RESOURCE: PUZZLE GAMES AND ABSTRACT ART (ARTREVIEW)

In the latest issue of ArtReview, Dawn Chan draws intriguing parallels between Jonathan Blow's award-winning video game The Witness and the abstract art of Heilmann, Whitney, and LeWitt, focusing on their shared approach to silent instruction and discovery. She highlights how both media - digital games and painting - employ non-verbal communication to engage their audiences, requiring them to decipher a visual language to uncover deeper meanings and experience personal revelations. The video game mirrors abstract art in its use of grid-based designs and spatial systems, framing both as a form of symbolic gameplay that necessitates active participation and interpretation. This perspective redefines the audience or player as an active participant, blurring the lines between playing a game and engaging with art. Among the interesting points raised by Chan, this one - about the role of the gamer - truly stands out: