NEW YORK, NY..- 2023 reaffirms itself as a year dedicated to the digital realm and innovation, including in the field of art. Just a few days ago, the launch of the VDA Award was announced, the first edition of the prize established by Var Digital Art, an all-Italian initiative looking at the latest trends in digital art.
Various poetic, stylistic, and philosophical visions are being showcased by 12 different artists. Among them is Federica Di Pietrantonio, a young artist who studies and experiments with the relationships and processes born through social media, video games, and virtual realities. This is evident in her latest work "Farming",
presented at the "RE: HUMANISM" exhibition. The story is presented in documentary form, while the visual setup is fictional and entirely recorded in the simulation video game “Farming Simulator 22”, incorporating mods. I looked online for sources for the script, examining various types of material. I'm very interested in simulation video games or landscape exploration. The first game I ever worked with was "The Sims".
Silvia Urso of
Giochi di Slot notes, “The connection between art and gaming has grown stronger over the years and is being explored in various ways. Firstly, as a source of inspiration for products and settings, such as in gambling. Among the most sought-after online slots in 2023 are those inspired by the atmospheres and settings of ancient Egypt, like the ‘Book of Ra 6 Deluxe’. The graphics, animations, and symbols of the game draw from the art and artifacts of ancient Egypt. Elements like hieroglyphics, beetles, statues, and sarcophagi are directly derived from Egyptian history and culture. The intertwining of art with gaming provides an enriching layer to the player experience. When you play a slot like 'Book of Ra 6 Deluxe', you're not just spinning reels; you're diving into a rich tapestry of history and culture”.
Game Engines, which are the software driving the graphics of various video games, are now being used as the foundation for creating audiovisual, auditory, and interactive experiences. Take, for example, Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, who uses the Unity application to create a
video installation centered on a simulation of Mars' soil, devoid of human traces. “I want the work to invite visitors (humans) to see the world from different perspectives, as a way to decentralize ourselves”, she explained in an interview.
There are also performances by Auriea Harvey, who recreates sculptures through binary codes, playing on the intersection between the analog and digital. “The history of sculpture is the history of technology,” she says. Perhaps the story of art is also a story that looks at how humans have experimented with techniques, procedures, mechanisms, and knowledge to solve practical problems. Technology that has always been capable of creating art as well.
As Silvia Urso further comments, “In many ways, the evolution of art and gaming technologies mirrors our broader journey as a society, adapting and transforming, yet always driven by the impulse to create”.
