New Media Art Exhibits

Part 1: The focus of this homework will be two exhibits: Test Pattern by Ryoji Ikeda and Long March by Feng Mengbo

These two exhibits were the most interesting to me because of their visual and almost interactive feel they give off. Both of these exhibits, in their own way, show movement and visually appeal to an audience through that similarity.

I like the Test Pattern exhibit because of the black and white flashing colors. The pulsating colors almost give me a headache, especially since it's like looking at strobing lights at a party or club. Nonetheless, I like the way the lights moved with the sounds. The video showed people interacting with the lights and sound in a personal way. The main thing about the test pattern is that it contrasts the light and dark with each other and pairs it nicely with movement. I also enjoyed how the people were just doing normal things or sitting on the ground and the lights and sound moved all around them. The way everything was shot looked just like an actual testing screen that you would see on a television. I believe this message is supposed to show the relationship between real life movement and the contrast between light and dark movement.

I liked the Long March exhibit because of the overwhelming color and movement on the screen. This is a huge display of a similar Super Mario game paired with other characters from different games. I like that it is a larger-than-life display of a video game. I believe the message here is to show the way gamers see video games, as sometimes more than just a game but huge, come-to-life type of way. I also liked the interaction of the game. The man in the video seems to be playing the game and turning around to the other screen after or in the middle of each level. This just brings to life the idea of video games and the bigger than life appeal.

These two art exhibits were my favorite of the five choices and I actually really enjoyed getting to see them. If these exhibits came to DC, I would most likely go see them just to physically see the exhibits come to life.

Part 2: I commented on Katie's project.