Artist John Newsom and Oklahoma Contemporary director Jeremiah Matthew Davis gave a preview tour to media and other VIPs before the official opening of Nature’s Course. Here is that behind-the-scenes event that I filmed for Oklahoma Contemporary.
Stay tuned to Uncovering Oklahoma as over there I’ll share a one-on-one tour with John Newsom about the learning gallery part of the exhibition. I’ll also have an artist interview for a new series I’ve developed.
To celebrate the opening of Off the Wall at Oklahoma Contemporary, Pablo Barrera hosted a conversation with Sarah Ahmad, romy owens and Marium Rana. The Oklahoma-based artists discussed their process and the various themes prevalent in Off the Wall, ranging from the artists’ relationship to time, chaos and tradition to modernity and cultural interpretation.
Working in three distinct styles, Ahmad, owens and Rana created immersive and interactive installations to transform the Mary Leflore Clements Oklahoma Gallery. Rather than being confined to the walls, their artwork extended into the air and explore the physical, vertical volume of the gallery using paper, textile and mixed media.
Off The Wall will be on display until June 20, 2022.
Oklahoma Contemporary hosted a conversation and demo with James Simpson, CEO of GoldFire Studios, Jeff Price, chair of game design and animation at Oklahoma City University, and Linh Terford, independent game illustrator and concept artist. The speakers shared their experiences contributing to a growing video game industry in Oklahoma and gave insight into what’s on the horizon in game design, development and VR.
Oklahoma Contemporary commissioned me to film this guided tour of their exhibition, Open World. Featuring nearly 70 works across both traditional and digital disciplines, this showstopper exhibition offers something surprising around every corner. Open World will engage gamers, pop culture enthusiasts, art aficionados, and casual fans of all ages alike.
I got to use my big camera stabilizer for this tour, which I’m still getting used to setting up and using for videos. The tool was great for walking around the gallery.
If you can make the trip to Oklahoma Contemporary, go visit Open World before they close on February 21, 2022.
Open World: Video Games & Contemporary Art at Oklahoma Contemporary presents the work of artists who use video games as a catalyst for making art that addresses timely issues, including gun violence, migration and gender equality. The artworks in Open World reference a broad cross section of games, ranging from early text adventure and arcade games to more recent releases such as World of Warcraft and Grand Theft Auto.
In this episode, Artistic Director Jeremiah Matthew Davis shares an overview of the exhibition. Then he highlights works by Tabor Robak, Joan Pamboukes, and Feng Mengbo. The video ends with a tour of the learning gallery for Open World.
Open World’s immersive installation features three interactive artworks. The quiet, introspective game The Night Journey (2007-18), created by Bill Viola in conjunction with the USC Game Innovation Lab, mimics the process of achieving spiritual enlightenment, while Feng Mengbo’s energetic side-scrolling platformer Long March: Restart (2008) loosely recounts a significant event in Chinese history through 8-bit graphics. Retro gamers will enjoy Cory Arcangel’s I Shot Andy Warhol (2002), a modification of the 1984 Nintendo Entertainment System game Hogan’s Alley, which includes appearances by the Pop artist along with Colonel Sanders, Flavor Flav and the pope.
Artists included in the exhibition are: Ueli Alder (Hemberg, Switzerland), Cory Arcangel (New York), Alan Butler (Dublin), JooYoung Choi (Houston), Joseph DeLappe (Dundee, Scotland), Krista Hoefle (South Bend, IN), Invader (Paris), Butt Johnson (New York), Angelo Ray Martínez (South Bend, IN), Michael Menchaca (San Antonio), Feng Mengbo (Beijing), Joan Pamboukes (New York), Oliver Payne (Los Angeles), Tim Portlock (St. Louis), Tabor Robak (New York), Jacolby Satterwhite (New York), Skawennati (Montreal), Suzanne Treister (London), Nathan Vincent (Los Angeles), Bill Viola (Long Beach, CA), Angela Washko (Pittsburgh) and Mathew Zefeldt (Minneapolis).
Open World is organized by the Akron Art Museum and supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Ohio Arts Council, The Tom and Marilyn Merryweather Fund, and National Endowment for the Arts. Oklahoma Contemporary’s exhibition is presented by Velocigo. It is made possible through the generous support of the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation, Delaware Resource Group, Anonymous, CNS Productions, Annie Bohanon, Christian Kanady, George Records, and Glenna and Richard Tanenbaum.
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