[NetBehaviour] Review of Game Art Installation ³Ripon² by Natasha Chuk

[Eduardo Navas]

Review of Game Art Installation ³Ripon² by Natasha Chuk

http://newmediafix.net/daily/?p=1470

It¹s difficult to imagine a world in which people work harmoniously toward
utopian socialism, an almost laughable concept in the face of our present
state of dystopian capitalism. Yet communities were once formed, in America,
no less, to create such a flawless way of life based on the notion of
cooperation. Sharing and working together ­ two very ³Sesame Street²
sounding concepts ­ are explored in ŒRipon², a video game art installation
presented by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council that was on view from June 8 -
June 30 in New York City.

Through hand-drawn depictions of a dystopic society set within an original
video game, artists Troy Richards and Knut Hybinette of Cleveland Institute
of Art in Ohio, have created an imaginary life in one of said utopian
socialist communities. Viewers/players of ³Ripon² are surrounded by
oversized digital prints of icons from the game for heightened, experiential
play and observation.

The cleverness of the game is in a player¹s inability to win, that is, to
survive, creating a situation of equality in which game novices like me and
seasoned gamers like Knut ³die² within minutes of game play. The capability
of outsmarting the game through repetition is omitted, eliminating the
notion of player immortality, one of video game¹s core and most celebrated
features. Unlike most video games, ³Ripon² is designed to de-center its
player or players, making them slower and less powerful than their
counterparts in the game, and better suited for background activity. But it
goes further than this: the game provides commentary on the general
breakdown of a utopian society.

³Ripon², pronounced RIP-in, is also the name of a small town in Wisconsin
that was modeled after the influence and writings of French philosopher and
advocate of utopian life, Charles Fourier. In 1844, a group of followers
started this small town observing Fourier¹s fundamental guideline of having
a complete set of personalities among its members to provide a balanced
community and fulfill their mission of cooperating effectively. Theirs was
an experiment in Socialism gone awry, which was quickly replaced with a new
political vision. Ripon now ironically boasts the claim ³Birthplace of the
Republican Party!²

However, this video game installation is not a critique of Fourier¹s
philosophies or the failure of the Ripon community¹s initial efforts to
realize them. It is an experiment developed to promote critical thinking
among players, and illustrate the quick dissolution of communal interactions
with fellow players. Even the group at the exhibition who took this game for
a spin, declaring it a cynical outlook on life, fell as victims to the
tendency humans have to hold up the old adage ³every man for himself². These
players abandoned the idea of sharing, working together, and surviving based
on team effort for the more individual, Darwinian approach that resulted in
leaving another player for dead if necessary.

Yet, ³Ripon² does more than lead players down a predetermined path of
demise. It combines technology and art, coming to life in a game with an
embedded history lesson. Troy¹s drawings give Knut¹s games ­ available in a
2-D and 3-D version - an organic feel, setting ³Ripon² apart from the
cookie-cutter hyper-reality of most contemporary video games. The oversized
drawings that surround players in the installation magnify the decaying
society depicted in the game, and allow viewers to understand and appreciate
the level of detail that went into composing them.

The feel of the game and the environment in which it is presented are also
indicative of an emerging type of video game art world practice that isn¹t
charged by a win/lose dichotomy, and seeks to provide a more
thought-provoking experience. ³Ripon² is in line with the inventive social
issues games that are cropping up with more and more aplomb these days, and
the art installations that play host to them.

³Ripon² has taken various forms since it was initially conceived two years
ago, constantly being tweaked by both artists as their ideas shift slightly
in one direction or another. And Troy and Knut will continue to make
changes, even throughout the course of a single exhibition, allowing ³Ripon²
to evolve based on feedback from viewers and players, or simply at their
whim.

http://lmcc.net/art/swingspace/38parkrow/ripon/index.html

On view from June 8 - June 30, 2007
38 Park Row @ City Hall Park
FREE
http://www.ripongame.com/

Natasha Chuk is an independent curator, media critic, and fiction writer.
Her work and interests explore experimental narratives, hybrid forms, and
multidisciplinary contexts of media production. She is co-founder of Unnamed
Artists, an artists¹ cooperative that collaborates on film, video, and audio
projects. Born in Monterrey, Mexico, Natasha currently lives and works in
New York City.