Art and Video Games Collide at Snowbird Resort

SALT LAKE CITY - July 25, 2014 - PRLog -- The Blank Arcade exhibition of international artist will show works that fill in the blanks of game design. The exhibition features 17 works from artists in North America and Europe.  It will take place August 4th at the Snowbird resort. The games range from custom game consoles to large scale, crowd-based board games. Each work is an experiment in play, providing an experience rarely if ever offered through other games.  The collection was curated by American University professor and award winning game designer, Lindsay Grace.

The exhibition runs parallel to the Digital Games Research Association’s annual conference (DiGRA) at the Snowbird resort in Salt Lake City Utah. Most of the 17 artists will be available to talk about their playful work and answer questions during a panel to follow on Friday.  Novel work includes currency, as described by the artists, “A console constructed from an obsolete Burroughs adding machine which  monitors the exchange rate of bitcoins to US dollars and uses this data to generate a game level that prints out on a roll of receipt paper.”    Or Renormal, a game which can be manipulated by inserting and removing plastic screens into the game cabinet.

The exhibition offers a range of experiences from the site specific installation Random Fortune Generators to the party video game, Capsize.    Visitors can experience a live performance piece by Deirdra Kiai or an 8-bit narrative adaption of Ambrose Bierce’s short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek.

The event is a welcome take on combining the arcade experience with an art exhibition.  Visitors are encouraged to visit with an open mind for this one day exhibition occurring at the Snowbird Resort in conjunction with the DiGRA annual conference.  More information is available at http://digra2014.eae.utah.edu/ and http://blankarcade.criticalgameplay.com/

Artists to be shown include: James Earl Cox III, Hartmut Koenitz          (University of Georgia), Carolyn Jong (Concordia University), Deirdra Kiai (University of California Santa Cruz), Brian Patrick Franklin, Christopher Wille (Illinois State University),Adam Trowbridge, Jessica Westbrook (Channel TWo), Jean-Michel Rolland, Tina Kalinger (University of Utah), Roger Altizer (University of Utah), Anjali Deshmukh, Josh Fishburn (University of Wisconsin–Whitewater), Aaron Oldenburg (University of Baltimore), Rafael Fajardo        (SWEAT and the University of Denver), Barry Atkins (University of South Wales), Lindsay Grace (American University), Benjamin Poynter, UCSC Xylem Team (University of California Santa Cruz)