FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GAME ON! CELEBRATE CREATIVITY AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE ART OF VIDEO GAMES
Explore the 40-Year Evolution of Electronic Gaming at the Chrysler Museum of Art
NORFOLK, Va. (February 1, 2015) –The Chrysler Museum of Art becomes a gamer’s paradise
with the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s groundbreaking exhibition The Art of Video
Games. The show explores the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, from
their modest one-dimensional beginnings to the stunning, lifelike graphics of today. The
interactive exhibition previews to Museum Members (and others who purchase tickets) on the
evening of February 13, and remains on view through May 10, 2015. Admission is free.
In a mere four decades, video games have come to dominate American popular culture,
infiltrating almost every aspect of our modern visual culture, says Jeff Harrison, Chief Curator at
the Chrysler Museum. “They are breathtakingly inventive, endlessly entertaining, and allpervasive, but one question seems to remain: are they ‘art’? This exhibition answers that
question with a resounding ‘Yes!’”
By tracing the technological timeline, The Art of Video Games demonstrates how the medium
has emerged as an art form of its own—comparable to film, animation, and performances,”
Harrison says. From Atari to PlayStation 3, the exhibition focuses on the interplay of graphics,
technology and storytelling through some of the best games from 20 different gaming systems.
Through still images, video footage and interactive displays, visitors can explore the fantasy
worlds of more than 80 games, as well as the artistic vision of their creators.
Video games are designed to create an interactive experience, and this exhibition gives viewers
the chance to interact with the art. Visitors can play five featured games, one from each era of
video game development. The playable games—Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, The Secret of
Monkey Island, Myst and Flower—showcase techniques that video game artists continually built
upon to upgrade gaming into the superior experience that is today.
“Video games are a prevalent and increasingly expressive medium within modern society,” said
Chris Melissinos, former chief gaming officer for Sun Microsystems and guest curator of the
traveling exhibition. “In the 40 years since the introduction of the first home video game, the field
has attracted exceptional artistic talent. Video games, which include classic components of art,
offer designers a previously unprecedented method of communicating with and engaging
audiences by including a new element, the player, who completes the vivid, experiential art form
by personally interacting with the game elements.”
In addition to the playable games within the exhibition, a specially commissioned video ad and a
host of related programs at the Chrysler make this exhibition especially interactive.
#TAOVG
Visitors can use this exhibition hashtag to connect with others who see the show and to post
comments, photos and experiences to social media. Cost: Free.
Exhibition Opening Party
Thursday, February 13 from 6–10 p.m.
Celebrate the opening of this groundbreaking exhibition with DJed music, light refreshments and
a cash bar, a photo booth, and a chance to play vintage video games. Cost: Free for Museum
Members and children, $10 for all others. RSVPs and ticket purchases are due by February 6 at
https://reservations.chrysler.org. This Members’ preview party is generously sponsored by Astro
Entertainment.
Free Family Day: E For Everyone
Saturday, March 14 at 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Dress as your favorite video game character to travel through the ages and find great treasures.
Cost: Free.
Third Thursday: Game On!
Thursday, April 16 from 5–10 p.m.
Throw down the virtual gauntlet at our GameStop Gaming Tournament. Challenge family and
friends to beat your high scores while you enjoy friendly competition, live electronic music, and a
cash bar at this eclectic evening. Cost: Free for Museum Members, $5 for all others.
Super-Sonic Sleepover
Evening of Friday, May 8 from 6:30 p.m.–8 a.m. Saturday
Feed your imagination and ingenuity at our family-friendly overnight event for kids ages 6–12
and their favorite adults. Cost: $100 per person for Museum Members, $125 per person for all
others. Meals and snacks are included. RSVP by April 24 at reservations.chrysler.org.
The Art of Video Games is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, with
generous support from Entertainment Software Association Foundation, Sheila Duignan and
Mike Wilkins, Shelby and Frederick Gans, Mark Lamia, Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, Rose
Family Foundation, Betty and Lloyd Schermer, and Neil Young. The C.F. Foundation in Atlanta
supports the museum’s traveling exhibition program, Treasures to Go.
ABOUT THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM OF ART
The recently expanded Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, is one of America’s most
distinguished mid-sized art museums, with a nationally recognized collection of more than
30,000 objects, including one of the great glass collections in America. The core of this
collection was given to the Museum by Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., an avid art collector who donated
thousands of objects from his private collection to the Museum in 1971. In the years since
Chrysler’s death in 1988, the Museum has dramatically extended its campus and developed
new ties with the Norfolk community. It now has rapidly growing collections, especially in the
fields of contemporary glass, American art, photography, and 21st-century art.
In 2011, the Chrysler opened a full-service glass studio with a 560-pound capacity furnace, a full
hot shop, a flameworking studio, nine annealing ovens, and a coldworking shop. In addition, the
Chrysler administers two Federal-period historic houses in downtown Norfolk: the Moses Myers
House and the Willoughby-Baylor House.
The Chrysler Museum of Art, One Memorial Place, Norfolk, and its Perry Glass Studio at 745
Duke St., are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
The Historic Houses on E. Freemason Street are open weekends. Admission is free. For more
information on exhibitions, events, and programs, visit www.chrysler.org or call (757) 664-6200.
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For more information or high-resolution images, contact Virginia Hilton at (757) 340-7425 or
(757) 232-2178 cell, or virginia@themeridiangroup.com.