at venues including Museum of the Moving Image, Centre Pompidou-Metz, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the Milan Design Triennale, and the Shenzhen Animation Biennial. Angela Washko is an Associate Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University.
Japanese developer Daiwa House has started construction on the Game Art Museum in Yokohama, set to open in summer 2027.
This initiative aims to recognize the creative efforts behind video games, from character design to soundtracks, similar to how films are celebrated as forms of art. Spearheaded by Daiwa House and designed by Kume Sekkei Co., the museum seeks to attract gamers, art enthusiasts, and cultural aficionados.
Located in the Minato Mirai 21 Central District, the museum is part of a larger development that includes a 32,291-square-foot art garden and a 29-story office building. The museum's "ife-inspired spiral design by Kume Sekkei intends to reflect the vibrant nature of video game art.
Koyo, affiliated with Koei Tecmo Holdings and known for games like Dynasty Warriors and Ninja Gaiden, will oversee the curation of the museum's exhibits. By employing advanced CGI technology, the museum will delve into the elements that constitute video game worlds, such as visuals, music, character traits, and interactive experiences.
Beyond its architectural appeal, the museum will feature an art garden that serves as a peaceful spot during the day and transforms into an immersive environment at night through projection mapping, creating a dynamic, game-like setting.
The Game Art Museum marks an important step in recognizing video games as a refined art form. It intends to meld traditional art appreciation with the digital innovation seen in modern gaming, creating a space for learning and entertainment.
Expected to enhance Yokohama's cultural offerings and draw visitors from around the world, the Game Art Museum aims to challenge and expand the understanding of art and video games. Daiwa House encourages those interested to keep up with the project's progress, anticipating a comprehensive exploration of video game art upon its opening.
