Next Gen Art Event: Putting games in galleries
At the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, such prejudices seem to have been dispelled. Their New Horizons exhibition celebrates the power of the virtual landscape, displaying videos, concept drawings and promotional pieces from a variety of video games alongside the work of prominent artists such as Jennifer Steinbeck, Harun Farocki and Cory Arcangel.
The exhibition finds wonder in even the most seemingly mainstream and consumer-focused of games, encouraging visitors to view them in a new light. Screenshot prints of the multiplayer maps of Battlefield 4, with all soldiers and action absent, are strangely haunting and affecting when taken out of their usual context. The reality-bending gameplay of Portal seems that much more thoughtful when shown alongside the influential impossible spaces of M.C. Escher.
See the full story here: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2015-01-12-next-gen-art-event-taking-video-game-art-seriously