Video Games "Officially" Art, according to MoMA

looneymoon · Dec 5, 2012

The Museum of Modern Art bought 14 video games last week to add to its permanent collection—making video games not just interesting anthropological artifacts but also a form of art. According to a press release, the museum would like to snatch up about 40 games but so far has the following:

• Pac-Man (1980)
• Tetris (1984)
• Another World (1991)
• Myst (1993)
• SimCity 2000 (1994)
• vib-ribbon (1999)
• The Sims (2000)
• Katamari Damacy (2004)
• EVE Online (2003)
• Dwarf Fortress (2006)
• Portal (2007)
• flOw (2006)
• Passage (2008)
• Canabalt (2009)

Future prospects include things like The Legend of Zelda, Street Fighter, Animal Crossing, Super Mario 64 and Minecraft. You might notice that on this first list there isn’t a single Nintendo game: word is that the museum is still hammering out a deal with the video game giant. MoMA writes:

Are video games art? They sure are, but they are also design, and a design approach is what we chose for this new foray into this universe. The games are selected as outstanding examples of interaction design—a field that MoMA has already explored and collected extensively, and one of the most important and oft-discussed expressions of contemporary design creativity. Our criteria, therefore, emphasize not only the visual quality and aesthetic experience of each game, but also the many other aspects—from the elegance of the code to the design of the player’s behavior—that pertain to interaction design. In order to develop an even stronger curatorial stance, over the past year and a half we have sought the advice of scholars, digital conservation and legal experts, historians, and critics, all of whom helped us refine not only the criteria and the wish list, but also the issues of acquisition, display, and conservation of digital artifacts that are made even more complex by the games’ interactive nature. This acquisition allows the Museum to study, preserve, and exhibit video games as part of its Architecture and Design collection.

Smithsonian American Art Museum displayed video games as art last year in its exhibit The Art of Video Games. They write:

The Art of Video Games is one of the first exhibitions to explore the forty-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies. It features some of the most influential artists and designers during five eras of game technology, from early pioneers to contemporary designers. The exhibition focuses on the interplay of graphics, technology and storytelling through some of the best games for twenty gaming systems ranging from the Atari VCS to the PlayStation 3. Eighty games, selected with the help of the public, demonstrate the evolution of the medium. The games are presented through still images and video footage. In addition, the galleries will include video interviews with twenty developers and artists, large prints of in-game screen shots, and historic game consoles. Chris Melissinos, founder of Past

Pixels and collector of video games and gaming systems, is the curator of the exhibition.

The exhibit is on tour to ten cities right now – currently living at The Boca Raton Museum of Art in Florida, and eventually traveling to Syracuse, Toleda, Memphis and other cities in the United States.

Neat news, but my overall reaction to it can be summed up as

lol.

Ghost X · Dec 5, 2012

Ebert will be most unpleased.

Ⓐaron · Dec 5, 2012

Man, too bad this didn't happen five years ago. I could've visited the exhibit when I was at school.

Obsidian Fire · Dec 5, 2012

we have sought the advice of scholars, digital conservation and legal experts, historians, and critics, all of whom helped us refine not only the criteria and the wish list, but also the issues of acquisition, display, and conservation of digital artifacts that are made even more complex by the games’ interactive nature

Anyone notice that the gamers themselves were not a group MoMA sought the advice of?

Tennyo · Dec 5, 2012

needz moar Journey, Okami, and Shadow of the Colossus, imho.

And From Dust if anyone even cared about that game.

AvecAloes · Dec 5, 2012

Tennyo said:
needz moar Journey, Okami, and Shadow of the Colossus, imho.

And From Dust if anyone even cared about that game.

Shadow of the Colossus for sure. They should throw Ico in there too, while they're at it.

Lex · Dec 5, 2012

Tennyo said:
And From Dust if anyone even cared about that game.

OMG someone else who played this game!! I loved it. May have to do another playthrough. Though I found it difficult towards the end.

Cthulhu · Dec 5, 2012

I haven't played it because I heard / read the performance was shit, :monster:

Tennyo · Dec 5, 2012

I only have one more trophy to get on that game. Every time I think I'm close to achieving it I screw up. And it sucks because you have to play through the entire main part of the game over and over to get it.

@Yop: GTFO From Dust was a fun game.

Octo · Dec 5, 2012

Tennyo said:
needz moar Journey, Okami, and Shadow of the Colossus, imho.

And From Dust if anyone even cared about that game.

nnnnng From Dust! I was crap at it though, my little tribespeople kept getting drowned and burnt and shit. But it was beautiful.

Also its about time videogames got recognition, its not all mindless jibberish, though I'd say that most videogames, like most films (and books...and music....and paintings...) have very little artistic merit. I guess its because the gaming generation have grown up now, videogames are no longer considered 'for children' (though some people still think so, but soon those people will be dead :monster:

) because as we all know children can't possibly appreciate art :awesome:

Lex · Dec 5, 2012

Someone named Octo said:
but soon those people will be dead )

This statement made me far happier than it should have.

Gym Leader Devil · Dec 5, 2012

Oh hey, Portal is art now. This just makes the Art Appreciation co-op test track from Portal 2 sorta meta :awesome:

Kermitu Kleric Katie · Dec 6, 2012

Needs moar Final Fantasy, EarthBound, and Pokemon.

Oh, and did anyone else start getting the Tetris theme stuck in their head when it mentioned Tetris?

Tennyo · Dec 6, 2012

Someone named Octo said:
nnnnng From Dust! I was crap at it though, my little tribespeople kept getting drowned and burnt and shit. But it was beautiful.

This was my first play-through. :monster:

Probably my first few play-throughs, more like. :awesome:

looneymoon · Dec 6, 2012

I wrote a paper on the postmodern narrative complexity of Pac-Man.

I got an A+ on it.

Tennyo · Dec 6, 2012

Post for the rest of us to read?

looneymoon · Dec 6, 2012

maybe one day when I have the chance to fix it up a bit :monster:

I had to submit it in its first draft - I tend to write my papers haphazzardly the night before so I'm not personally all that satisfied with it.

Tennyo · Dec 6, 2012

I think that's how 90% of all college students write their papers. :monster:

Ⓐaron · Dec 6, 2012

It certainly was how I wrote most of mine :monster:

Gym Leader Devil · Dec 6, 2012

Same.

Cthulhu · Dec 6, 2012

I didn't write papers, :monster:

Lex · Dec 6, 2012

Guilty.

Tennyo · Dec 6, 2012

Cthulhu said:
I didn't write papers,

You wrote code instead, I'm sure.

And did it sloppily the night before, amirite?

~~except probably not~~

Cthulhu · Dec 7, 2012

Nah, I don't program at night. Too mainstream for my tastes, :monster:

. Pretty sure I did stuff that needed to be done either during the day at school or sometimes at home.

Splintered · Dec 9, 2012

idgi, staying up all night, hating yourself as you type at your glowing word program of doom, drinking as much caffeine as you can while trying to find in easy ways to shove multiple sources in your paper is part of the college experience.

Video Games "Officially" Art, according to MoMA

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