This is very cool -- the Smithsonian American Art Museum is planning a proper exhibit of video game art; judging from the website, it will at the least include some beautiful concept paintings from more recent games, and plans to cover five generations of video game technology and visuals.
Better yet, they're soliciting input from gamers from February 14 through April 17, 2011 -- you can vote for 80 games out of a pool of 240 worthy nominees. The voting site requires registration, to minimize stuffing of the ballet boxes, so let's all be honest and keep this dignified.
I wish there was more interactivity planned -- the exhibit will feature only five significant games as live, playable examples -- because in my opinion that's where the true art of gaming lies. But this is a conventional art museum, and a well-respected one, so the exhibit's focus on the visual aesthetics of gaming is completely appropriate.
Visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Exhibitions: The Art of Video Games site to learn more about the exhibit, and visit the voting site to express your opinion.
Monday, February 21, 2011
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Fatally flawed exhibit, since they left Rocket Knight Adventures, high water mark of the Genesis, off the ballot. :)
ReplyDeleteMore seriously, the ballot is interesting-- I wonder how closely the curator is held to following it? Looking at the Infinity engine games side by side chronologically (or the Sonic games, or one of the Mario lineages) would be an interesting sub-exhibit within the context of advances in video game art, but the ballot presents BG2 and FO (as an example) as mutually exclusive choices.
If I make it to DC this summer, I'll be going to see this. Thanks for posting the notice!
I'm hoping to get out there and see it too. No doubt we all have a few favorite games that won't make the cut, but the nominee pool seems to be aiming for historical significance as well as aesthetic merit. That's not an easy balance to strike, and more power to them for trying.
ReplyDeleteI would kill to see this exhibit ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed that they're working so hard to hear from the geeks around the world.