I've touched on the issue several times here in the past, mostly with posts about Game Art exhibits, but this time, we have an actual discussion in the Games As Art debate.

Nathan Hardisty over at Platform Nation states in a headline that "Games Can Never Be Art," but then goes on to debate the topic in his article. He brings up points that force you to stop and think about the issue, particularly involving such radically distasteful games such as RapeLay from Japan. He points out that controversial games such as this tend to add to the black eye that the industry already gets in the mainstream media:

Games don’t really get represented as well as films do in the press. The only brief instances we are represented is whenever a celebrity face shows up at a awards ceremony, controversy leaks from our pores or one giant game release which will swallow all of our lives whole. We’re not represented maturely, I’d still argue we’ve been represented the same as we were twenty years ago – as toys.

He also takes on the intricate story of BioShock and compares it to Super Mario Galaxy and discusses the merits of each as works of art or potential art. But near the end, he pounces upon what I think is a key point:

To follow up on the "games as art" and "art history" post of yesterday, we unearth a colorful and enigmatic variation: Videogame Street Art.

Courtesy of GamerCrave, more than 20 examples of art are documented, from Frogger on a sidewalk to Katamari Damacy. Oh, and lots of Mario. The art ranges from simplistic chalk to mosaic tile to intricate painting. But all of it is fascinating and fun to look at. 

It began on Dec. 18. It won't let up until Feb. 21. The Space Invaders have arrived.

An art exhibit at the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology in Liverpool, England, looks at the boundaries between the videogame space and real space. The exhibit, entitled "Space Invaders: Art and the Computer Game Environment," looks at games from Flower to Grand Theft Auto to examine how game designers are pushing the boundaries of videogame industry.

In a description of the event at Liverpool.com:

Mark Essen, a rising star of video game art, will develop a brand new commission for FACT. Essen’s brutal, lo-fi video games earned him a place as the youngest of the 50 artists in the New Museum’s "The Generational: Younger Than Jesus," the international exhibition exclusively showcasing the work of artists aged 33 and under.

Cao Fei, one of China’s most acclaimed young artists, presents his film installation COS Players (2004). COSPlay, short fo 'Costume Play' captures this growing trend in Asian countries of bringing virtual battles to life. Set in the artist’s hometown of Guangzhou, the video follows a group of teenagers who act out an elaborate drama dressed in martial arts from their favourite computer games and animations.

The exhibit also offers plenty of playable games for attendees, as well as retro videogame arcade cabinets.

More gaming art exhibits, two more cities.

The first is in Las Vegas and the art and games are make-believe, but no less interesting.

The Winchester Cultural Center Gallery is showing off "Flick of the Wrist," a display by Michael Baker, that combines make-believe video game box art with simple black art on the walls behind the podiums display the box covers. There are seven make-believe games in all ranging from "Smart Storm" to "Wings of Deceit: The World's first Pigeon Simulator."

The Las Vegas Weekly did a critique of the exhibit and offers quite a bit more information than the Gallery's web site:

“Smart Storm” allows for doing battle ... with weather patterns, engaging a subtext of destruction that almost fits more seamlessly with conventional trends. More overtly geared toward developing creative skills and decision-making are titles like “Track Tracer: Draw & Drive,” in which the player must build a racetrack while the race is happening. “Pro Yolk” and “Concentra” promise to be experiments in Zen-like focus, completely defying the norm.

The exhibit is on display through Feb. 5. A "Flick of the Wrist II" has been promised by the artist.

The second is in Burlington, Vermont, at the Firehouse Gallery, where the exhibit asks if videogames can be art. The display is entitled "Game (Life)" Video Games in Contemporary Art" and opens tomorrow.

Chris Thompson, curator of the exhibit, has made an argument that games are art, according to an article in the Burlington Free Press:

Jakub Dvorsky (designer of the game “Machinarium”) creates computer images that resemble beautiful paintings, Thompson said, while Jason Rohrer (“Passage” and “Gravitation”) and Jenova Chen (“Flow” and “Flower”) strive for poetry and “sublime emotional experiences.” Others in the exhibition go for the more controversial, social-commentary side of art, according to Thompson, such as the “over-the-top” violence favored by Mark Essen (“The Thrill of Combat”).

Several lectures, set up through Burlington City Arts and the game design program at Champlain College, have been set up to accompany the exhibit, which runs through Feb. 13. Among the guest lecturers will be:

• Jason Rohrer, designer of Passage and Gravitation, on Jan. 15-16
• Heather Kelly, designer of Sugar, on Jan. 22-23
• Jonathan Blow, designer of Braid, on Jan. 29-30
• Randy Smith, designer of Spider, Secret of Bryce Manor, on Feb. 5-6.
• Paolo Pedercini, designer of Faith Fighter and The McDonald's Videogame, On Feb. 13.

The exhibit will be designed like a pixel-based computer game with "violently green" cubes suspended from the walls and ceilings. Thompson said the effect will be to teleport visitors into a "computer game come to life."

There has been an ongoing debate as to whether video games can be considered art or not. Well, in this particular case, the answer is defintely yes.

One of the largest art sites on the web, deviantART, allows users to post their own art creations. One user, ceemdee, has created numerous Halloween pumpkins with video game themes. Among them are Sam & Max, Crusader: No Remorse, Plants vs. Zombies, Shadow of the Colossus and Pipboy from the Fallout series. In all, she (her profile says female) posted 12 different carvings, each offering an incredible likeness to the characters or logos of the game.

According to her profile, one of her favorite artists is Shunya Yamashita, who has been a character artist at Square-Enix, where he worked on Final Fantasy XII and Valkyrie Profile 2.

We've requested an interview with ceemdee, and we'll post her answers if she agrees. Stay tuned ...