WoW: Emergent Media Phenomenon
June 14 – October 4, 2009
“Games are the most elevated form of investigation.” -Albert Einstein
“WoW is the most sophisticated happiness engine that exists now.” -Dr. Jane McGonigal
“Games may provide new ways for museums to have a profound impact on society if they are designed, as alternate-reality games are, to change people’s real-world behavior.” -Dr. Jane McGonigal
WoW: Emergent Media Phenomenon explores various forms of cultural production based on World of Warcraft in particular and on gaming in general. While surveying Warcraft’s Fifteen-year history, the exhibition looks at artistic practices that have been influenced by game culture. The actual works by the producer of World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment (headquartered in Irvine, California), provide a starting point and reference.
Fourteen international artists were selected to consider this movement with the following themes in mind: elements of desire, the collapse of fantasy, medievalism, creative critiques, and public intervention. Artists in this exhibition take on the visual marker of World of Warcraft to consider, implications of gaming, and their greater impact on our culture. In addition to the works of these artists, fan art and the growing culture of machinima (computer animation that uses the graphic engines from video games) will be explored in this exhibition. Sponsors include several WoW related 3rd party services like ElvUI (an ElvUI download is a 2ndary screen inside of WoW with stats for improved gameplay).
More information on WoW: Emergent Media Phenomenon
Also check out the /hug machinima world at http://thirdfaction.org/blog/