Game Paused – Videogame-Inspired Art Exhibition
And posh console-shaped coffee table book.
Game Paused sells itself as being ‘a creative celebration of the video game’ and, as such, the group of designers and artists behind the project have just announced a forthcoming book and exhibition ‘by and for the creative gamer’.
'Now, what’s all this then?' we're thinking. Is it some Nathan Barley-esque multimedia work from some bored fine art students? Or is it perhaps something a little more fresh and inspired? Thankfully, it would seem to be the latter.
Checking out their website at www.gamepaused.net you see a load of quite eye-catching images – some which look pretty cool, and others which look, well, a bit rubbish. But, as with all untutored art enthusiasts, SPOnG knows what it likes and, in this case, likes some of what it sees.
The book and exhibition will feature contributions from both new and established creatives, including artists, graphic designers, moving image experts and photographers – the common thread being that all work must be directly inspired by videogames.
SPOnG spoke to Matthew D. Kenyon earlier today, the founder and instigator of the Game Paused project, to quiz him a little bit more about the inspiration for the idea and to find out a little more about the plans for the book and exhibition.
“As soon as the project was launched, submissions came flooding in. We had over 600 people show an interest in submitting work, and have had over 400 submissions in so far, covering a wide spectrum of forms, including graphic work, indie games, typography, new and traditional media and video work,” Kenyon told SPOnG, clearly pleased with the initial response.
“It’s not really something which has been done before, at least in the UK. There have been exhibitions about games and about videogaming history – such as the Game On exhibition [which returns to London’s Barbican courtesy of Nintendo this summer]. There has also been Jon Gibson’s great iam8bit in the US,” Kenyon continued.
The exhibition will take place at a soon-to-be-confirmed London gallery space this summer and the book - 300 square pages thick - will come in the shape of a console, and will surely be on any discerning gamers coffee table underneath the 360 controllers and the old pizza boxes.
Game Paused also plan to sell T-shirts, which Kenyon claims will be made from quality material and with exclusive designs, “...unlike anything currently available, which is mostly not so desirable” according to Kenyon. Well, SPOnG certainly agrees with him on that.
Rip-off Atari logos and Space Invaders-inspired, cheaply-branded clothing seems to have become something of a (down)market staple in our high streets and rag markets. Naming no names of course! So it would be nice to see some gaming-inspired clobber which was both quality-made and looked the part.
Industry support has already been forthcoming from companies such as Sega, Sony, Ubisoft and Vivendi. Watch this space for more news on the upcoming exhibition and other Game Paused events.
'Now, what’s all this then?' we're thinking. Is it some Nathan Barley-esque multimedia work from some bored fine art students? Or is it perhaps something a little more fresh and inspired? Thankfully, it would seem to be the latter.
Checking out their website at www.gamepaused.net you see a load of quite eye-catching images – some which look pretty cool, and others which look, well, a bit rubbish. But, as with all untutored art enthusiasts, SPOnG knows what it likes and, in this case, likes some of what it sees.
The book and exhibition will feature contributions from both new and established creatives, including artists, graphic designers, moving image experts and photographers – the common thread being that all work must be directly inspired by videogames.
SPOnG spoke to Matthew D. Kenyon earlier today, the founder and instigator of the Game Paused project, to quiz him a little bit more about the inspiration for the idea and to find out a little more about the plans for the book and exhibition.
“As soon as the project was launched, submissions came flooding in. We had over 600 people show an interest in submitting work, and have had over 400 submissions in so far, covering a wide spectrum of forms, including graphic work, indie games, typography, new and traditional media and video work,” Kenyon told SPOnG, clearly pleased with the initial response.
“It’s not really something which has been done before, at least in the UK. There have been exhibitions about games and about videogaming history – such as the Game On exhibition [which returns to London’s Barbican courtesy of Nintendo this summer]. There has also been Jon Gibson’s great iam8bit in the US,” Kenyon continued.
The exhibition will take place at a soon-to-be-confirmed London gallery space this summer and the book - 300 square pages thick - will come in the shape of a console, and will surely be on any discerning gamers coffee table underneath the 360 controllers and the old pizza boxes.
Game Paused also plan to sell T-shirts, which Kenyon claims will be made from quality material and with exclusive designs, “...unlike anything currently available, which is mostly not so desirable” according to Kenyon. Well, SPOnG certainly agrees with him on that.
Rip-off Atari logos and Space Invaders-inspired, cheaply-branded clothing seems to have become something of a (down)market staple in our high streets and rag markets. Naming no names of course! So it would be nice to see some gaming-inspired clobber which was both quality-made and looked the part.
Industry support has already been forthcoming from companies such as Sega, Sony, Ubisoft and Vivendi. Watch this space for more news on the upcoming exhibition and other Game Paused events.