THE Magazine - Los Angeles

The boundary between actual and virtual reality is becoming increasingly porous, and so is the separation between "high" and popular art. As such, the visual entertainment available on the Internet is already engaging artists -- not just as contributors to the imagery and narratives of the shows and strips and games themselves but as by-players whose independent artwork influences online popular diversions and is influenced by them in turn. WoW: Emergent Media Phenomenon takes a deep and serious look at the artists and artistic expressions that surround and support World of Warcraft®, the "massively multiplayer role-playing game," created by Orange County-based Blizzard Entertainment, which hosts more than 11.5 million subscribers worldwide.

WoW: Emergent Media Phenomenon includes the art and history of World of Warcraft itself, the fan art that results from this broadly accessed game, and artists who use World of Warcraft as inspiration for their work. The series of Warcraft strategy games go back to 1994 (the year Warcraft: Orcs & Humans appeared), and World of Warcraft came out in 2004. World of Warcraft continues to evolve, releasing periodic developments through downloadable patches and, to date, two full-scale expansion packs, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. The exhibition regards World of Warcraft in the context of the Warcraft universe's 15th anniversary and the game's own 5th year.

Participating artists include selected artists from Blizzard Entertainment's Irvine office (including Chris Metzen, Sam Didier a.k.a. Samwise, Chris Robinson, Justin Thavirat, and Roman Kenney); Aram Bartholl (Berlin); Jorg Dubin (Laguna Beach); Alexander Galloway (New York); Jacqueline Goss (New York); Auriea Harvey and Michaël Samyn, Tale of Tales (Ghent, Belgium); John Klima (Lisbon, Portugal); Cyril Kuhn (Los Angeles); Antoinette LaFarge (Irvine); Mashallah Design and Linda Kostowski (Berlin); Robert Nideffer and Alex Szeto (Irvine); Airyka Rockefeller (San Francisco); Eddo Stern (Los Angeles); and The Third Faction (Azeroth)

Various events are planned for the run of the show, including a panel discussion (featuring Eddo Stern, Antoinette LaFarge, UC Irvine Beall Center Curator David Familian, and a Blizzard Entertainment representative) discussing the relevance of gaming and the particular significance of World of Warcraft; a machinima film screening, a workshop with Aram Bartholi, and lectures by Bartholi, Jacqueline Goss, and Robert Nideffer.