„Play, radically broken from a confined ludic time and space, must invade the whole of life. (...) play: the common creation of selected ludic ambiances. The central distinction that must be transcended is that established between play and ordinary life.“ Debord 1958: 11, magazine Internationale Situationniste#1, Paris.

The practice of play as form of political activism was introduced in the movement of Situationism[1]. In the film and text "La Societé du Spectacle" (Guy Debord 1958) found footage mass media materials and political messages as activist sub texts were playfully merged.  

Contemporary writers on participatory cultures, like Morgana[1](2010), assert that détournement is central to hacker culture in relation to technological interfaces and the body. In contemporary game art, this practical re-use of media in a new interpretation and linked with new content can be found frequently in a new form. Reasons can be seen in the increasing social acceptance of games in digitally networked culture, but also in the rise of mobile communication devices and biometric interfaces with game like user interfaces as basis of everyday life.

In the seminar we will design our own Game Art concept on the basis of this analysis.

[1]Morgana, Corrado. 2010. Introduction. In Artists Re:thinking Games, edited by Catlow, Ruth, Garrett, Marc and Morgana, Corrado. Liverpool: FACT / Frutherfield, pp. 1- 6.

[1]Debord, Guy, and Wolman, Gils. 1956, “Mode d'emploi du détournement” In Les Lèvres Nues. Paris.

Leistung zum Erwerb eines Zeugnisses: Präsentation/ Vortrag. Recherche und Erstellung eines eigenen Game Art Konzeptes.