Technicolor Thoughts and Virtual Visions
05/05/2023
✧༺♥༻∞ a retrospective journal entry ∞༺♥༻✧
DISCLAIMER: This blogpost will not offer any profound analyses of the possible mentioned works but rather inform about the impressions which occurred in my mind while visiting the Julia Stoschek Foundation.
After an exciting exit from the Schanzenstraße in Cologne, we made our way to the Schanzenstraße in Düsseldorf. It was almost like we never left the street!
Around 11:00 we arrived at the Julia Stoschek Foundation, a beautiful, bright building, which is absolutely terrible when it comes to exhibiting digital art works that require complete darkness. Luckily the foundation found smart solutions for this, such as the utilization of a thin second wall built on the inside that blocks out all this lustrous light. We met with the curator who led us through the entire collection.
Twists on those who came first
A Pac-Man (Sturtevants, 2012) screenrecording was there to kick off the tour, followed by Space Invader (Cory Arcangel, 2004) on the nostalgic Atari, yet, in this version of the game winning would be a mere dream, as losing is the only way through. FUN. Later we witnessed Lara Croft die over and over in Tomb Raider screenrecordings, this work served as a critical statement on the oversexualised and objectified female game protagonist.
SHE KEEPS ME DAMN ALIVE by Brathwaite-Shirley
We moved swiftly through flashing installations where we eventually ended up in this velvety red room. Here we could play SHE KEEPS ME DAMN ALIVE combined with DECISION MAKER by Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley. The first work takes a stance to protect black trans women. The mechanism of the work is a point-and-shoot style arcade game where the interactor is put in a position where they are stimulated to reflect on the choices that they make in the game as well as how their choices affect other parties in the game. The fact that it is a point-and-shoot mechanism transfers quite a violent and eerie feeling to the game, given the police brutality towards black people which remains to be a notable societal issue.
Explore more here about the art work itself. Read more about the artist here in an article written by Judith Vallette for BerlinArtLink.
Pastoral by Triantafyllidis
Another work that struck me as fascinating, was Triantafyllidis’s work Pastoral. The player is in control of a muscular yet feminine looking orc wearing a bikini. The game’s environment is a hay field, with rather few objects placed in it. There is for example a tree present under which a satyr plays the mandolin, but the satyr seems to be a non-interactive NPC (non-player character). The game has a similar style to “World of Warcraft”, where it appears you have the possibility to explore freely through third person perspective, however in Pastoral, you’ll notice that there are restrictions and you cannot go further than the game allows you to. Since there are no interactions, and seemingly no passing of time where you forever remain stuck in golden hour, the peaceful atmosphere of the game becomes rather eerie and claustrophobic. It gave me fever dream vibes, yet I very much appreciated this feeling. The mechanism for this game worked via controller and screen output. The room in which the work was presented contained hay all over the floor and a hay bale to sit on while playing. Quite lovely and added to the game’s spatial immersivity.
Want to try the game yourself or read more about it? Check out this link!
PLAYER OF COSMIC REALMS by Keiken
This installation was inspiring on many levels. The room in which the installation was set up, was already quite impressive. A completely white walkable platform emerging from a white salt desert. There was a seating area in front of projected visuals. A tablet was there that served as the control mechanic for the projection. This part of the installation is called The Life Game. Next to this seating area was a white bench on which you could lie down. The curator then put headphones on our ears and a blue glowing womb on our belly. Once the sound came out of the headphones, the womb started to vibrate accordingly. It was a surreal experience. This installation is named Bet(a) Bodies. The tablet interface to control the progress of the narrative appeared to be rather intuitive with little UI (user interface) present, I quite like this as it feels more immersive, with fewer distractions.
Read more about this work.
RE-ANIMATED by Steensen
VR (virtual reality) was of course invited to the party as well. RE-ANIMATED is a project that aims to respond to the mating call of the extinct Kaua’i ʻōʻō bird. As with most VR experiences this felt highly immersive and I would argue that the medium was well chosen as the scenery and movements felt like a carefully puzzled poem. The mechanics of the experience were rather easy as you could remain seated or standing. When it comes to VR projects, this is quite lovely because the chances of feeling motion sick decline incredibly. Of course you could look around and feel this true immersion, but no particular body movements were required to enjoy this work.
Read more if you are curious about the finer details of this work.
Almanac Of Girlswampwar Territory by ITS ME PORPENTINE
I was so excited to see Porpentine represented here! I first explored her works in 2018 during my exchange in Bergen (Norway), where I delved into digital humanities courses. Back then I was impressed by With Those We Love Alive, an interactive narrative created with Twine. This time around, I was initially drawn in by the work’s soundtrack, and of course I loved the setup as well, a type ’90s/early 2000s computer setup with a big chunky computer screen. To navigate the game you’d use the arrows on the keyboard and occasionally the spacebar to continue (faster with) the dialogues. Quite familiar and easy. The game uses a sort of pixel/8 bit aesthetic, with complementing soundtracks. I played the game a little while but not long enough to fully live through the narrative due to our tour’s limited timeframe.
Lucky for me and you too, it is possible to play and even download the work on her website, from the comfort of your own home or wherever you are.
Check out more works created by Porpentine.
Final thoughts
There were many more works worthy of mention, in fact, I would highly recommend to visit the Julia Stoschek Foundation if you have the opportunity. There’s a myriad of digital art installations among other sources such as books available to explore, play around and broaden your horizons with. The foundation in Düsseldorf is open on Sundays completely for free from 11:00 a.m. — 6:00 p.m.
