RAPID TRANSIT: PREFACE
digital video, color, sound, 13’, 2020
Created by Victor Morales. Music: Daniel Dobson. Voices: Modesto Jimenez and Christine Schisano. Written by William Burns.
April 25 - May 7 2020
VRAL
Introduced by Matteo Bittanti
WORLD PREMIERE
What is it like to ride the New York City subway thirty years from now? Victor Morales predicts that most travellers will wear VR/AR displays combined with electric stimulants or lectrics. But the subway itself has not changed much nor its rituals: passengers ignore each other while dancers perform to rhythmless soundtracks interrupted by beeps and synthetic shouts popping out of devices like rings and bracelets featuring holograms with hovering capabilities. On a late weekday night, a rider under the influence boards the train, unbeknownst to what is about to happen.
Born in Venezuela and based in New York City since 1991, Victor Morales is a director, performer, and designer. His practice includes theater direction, video design, animation, text, sound design, and digital puppetry. He collaborated on a variety of projects with Chris Kondek (Berlin), Joseph Silovsky (NYC), Jim Findlay (NYC), Findlay/Sandsmark (Norway), and Wolfgang Mitterer (Austria). Since the early aughts, Victor has been using video game engines to create interactive and non-interactive artworks. His multidisciplinary project Esperpento was selected for the Sundance 2019 New Frontier program and received the “Best Immersive and Time Based Art” award at the B3 Biennial at the Buchmesse in Frankfurt, Germany.
We are happy to announce VRAL, a uniquely curated game video experience, available for free on the MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL website.
VRAL offers screenings of machinima created by artists and filmmakers whose work lies at the intersection of video art, cinema, gaming, and other visual practices.
The program features exceptional machinima selected based on their cultural relevance, artistic achievement, and innovative style. Often presented only in the context of festivals, exhibitions, and surveys, these works best represent the variety, ingenuity, and creativity of game-based video practices.
A space providing access to diverse and innovative voices, VRAL is an online-only supplement to the MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL. Throughout the year, VRAL celebrates a new generation of digital filmmakers and artists engaging with video game-based technologies, aesthetics, and practices.
The project comprises exclusive interviews, image galleries, and an archive.
VRAL begins April 25 2020 with the world premiere of Rapid Transit: Premiere by Victor Morales.
The 2020 edition of the MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL will be followed by the release of a printed bilingual (English and Italian) publication later this year featuring critical contributions on machinima. The book/catalog will be edited by Matteo Bittanti and Gemma Fantacci.
Scholars, critics, artists, and curators are invited to submit an extended abstract (between 500-1000 words excluding references) or full papers to matteo.bittanti@iulm.it either in English or Italian.
Timeline:
April 15, 2020 Abstract submission deadline (full papers are also accepted);
May 15, 2020: Notification of acceptance/rejection sent to authors;
July 1, 2020: Full paper submission deadline;
Sept 1, 2020: Review deadline;
Oct 1, 2020: Deadline for edited papers.
Possible topics include:
Vernacular machinima vs. avantgarde machinima
Exhibition & screening of machinima
Art historical perspectives on machinima
Recording and sharing of in-game performances
The evolution of in-game video editors
Critical analysis of an artist's oeuvre/work
The changing audiences of machinima
Machinima as remix culture
We are delighted to announce the full program of the 2020 MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL.
The event takes place between March 09-13 2020 at IULM University in two separate locations: the Contemporary Exhibition Hall and the Sala dei 146, both located in the IULM Open Space building. Both venues are open to the public, but we kindly encourage attendees to register for the screening on Friday March 13 2020 in the Sala dei 146 as seats are limited.
Please note that each day features a different program. The festival is bookended by two sections titled GAME VIDEO ESSAY A (March 09 2020) and B (March 13 2020), after a successful run in the 2019 event of the4 same title. From Tuesday until Thursday we will present an indepth look at four artists whose daring, groundbreaking, unclassifiable work has redefined the aesthetics of machinima: Larry Achiampong, David Blandy, Jacky Connolly, and Oscar Wagenmans in the context of the Contemporary Exhibition Hall.
The festival concludes on Friday March 13 with The Weird, The Eerie, and The Unreal, which includes a selection of the most impressive works submitted this year and evaluated by our international jurors. During the screening, we will announce the 2020 Critics’ Award.
SCHEDULE
Monday March 09 2020
GAME VIDEO ESSAY A
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Free Entry
Tuesday March 10 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Free Entry
Wednesday March 11 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Free Entry
Thursday March 12 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Free Entry
Friday March 13 2020
GAME VIDEO ESSAY B
Sala dei 146 (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Free Entry
Friday March 13 2020
THE WEIRD, THE EERIE, THE UNREAL
Sala dei 146 (IULM OPEN SPACE)
Siamo lieti di annunciare il programma completo del MILAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL 2020.
L'evento si svolge dal 09 al 13 marzo 2020 presso l'Università IULM in due sedi separate: la Contemporary Exhibition Hall e la Sala dei 146, entrambe situate nell'edificio IULM Open Space. Le sedi sono aperte al pubblico, ma invitiamo i visitatori a registrarsi per la proiezione di venerdì 13 marzo 2020 nella Sala dei 146, poiché i posti sono limitati. Si prega di notare che ogni giorno è previsto un programma diverso. Il festival è incorniciato da GAME VIDEO ESSAY A (09 marzo 2020) e B (13 marzo 2020), dopo il successo dell'esperienza nel 2019.
Da martedì a giovedì presenteremo uno sguardo approfondito su quattro artisti il cui lavoro innovativo ha ridefinito l'estetica del machinima: Larry Achiampong, David Blandy, Jacky Connolly e Oscar Wagenmans nel contesto della Contemporary Exhibition Hall.
Il festival si conclude venerdì 13 marzo con The Weird, The Eerie e The Unreal, che comprende una selezione delle opere più significative presentate quest'anno e valutate dai nostri giurati internazionali. Durante la proiezione, verrà annunciato il Premio della Critica 2020.
CALENDARIO
Lunedì 09 marzo 2020
GAME VIDEO ESSAY A
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Ingresso gratuito
Martedì 10 marzo 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Ingresso gratuito
Mercoledì 11 marzo 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Ingresso gratuito
Giovedì 11 marzo 2020
Contemporary Exhibition Hall (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Ingresso gratuito
Venerdì 13 marzo 2020
GAME VIDEO ESSAY B
Sala dei 146 (IULM OPEN SPACE)
09:00 - 19:00 Ingresso gratuito
Venerdì 13 marzo 2020
THE WEIRD, THE EERIE, THE UNREAL
Sala dei 146 (IULM OPEN SPACE)
TRAVELOGUE is a survey of audiovisual artworks made with or inspired by video games. Using machinima and interactive installations, fifteen artists examine the virtual automobile as medium, message, technological commodity, status symbol, interface, and prosthetics. Created through a process of appropriation and remix, these works lie at the intersection of fiction and documentation, performance and simulation, video art and experimental cinema.
This book is an extended catalogue of the exhibition TRAVELOGUE that I curated between September 7- 11 2016, in Mantua, Italy as part of Festivaletteratura 2016, featuring artworks by Max Almy and Teri Yarbrow, Hugo Arcier, Dave Ball, William Beaudine, Bob-Bicknell Knight, COLL.EO, Clint Enns, Matthew Hillock, JODI, Kristin Lucas, Victor Morales, Leonardo Sang, Palle Torsson. Available in bilingual edition (English and Italian) TRAVELOGUE shares the same format as MACHINIMA. 32 conversazioni sull'arte del videogioco, which was released in 2017.
You can purchase a copy of TRAVELOGUE on Blurb or Amazon US. It will soon be available on Amazon Italy.
