VTV Classics (r3): Eddo Stern: New Works / Postmasters Gallery, New York (2007)

In 2007, Postmasters Gallery in New York presented an exhibition with new works by Los Angeles-based artist Eddo Stern. On display were kinetic shadow sculptures and 3D computer animation videos. The works use a mash-up of documentary material from online forums, clip art, youtube videos, midi music, electronics and hand made puppets. The works in the show are a result of the artist’s obsessive participation in online fantasy games, most recently a yearlong immersion in the online game World of Warcraft.

VTV Classics (r3): Michael Cline: Folks / Daniel Reich Gallery, New York (2007) is the 79th episode in our VTV Classics (r3) series. VTV Classics (r3) highlights the treasures of VernissageTV’s huge archive. Back then published in Standard Definition, these classics are now re-mastered, re-edited and reissued in High Definition.

VTV Classics (r3): Eddo Stern: New Works / Postmasters Gallery, New York (2007). September 15, 2007.

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Original post

Press text:

An exhibition of new works by Eddo Stern will be on view at Postmasters opening on September 8. The show will be on view until October 13.
Los Angeles based Stern has been involved in video gaming culture as a practitioner and theorist for many years. He is presently on the faculty at California Institute of the Arts. The works in the show are a result of the artist’s obsessive participation in online fantasy games, most recently a yearlong immersion (2000 hours played) in World of Warcraft, the most popular MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games) with more than 10 million players worldwide.

His new works – kinetic shadow sculptures and 3D computer animation videos – use a mash-up of documentary material from online forums, clip art, youtube videos, midi music, electronics and hand made puppets. They mine the online gaming world at its paradoxical extremes: on one hand, an untenable perversion of everyday life spent slaying an endless stream of virtual monsters, on the other, an ultimate mirroring of the most familiar social dynamics. The struggles with masculinity, honor, aggression, faith, love and self worth are embroiled with the game world’s vernacular aesthetics.

In “Man, Woman, Dragon” (kinetic sculpture), World of Warcraft is reduced to its core elements: the cult of Chuck Norris, female elves, and a slain dragon.

“Best… Flame War… Ever… (King of Bards vs. Squire Rex, June 2004)” is a two channel 3D computer animation diptych recreating an online flame war about degrees of expertise around the computer fantasy game Everquest, as followed by the artist in June 2004. The specific points of contention may appear recondite at first glance, but gradually the unfolding narrative acquires an unexpected pathos and reveals a glimpse into the shifting codes of masculinity.

In “Level sounds like Devil (BabyInChrist vs. His Father, May 2006)” (computer animation), a teenager (“BabyInChrist”), living with an adoptive Christian family posts the question to the online Christian forums: “Is World of Warcraft Evil ?” The Community helps him reckon with the moral and spiritual dilemmas of reconciling his life in World of Warcraft, with the strict edits of his father and the challenges of following his new faith. As a new synthetic fantasy world encroaches on the territory of an established religion, the inner workings of faith, truth and the boundaries of reality begin to unravel.

In Postmasters’ second gallery a monumental portal structure is erected. It houses a central projection of sequenced found 3D animations of tunnels, wormholes, voids, and flythroughs – the iconic abstractions of computer gaming’s spatial aesthetics, a clichéd metaphor for timeless and endless transcendence.

Works in the exhibition:

Man, Woman, Dragon (or just “World of Warcraft”), 2007 Kinetic shadow sculpture
World of Warcraft is the most popular MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games) with more than 10 million players worldwide. In Man, Woman, Dragon, World of Warcraft is reduced to its core elements: Chuck Norris, slaying dragons, and falling in love with elves.

Best… Flame War… Ever… (King of Bards vs. Squire Rex, June 2004), 2007 Two channel 3D computer animations
This animation recreates an online flame war about degrees of expertise around the computer fantasy game Everquest, as followed by the artist in June 2004 on the Alkhazam online gaming boards. The specific points of contention may appear recondite at first glance, but gradually the unfolding narrative acquires an unexpected pathos and reveals a glimpse into shifting codes of masculinity, violence, and nostalgia.

Level sounds like Devil, (BabyInChrist vs. His Father, May 2006) 2007 3D computer animation
In June 2006 BabyInChrist, a Taiwanese teenager, living with an adoptive American Christian family posts the question to the online Christian forums: “Is World of Warcraft Evil ?” The Community helps him reckon with the moral and spiritual dilemmas of reconciling his life in World of Warcraft, with the strict edits of his father and the challenges of following his faith. As a synthetic fantasy world begins to encroach on the territory of established religion, the inner workings of faith, truth and the boundaries of reality begin to unravel and intertwine.

Emoticon, 2007
3D computer animation

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