Blizzard Entertainment is based in Irvine.
Themes that will be explored are elements of desire, the collapse of fantasy, medievalism, creative critiques and public intervention. Mediums displayed include painting, photography, sculptures, digital prints, video, animation, online games, installations and performance.
“Fourteen artists have taken on the visual marker of WoW, implications of gaming, and their greater impact on our culture,” Anderson said. “Fan art and the growing culture of Machinima will also be explored in this exhibition.”
Machinima is computer animation created using the software and graphics from video games.
Some of the artists’ work leaves WoW open for criticism.
“Some artists who are not fans of WoW have created an anti-game and critiqued aspects of violence and competition, emphasized the potential of a MMORPG [a gaming site] as a social and community space, or have modified the game by creating a peaceful mission made up of characters of opposing factions working together,” Anderson said.
Jorg Dubin, a Laguna resident whose figure paintings are often displayed at the Peter Blake Gallery downtown, has created three oil-on-linen pieces for this event: “Days end in Dalaran,” “Blood Elf with the head of a stranger” and “Night Elf with a 12-gauge.”
“I believe this exhibition helps dissolve the barriers between what is considered fine art and that of the digital world,” he said. “Artists working with a computer program are able to create worlds much as an artist working with canvas and oil paint.
