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Video Games Are Art According To NY Museum of Modern Art


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@om*d
Title: Dorakyura
Joined: Jul 10 2010
Location: Castlevania
PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 11:43 am Reply with quote Back to top

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/11/29/moma_s_new_video_game_collection_museum_of_modern_art_proclaims_video_games.html

Not only does the NY Museum of Modern Art consider video games to be art, they plan on having an exhibition for people to experience the games on display in the museum.

Here is their justification for video games as art:

Quote:
By including the games in its Architecture and Design collection (which, it should be noted, also includes some works in film and book form) the MoMA acquisition places the “art” of video games in their architecture—that is, in the code crafted by designers and programmers.


The list of games set to be in the exhibition:

Quote:
The games MoMA has acquired so far are: Pac-Man (1980), Tetris (1984), Another World (1991), Myst (1993), SimCity 2000 (1994), vib-ribbon (1999), The Sims (2000), Katamari Damacy (2004), EVE Online (2003), Dwarf Fortress (2006), Portal (2007), flOw (2006), Passage (2008), and Canabalt (2009).


As far as how the exhibition will be displayed...

Quote:
MoMA says that visitors will be able to play the entirety of short games and experience “interactive demonstrations” or emulations of longer and older games. As for the complex universes of games like Dwarf Fortress and EVE Online, MoMA claims it will provide “guided tours of these alternate worlds.”


The exhibition is set to open March 2013. The article also states they are looking to acquire more games. I will definitely be going to see it since I live relatively close to NYC.


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Preng
Title: All right, that's cool!
Joined: Jan 11 2010
Location: Accounting Dept.
PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 12:31 pm Reply with quote Back to top

I seem to recall the "video games as art" argument picking up a bit during Braid's 2008 release. The thought and detail for that game's aesthetic and environment can be read here and has pretty much solidified my opinion that games can indeed be art. It's a long read that is broken down into various parts, but a very enjoyable one nonetheless.
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UsaSatsui
Title: The White Rabbit
Joined: May 25 2008
Location: Hiding
PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 12:47 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Someone get them a copy of Ico. It's the cliched "video games as art" example, but so true.

And yeah, I don't like Braid too much as a game, but I would call it very artistic.
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i'll_bite_your_ear
Title: Distillatoria
Joined: Jun 09 2010
Location: van down by the river
PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 02:13 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Katamari Damacy and Another World are good choices. They should include Shadow of the Colossus, wich is an true artwork among Videogames.


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Captain_Pollution
Title: Hugh
Joined: Sep 23 2007
PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 03:11 pm Reply with quote Back to top

I think they're saying that video games are art in the same way they call some chairs art. It certainly doesn't sound like they mean art in the same way that people who go on about the beautiful stories games can have mean it, anyway (@om quoted some of this in the OP):
Quote:
If video games are art, what kind of art are they, exactly? By including the games in its Architecture and Design collection (which, it should be noted, also includes some works in film and book form) the MoMA acquisition places the “art” of video games in their architecture—that is, in the code crafted by designers and programmers. This is a different take than argued for by, for instance, Tom Bissell, in his book Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter, which largely focused on their storytelling. A video game “looks nice,” Kate Carmody, a curatorial assistant at MoMA told Slate, but “there’s always the function, how that function elicits behavior,” adding that the narrative of a game only “plays into that grander design” of guiding the player’s behavior. The museum is currently seeking annotations on code by game designers, much as it would the scribblings and musings of artists. “The programming language takes the place of the wood or plastics,” Antonelli writes on the MoMA blog, comparing the design of a video game to that of “a stool or a helicopter.” As with those older technologies, Antonelli sees in video games a “synthesis of form and function.”


<Drew_Linky> Well, I've eaten vegetables all of once in my life.

 
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i'll_bite_your_ear
Title: Distillatoria
Joined: Jun 09 2010
Location: van down by the river
PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 03:17 pm Reply with quote Back to top

I personally consider videogames as an artform for years now, though i'm standing entirely alone with my oppinion i think that is the most appropriate perspective to put them in.
Many times i played a videogame i felt the exact same emotional stimuli as when i look at a painting or listen to a song i like. To me it would be redundant to not consider them as art, simply judging from the direct experience of playing them.


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Vert1
Joined: Aug 28 2011
PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 05:35 pm Reply with quote Back to top

http://insomnia.ac/commentary/for_artfags_only/

http://insomnia.ac/commentary/on_the_genealogy_of_art_games/

Not sure why you care to go to that. You should print out the content of those two links and drop them off at the museum. See what happens.

I remember when The Museum of Science and Industry Chicago had every game system ever made for people to look at and play when I was pretty young. There was no pretentiousness of the art movement or the health movement. Those were better times. Got to play Saturn Bomberman and Garou: Mark of the Wolves for the first time-- all on the actual systems, no emulator crap.

The question I have is whether this NY Museum will showcase Mature rated games for the public and assert that content of violence, nudity, etc. is acceptable for anyone to play because it is art. Will the ESRB 'M' rating be nullified??


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i'll_bite_your_ear
Title: Distillatoria
Joined: Jun 09 2010
Location: van down by the river
PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 06:40 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Vert1 wrote:
http://insomnia.ac/commentary/for_artfags_only/

http://insomnia.ac/commentary/on_the_genealogy_of_art_games/

Not sure why you care to go to that. You should print out the content of those two links and drop them off at the museum. See what happens.

I remember when The Museum of Science and Industry Chicago had every game system ever made for people to look at and play when I was pretty young. There was no pretentiousness of the art movement or the health movement. Those were better times. Got to play Saturn Bomberman and Garou: Mark of the Wolves for the first time-- all on the actual systems, no emulator crap.

The question I have is whether this NY Museum will display Mature rated games to the public and assert that the violence, nudity, etc. is no longer obscene or whatever because it is art. Will the ESRB 'M' rating be nullified??


Well, i agree, even though my oppinion differs from yours. I also like to see a videogames simply as a game, made to entertain, excite and thrill me. But on the other hand i see that a videogame is the sum of even more parts than that and that is why i like to see it also as an artwork.


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Syd Lexia
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Title: Pop Culture Junkie
Joined: Jul 30 2005
Location: Wakefield, MA
PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 07:49 pm Reply with quote Back to top

I haven't heard of half those games. :\
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Cameron
Title: :O � O:
Joined: Feb 01 2008
Location: St. Louis, MO
PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 08:59 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Vert1 wrote:
http://insomnia.ac/commentary/on_the_genealogy_of_art_games/

I honestly wasn't sure whether or not it was supposed to be satirical, but if not, I must respectfully condemn your constant usage of the term "faggot".


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UsaSatsui
Title: The White Rabbit
Joined: May 25 2008
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PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 09:04 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Syd Lexia wrote:
I haven't heard of half those games. :\

"Another World" was released here as "Out of this World" in the US, if that helps you recognize some of them.
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Syd Lexia
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Title: Pop Culture Junkie
Joined: Jul 30 2005
Location: Wakefield, MA
PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 09:47 pm Reply with quote Back to top

That one I am very much familiar with. Even know why it got the name change, and the minor censorship issues on home consoles.

The ones I have not heard of:
vib-ribbon (1999)
Dwarf Fortress (2006)
flOw (2006)
Passage (2008)
Canabalt (2009)

EVE Online, I've heard of, but mostly only because of this: http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-7-biggest-dick-moves-in-history-online-gaming/
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Beach Bum
Joined: Dec 08 2010
Location: At the pants party.
PostPosted: Nov 30 2012 10:04 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Dwarf Fortress is a roguelike that we had a thread on at one point a few years back. Pretty fun game once you replace the ASCII with a tile pack so you can tell what the fuck is going on.

Here's the website if you want to know more.
http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/
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@om*d
Title: Dorakyura
Joined: Jul 10 2010
Location: Castlevania
PostPosted: Dec 01 2012 01:09 am Reply with quote Back to top

vib-ribbon was a PSX game that came out in Japan that created levels based on tracks from music CDs you put into the PlayStation after starting the game. At least that is what I remember it being like.


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i'll_bite_your_ear
Title: Distillatoria
Joined: Jun 09 2010
Location: van down by the river
PostPosted: Dec 01 2012 11:09 am Reply with quote Back to top

Syd Lexia wrote:
I haven't heard of half those games. :\


WHAT THE FUCK IS A PAC-MAN?!


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Greg the White
Joined: Apr 09 2008
Location: Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Dec 01 2012 01:33 pm Reply with quote Back to top

As much as I hate the Penny Arcade guys these days, Tycho had a great quote that went something like:

"How could 100 artists working on something for three years produce anything other than art?"

Visual artists, musicians, writers, and skilled programmers making a game a reality make it an art whether we like it or not.


So here's to you Mrs. Robinson. People love you more- oh, nevermind.
 
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Alowishus
Joined: Aug 04 2009
PostPosted: Dec 01 2012 04:48 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Beach Bum wrote:
Dwarf Fortress is a roguelike that we had a thread on at one point a few years back. Pretty fun game once you replace the ASCII with a tile pack so you can tell what the fuck is going on.

Here's the website if you want to know more.
http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/

I'm very surprised that you haven't heard of Dwarf Fortress, Sydlexia.

Also this:
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The Opponent
Title: Forum Battle WINNER
Joined: Feb 24 2010
Location: The Danger Zone
PostPosted: Dec 01 2012 10:45 pm Reply with quote Back to top

Greg the White wrote:
As much as I hate the Penny Arcade guys these days, Tycho had a great quote that went something like:

"How could 100 artists working on something for three years produce anything other than art?"

Visual artists, musicians, writers, and skilled programmers making a game a reality make it an art whether we like it or not.

Design by committee can produce very interesting things, to say the least.


I'm not a bad enough dude, but I am an edgy little shit. I'll do what I can.
 
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