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Indepth Arts News:
"Killer Instinct in the Zenith Media Lounge"
2003-12-12 until 2004-02-01
New Museum of Contemporary Art
New York, NY,
USA
Killer Instinct plays on the blurred boundary between gaming and contemporary art by showcasing works that inhabit both spheres. Computer games shift out of their usual context and come off of the screen in an exhibition including sculpture, folk, video and sound art. In Bodinchigae, Paul Johnson and Sunny Kim have created autonomous characters that function as self-portraits based on stereotypes coming out of the Korean War -- in this case, Johnson takes on the role of a young American soldier while Sunny portrays herself as a Korean schoolgirl.
The time-based nature of Johnson's game software allows these two characters to interact dynamically without a proscribed outcome. In Heaven @ 711, Anne-Marie Schleiner turns the DJ aspects of hip hop music into a stunning, formalist arcade-style game in which strong rhymes, creative beats, and "scratching" earn points, allowing different players to creatively remix the same source material. And for an untitled sculpture, Brody Condon and Shih Chieh Huang have collaborated to create an organic piece that literally jumps off of the computer screen to unravel itself in the gallery space. Killer Instinct is co-curated by Rhizome.org Executive Director Rachel Greene and New Museum Curator of Education Media Programs Anne Barlow.
The New Museum of Contemporary Art, founded in 1977, is the only museum in New York City dedicated to contemporary art and shows the best art from around the world. Over the last five years, the Museum has exhibited artists from Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, China, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Germany, Poland, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom among others. The Museum has also mounted ambitious surveys of important but under-recognized artists such as Ana Mendieta, William Kentridge, David Wojnorowicz, and Paul McCarthy. The Museum’s Zenith Media Lounge, launched in November 2000, is the only museum space in New York City devoted to presenting new media digital art and experimental video from around the world.
In Spring 2006, the New Museum will open a new home at 235 Bowery at Prince Street. This 60,000 square foot facility, designed by the Tokyo-based firm Sejima + Nishizawa/SANAA, will greatly expand the Museum’s exhibitions and programs, and will be the first art museum constructed in Downtown New York’s modern history. In the summer of 2004, the Museum will leave its 583 Broadway location and embark on a series of exciting transitional programs in and around its new neighborhood.
IMAGE
Brody Condon
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