Game (Life): Video Games in Contemporary Art

Exhibit at Firehouse Gallery Includes Champlain Game Design Lecture Series

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Game (Life) - a new exhibit at the Burlington City Arts Firehouse Gallery put the fine art of video game design in the spotlight. (Photo by Stephen Mease / Champlain College)

BURLINGTON, VT (12/21/2009)(readMedia)-- In one of the first of its kind in the U.S., Burlington City Arts opened a new exhibition, Game (Life), at the Firehouse Gallery on Church Street on Dec. 18. The show runs through Feb. 13, 2010.

The exhibition, sponsored in part by Champlain College, features 11 artists from Vermont and around the world: Jason Rohrer (Passage and Gravitation), Jonathan Blow (Braid), Randy Smith (Spider), Paolo Pedercini (Faith Fighter and The McDonald's Videogame), Jenova Chen (Flow and Flower), Petri Purho (Crayon Physics), Jakub Dvorsky (Machinarium), Heather Kelley (Sugar), Mark Essen (The Thrill of Combat), Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn (Tale of Tales).

Game (Life): Video Games in Contemporary Art transforms the downtown gallery into a functioning video arcade set on "free play" inviting visitors to interact in a gallery setting. Blurring the distinction between the real and synthetic worlds of gaming, the galleries interior has a boldly colored, three-dimensional, pixilated landscape bringing to life the look of a classic video game.

Provocative and reflective works by artists and independent game designers engage visitors in play, and confront the viewer/player with questions regarding politics, violence, emotional resonance and beauty, as well as the implications of video gaming's emerging dominance in our entertainment culture.

"Video games have evolved from part-time entertainment experiences to fully developed art forms that not only express current aspects of the cultures that are developing them but also shape those that engage with them. This exhibition provides a compelling look into the growing prominence of video games today," noted Jeff Rutenbeck, dean of the Division of Communications and Creative Media at Champlain College.

Champlain students will work as docents at the gallery to help visitors explore and understand how to play the games. The gaming experience ranges from playing on an I-Touch platform to a wall-size projected image.

In addition to the gallery exhibition, Burlington City Arts has collaborated with Champlain College's Game Design program to present an artist/game designer lecture series beginning in January and featuring:

Jason Rohrer author of Passage and Gravitation

Friday, January 15 at Champlain College Alumni Auditorium, 7-8:30 pm

Saturday, January 16 at the Firehouse Gallery, 4:30-6 pm

Heather Kelley author of Sugar

Friday, January 22 at Champlain College Alumni Auditorium, 7-8:30 pm

Saturday, January 23 at the Firehouse Gallery, 4:30-6 pm

Jonathan Blow author of Braid, winner of the 2006 "Game Design" award

Friday, January 29 at Champlain College Alumni Auditorium, 7-8:30 pm

Saturday, January 30 at the Firehouse Gallery, 4:30-6 pm

Randy Smith author of Spider: Secret of Bryce Manor

Friday, February 5 at Champlain College Alumni Auditorium, 7-8:30 pm

Saturday, February 6 at the Firehouse Gallery, 4:30-6 pm

A closing reception with musical performance, film, and an artist talk with Paolo Pedercini, author of Faith Fighter and The McDonald's Videogame and more, will be held on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010 from 4:30 to 6 pm at the Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts.

"The ongoing collaborations between Champlain College and Burlington City Arts are providing our students, faculty staff, and the Burlington community with an amazing range of opportunities to explore the traditions and cutting edges of technology and art today," Rutenbeck added.

Game (Life) is sponsored by The Communication and Creative Media Division at Champlain College, UVM College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and is an important part of Burlington City Arts, which is dedicated to the promotion of excellence, experimentation, and education in all forms of contemporary art.

Champlain College, founded in 1878, offers "Education in Three Dimensions" - a distinctive educational approach to professionally focused majors, developing life skills and leadership based on critical and creative thinking. It has nearly 2,000 campus-based undergraduate students on campus and is ranked in the top tier of Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the North by 2009 America's Best Colleges, published by U.S. News & World Report. To learn more about Champlain College, visit www.champlain.edu.

Photos Available

http://picasaweb.google.com/ChamplainCollegePhotos/GameLifeExhibit?feat=directlink

Background information on Champlain College's Game Art & Animation

http://www.champlain.edu/Undergraduate-Studies/Majors-and-Programs/Majors-Index/Game-Art-and-Animation.html

Division of Communication & Creative Media

Take your creativity into the box. Game artists apply their creativity to develop the graphic assets that define all the visual aspects of a game from the interface and environment to objects and characters that inhabit that environment. In Champlain's Game Art and Animation program, the industry-seasoned faculty help you gain technical skills to work with cutting-edge industry technology while developing your creative practice as a game artist.

Build on tradition and technology. The curriculum builds on a solid foundation of visual courses from traditional art and graphic design to advanced 3D modeling, animation and portfolio development. Students use state-of-the-art hardware and software and can focus on 3D modeling, 3D animation, character design, 2D animation and web-based media, or interface design. Course work emphasizes group dynamics, workflow, organization, technical expertise, production values, an aesthetic vision, and the creative process.

Teamwork is the key to success. Students enrolled in Game Art and Animation, Game Design or Game Programming work in a collaborative environment modeled on the video game industry. This team-based environment represents the convergence of the video game entertainment industry with emergent and immersive technologies, serious games, 2D- and 3D-art, animation, interactive storytelling and interface design. Students from all three programs collaborate throughout their four years at Champlain in production environments to create original 2D and 3D projects. The culmination of your education is a complete year-long project where you and your team take an original game idea from concept to gold master.

Join the future of mass media. In 2007 the computer and video game entertainment industry grew 6% to reach $9.5 billion. Added to the landscape are the growing number of jobs outside of traditional video game production. These positions utilize the same skill sets to create game-based materials used in a variety of industries from military, industrial, corporate, and medical training to advertising, marketing and other promotional media.