tl;dr

  • Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester is showing SEQUENCEBREAK//, an exhibition that considers video games from the perspective of aesthetics.
  • Visitors to the exhibition are invited to interact with the games directly in an in-person setting, encouraging multiple visits to the venue to revisit the games from different angles.
  • Visual Studies Workshop is organizing a robust online program for the exhibition by streaming artist talks, workshops and gallery tours.

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Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester is showing SEQUENCEBREAK//, an exhibition featuring video games created by indie developers that challenge mainstream commercial culture. Taking the cue for its title from a speedrunning technique employed by gamers to achieve a game's objectives outside of the linear sequence intended by its creators, this exhibition considers video games from the perspective of aesthetics, lifting it from the mundane realm of entertainment to a form of art.

The curators at Visual Studies Workshop have invited Stephen Gillmurphy (thecatamites), Nathalie Lawhead, Philip Mallory Jones, Cassie McQuater and Heart Street (Yuxin Gao, Lillyan Ling, Gus Boehling, and John Bruneau) to display their uniquely personal interpretations of video games that break out of the standard commercial confines of the medium. By implementing genre-expanding experimental play, radical aesthetics, and the use of DIY, as well as counter-capitalist methodologies, some of the creators establish a deliberate connection to the various subcultures flourishing on the internet. Others break with the conventions of the gaming industry, opting to remove any competitiveness from gameplay.

Multiple masked individuals in yellow hazmat suits with Chinese characters printed on them, with helmets and masks, in the middle of a busy city block, with a cartoon-style text block above their heads that reads "I'm so in. Can I still get in on Wuhan?"
Heart Street (Yuxin Gao, Lillyan Ling, Gus Boehling, John Bruneau), Out for Delivery, 2020. Courtesy of the artists.

When featuring video games in an exhibition, the prospective curator is faced with the task of how to conceptually present them: will the exhibition include game-inspired paintings, looped machinimas, or limited-edition screenshots from the games themselves? Nilson Carroll, assistant curator at VSW, has instead chosen to exhibit the artists’ creations without interposing any secondary media. Visitors to the exhibition are invited to interact with the games directly in an in-person setting, encouraging multiple visits to the venue to revisit the games from different angles.

By revealing the many non-standard ways that video games can be conceptually designed and interpreted, it is the hope of VSW to inspire both artists and game developers to approach the medium from a different perspective, one which does not consider games as a vehicle of profit but as a fertile ground for experimentation and creative expression. The idea is that new venues for the flourishing of new local and regional games and artist communities will open up, democratizing the industry.

SEQUENCEBREAK// at Visual Studies Workshop continues through June 28, 2025. VSW is opening a broader dialogue with a virtual audience through streaming artist talks, workshops and gallery tours. More on this and other events at Visual Studies Workshop can be found on their site.

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