36,000 feet
Digital video, color, sound, 7’36”, 2021, Switzerland
Created by Matthieu Cherubini
February 4 - 17 2022
Introduced by Matteo Bittanti
36,000 feet is a video game set aboard a commercial plane flying over Afghanistan. As a passenger returning to his country from a holiday abroad, the player can watch blockbuster movies such as American Sniper on his in-flight entertainment display or chat with other passengers. The topics of their conversations range from terrorism to the “end of France”, whether Obama is Osama and how the West is currently living under a “terrible dictatorship”. 36,000 feet was developed with Unreal Engine 4, MetaHumans and Blender. This single channel video showcases some salient conversations and is meant as a standalone piece.
Matthieu Cherubini is a Swiss designer. After studying software engineering and media art/design, between 2012-2015, Cherubini joined a Doctorate program in the Design Interactions department at the Royal College of Art. His research examines the implications of artificial moral agents on mundane events and everyday lives, both today and in the near future. His projects have been exhibited at several international venues, including the Centre Pompidou (France), ZKM (Germany), the V&A Museum (United Kingdom), the Vitra Design Museum (Germany), the Mori Art Museum (Japan), the House of Electronic Arts (Switzerland), and the Nam June Paik Art Center (South Korea). Cherubini is currently working and living in Beijing, China.
ARCHITECTURE WITH GAMES IN THE TITLE
Digital video (1920 x 1080), color, sound, 18' (6’ X 3), 2020 (Croatia)
Created by Mario Mu, 2020
November 26 - December 10 2020
Introduced by Matteo Bittanti
Architecture with Games in the Title focuses on the convergence between spatial memory and the architecture of games through the narrative framework of a dialogue. Mu compares the casualties of financial crises to video game players, forced to navigate a rigidly controlled “gamified” setting where trial-and-error is glorified as the only way to reach symbolic “achievements”. Created with Unity 3D, the scene depicts an office space replete with desks, computers, chairs, and other amenities of the modern working environment. Walls appear and disappear depending on the location of unseen characters, the “flexible workers” of the neoliberal world. This is a space without shadows, at once bright, warm, and phantasmatic. As the unseen characters engage in a conversation about architecture and memory, bots and ghosts, the environment slowly burns.
The artistic practice of Croatian artist Mario Mu revolves around projects which are often constructed as extended gaming platforms. In addition to sound and drawing, his preferred media often include elements of game design, 3D animation, and performance. A student of Hito Steyerl, Mu received an MFA in Berlin from the University of the Arts (UdK) in Berlin in 2017, a BFA with a major in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, in 2015, and an MA from the Faculty of Graphic Arts in 2012 from the same institution. Between 2016 and 2017, Mu was an active member of the Research Center for the Proxy Politics in Berlin. He has been working on several LARP events as an author, collaborator and/or performer at Play Co London and Zagreb, Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam, Galerie gr_und, Acud, and UdK in Berlin. Mu is currently working on a new game project initiated by the Portuguese artist Odete and supported by Maat Museum and Boca Bienal.
MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL
UNCANNY
15 marzo 2019/march 15 2019
18.00 - 20:00
SALA DEI 146 - IULM OPEN SPACE
UNIVERSITÀ IULM
VIA CARLO BO, 7
20143 MILANO, ITALIA
This event showcases artistic excellence in contemporary digital image culture and experimental new media art through several on-screen works. The MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL is the only event in Italy solely dedicated to machinima, a genre of digital video art created by appropriating and manipulating video games that emerged in the mid-1990s.
The theme of the 2019 program is the UNCANNY, the perceptual phenomenon caused by experiences that are at once familiar and alien. Haunting hallucinations pervade an eclectic program in which glitches, shocks, and disturbing repetitions become a metaphor for societal chaos in the age of algorithms, surveillance capitalism, and artificial intelligence. These disquieting narratives question the relationship between authenticity and performance, identity and self preservation in everyday (digital) life. Two longer documentary works examine the unexpected side (effects) of virtual gaming and the current fascination with technology’s dystopian impact on public and private life.
The 2019 lineup includes an impressive roster of short films and longer works by national and international artists and filmmakers such as Lisa Carletta (Paradise Found), COLL.EO (Reasonable), Joseph DeLappe (Elegy), Kara Gut (Resonant Flash, Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis (Swatted), Chris Keric (Dynamic Kinetic Sculptures), Luigi Marrone (Avatar_Ascension), Luca Miranda (Alma), Leonhard Müellner (Operation Jane Walk), Bram Ruiter (Perpetual Spawning), Brenton Smith (Crashforms Studies), Petra Szeman (How to Enter a Fictional Realms), Twee Whistler (Edgy Time with Mom), and Brent Watanabe (Possessions). The vast majority of these artworks have never been shown in Italy before.
An international panel of critics, curators, and academics contributed to the selection and evaluation process, including Valentino Catricalà (Artistic Director of the Media Art Festival in Rome), Marco De Mutiis (Digital curator at Fotomuseum Winterthur), Stefano Locati (member of the Scientific Committee of the Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival in Venice and Director of the Asian Film Festival in Bologna), Henry Lowood (Curator for the Germanic Collections and the History of Science and Technology Collections at Stanford University), and Jenna NG (Professor of Cinema and Interactive Media at the University of York).
Among the festival’s highlights is Jenna NG’s keynote talk on March 13 2019 as part of the ongoing GAME TALKS series at IULM. Titled MACHINIMA AND THE ALLURE OF EPHEMERALITY: GAMEPLAY, LIVE STREAMS, AND DIGITAL CULTURE, the talk will address the explosion of interest in the live streaming of gameplay as illustrated by the popularity of Twitch, whose latest number of daily active users has reached 15 million, as well as other major platforms such as YouTube Gaming, Mixer, and Facebook Live. Specifically, the talk will link the current phenomenon of video game live streams with machinima and its origins in game demos and captured video game play, arguing not only for live streams to be the next logical evolution for machinima, but also for a critical theorisation of screen media that pursues a realist trajectory, one which potentially works its way from neorealist cinema to machine vision.
Sponsored by the City of Milan, Department of Digital Transformation and Public Services, the Milano Digital Week celebrates the driving forces that are reshaping work, leisure, and learning. By highlighting the interplay behind production and consumption made possible by digital technology, MDW connects citizens, companies, institutions, universities, and research centers.
The MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL was curated by Matteo Bittanti (Artistic Director), presented by Gemma Fantacci (Communication Manager), and organized by the Master of Arts in Game Design at IULM University. Screenings take place in Sala dei 146 located in the IULM Open Space. Admission is free upon registration.
La rassegna presenta lo stato dell’arte della cultura visiva digitale contemporanea e la new media art sperimentale. Il MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL è l’unico evento italiano interamente dedicato al machinima, un genere di video arte prodotta attraverso l’appropriazione e manipolazione dei videogiochi che si è affermata a partire dalla seconda metà degli anni Novanta.
Il tema dell’edizione 2019 è UNCANNY, il fenomeno percettivo che contraddistingue esperienze insieme familiari e anomale, declinato all’interno di un programma eclettico in cui glitch, shock e inquietanti ripetizioni alludono al crescente senso di smarrimento sociale nell’era degli algoritmi, dei Big Data e dell’intelligenza artificiale. In queste opere, lo spazio ludico genera narrazioni alternative, sollecitando una riflessione sul rapporto tra autenticità e performance, identità e preservazione del sé. Due mediometraggi esaminano gli effetti collaterali del videogioco e la fascinazione contemporanea per la dimensione distopica della tecnologia.
Il programma dell’edizione 2019 include una selezione di cortometraggi e mediometraggi realizzati da artisti nazionali e internazionali come Lisa Carletta (Paradise Found), COLL.EO Reasonable), Joseph DeLappe (Elegy), Kara Gut (Resonant Flash, Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis (Swatted), Chris Keric (Dynamic Kinetic Sculptures), Luigi Marrone (Avatar_Ascension), Luca Miranda (Alma), Leonhard Müellner (Operation Jane Walk), Bram Ruiter (Perpetual Spawning), Brenton Smith (Crashforms Studies), Petra Szeman (How to Enter a Fictional Realms), Twee Whistler (Edgy Time with Mom), e Brent Watanabe (Possessions). La maggior parte di questi audiovisivi sono inediti in Italia.
Al processo di selezione ha contribuito una giuria internazionale composta da critici, curatori e accademici: Valentino Catricalà (Direttore artistico del Media Art Festival di Roma), Marco De Mutiis (Digital curator del Fotomuseum Winterthur), Stefano Locati (membro del Comitato scientifico del Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival di Venezia e Co-direttore dell’Asian Film Festival di Bologna), Henry Lowood (Curatore per la Germanic Collections e l’History of Science and Technology Collections all’Università di Stanford) e Jenna NG (Professore di cinema e media interattivi all'Università di York).
Tra gli eventi correlati spicca il keynote di Jenna NG nell’ambito dei GAME TALKS all’Università IULM che si terrà il 13 marzo 2019. Intitolato IL MACHINIMA E IL FASCINO DELL'EFFIMERO: GAMEPLAY, LIVE STREAMS E CULTURA DIGITALE, l’intervento esamina l’esplosione di interesse per il live streaming videoludico come attestato dalla popolarità di Twitch, il cui numero di utenti attivi su base quotidiana ha ormai superato i quindici milioni e a cui si aggiungono piattaforme come YouTube Gaming, Mixer e Facebook Live. Secondo NG, il fenomeno dei live stream dei videogiochi è legato a doppio filo al machinima e alle origini della cultura demo e dei replay. Per questo motivo, la ricercatrice definisce il live stream l’evoluzione diretta del machinima. NG propone inoltre un inquadramento teorico dei media a schermo che persegue l’imperativo estetico del realismo illuminando le relazioni tra il cinema neorealista e la machine vision.
Promossa dal Comune di Milano, Assessorato alla Trasformazione Digitale e Servizi Pubblici, la Milano Digital Week propone le più interessanti iniziative che stanno trasformando il lavoro, il tempo libero, la formazione e le dinamiche della progettazione e della produzione attraverso le tecnologie digitali. Un’opportunità di riflessione e confronto per cittadini, aziende, istituzioni, università e centri di ricerca.
Curato da Matteo Bittanti (Direttore artistico) e presentato da Gemma Fantacci (Direttore della Comunicazione), il MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL 2019 è stato organizzato dal Master of Arts in Game Design dell’Università IULM. Le proiezioni si svolgono nella Sala dei 146 dello IULM Open Space. L’ingresso è gratuito previa registrazione.
We're happy to announce the release of Machinima, dal videogioco alla videoarte [Machinima. From video game to video art].
Published by Mimesis Edizioni in the Heterotopie series, the book investigates the relationship between art and video games from a variety of perspectives. Featuring eight contributions from international scholars, Machinima. From video game to video art introduces new ways of looking at game-based video art. Cover design by Marco Goran Romano (Goran Factory).
The book is available on Amazon.
We are thrilled to announce the release of MACHINIMA. 32 conversazioni sull'arte del videogioco, a new book featuring interviews with international artists using video games to make art.
MACHINIMA. 32 conversazioni sull'arte del videogioco expands, in print form, both the exhibition GAME VIDEO/ART. A SURVEY, curated by Matteo Bittanti and Vincenzo Trione in 2016 at IULM University, in Milan, Italy, and the official catalog, released by Silvana Editoriale in June 2016. The vast majority of the conversations with the artists featured in the show were produced by the students enrolled in the M.A. in Arts, Cultural Heritage and Markets Program at IULM. Topics discussed range from the practice of appropriating games for making art to the artists' approaches to the medium, providing scholars, critics, and artists a set of invaluable resources to better grasp the meaning and practice of machinima.
MACHINIMA. 32 Conversazioni sull’arte del videogioco
Edited by Matteo Bittanti
Release date: March 08, 2017
Features: Softcover, 158 pages, black and white
Format: 15×23 cm, 6×9 inches
ISBN: 9781366258540
Language: Italian
Price: $15.99
Featured artists:
