
Noah Wardrip-Fruin / Mary Flanagan
Michael Mateas / Andrew Stern
Nick Montfort / Scott Rettberg
October 4-December 15, 2007 (Closed Nov. 22-26)
Opening reception: October 4th 6:30- 9:00 p.m.
Symposium October 5th 1:00-5:00 p.m. Studio Art Room 160
Performance October 5th 6:00-8:00 p.m. Winifred Smith Hall
Boxed Music Event December 6th 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Family Day November 3rd 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Claire Trevor School of the Arts
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-2775
949 824 4339
What happens when a popular blog crashes into a gallery exhibition? Jump in as the drivers of Grand Text Auto careen toward new fictional forms and modes of play. Grand Text Auto presents six artists wheeling their way to the forefront of digital games and narrative. The artists include Noah Wardrip-Fruin, Mary Flanagan, Michael Mateas, Andrew Stern, Nick Montfort, and Scott Rettberg.
The Symposium on Fri., Oct. 5 will feature the six members of the blog Grand Text Auto, who work as artists and scholars at the cutting edge of computer games and digital literature. The first half of the symposium will include a presentation of the Beall show, the work of the blog, and the future of the field as seen through forthcoming projects from group members. The second half will include discussions among group members and the audience on three topics: what blogging has to offer artists and academics, approaches to crafting experimental games (and other new forms of playable media), and the role of language in digital media.
The evening performances on Fri., Oct. 5 will include a screening of "Terminal Time," and a reunion reading of "The Unknown." "Terminal Time" is a documentary of the past millennium that is different every time, driven by audience interaction and an artificial intelligence model of historical ideology. The UCI audience will get "the history they deserve,"followed by a discussion outlining the concepts and technology underlying this interactive cinema experience. "The Unknown," an award-winning hypertext novel tells the story of the literary encounters and debaucherous exploits of a group of writers known as The Unknown. Scott Rettberg and his co-authors will perform as their characters, while navigating the text as directed by cues from the audience. For more information go to beallcenter.uci.edu or call(949)824-4339.
With collaboration and support from the GVU Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Center for Research in Computing and the Arts at the University of California, San Diego.