Arcade

Abstract

For the solo exhibition ‘Arcade’ Bloom developed six artworks (‘Pacman Ouroboros’, ‘Victory Over The Sun, ‘Triple A’, ‘O:.O:.O:.’, ‘Major Havoc’ and ‘Homage to a Homage’) to explore the interplay of games and art, building on moving image work created by Bloom for the international touring exhibition ‘Pong Mythos’. The artworks featured in the exhibition were underpinned by an examination of non-linear approaches to narrative (live cinema) and digital translation.

The exhibition was produced and funded by Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA), Creative Scotland and Dundee City Council. The Paul Hamlyn Foundation supported the video installation ‘Major Havoc’, funding research with the London VoiceLab Orchestra. The film ‘O:.O:.O:.’ was supported by a Glasgow Visual Artists Award, enabling research at The Dance House National Dance Agency, Glasgow. ‘Arcade’ was reviewed by DCA Director Clive Gillman, art critic Dr Alex Kennedy and discussed in an interview with Swedish Game Art critic Mathias Jansson.

The exhibition articulates the relevance of new, emerging and trans-medial dialogues and positions the 'art game' resolutely within the canon of fine art. The pairing down of information was common throughout the early years of game programming when home computers lacked processing power, forcing programmers to focus on the games’ logical structures while creating visually minimalist designs. 'Arcade' examines this ability to create engaging works within technical constraints, utilising limited palettes and reduced forms to investigate the relationship between early games design and the re-enchantment of modernity

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