Game Show Detroit

June 10 through July 23, 2006

Public Opening Reception June 10 from 6pm until 11pm.

The Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID) is proud to present Game Show Detroit, an interactive exhibit devoted to the art of games and the game of art. Exhibits include new games designed by artists, familiar games that have been re-imagined, and interactive artworks fusing the idea of games, art, and play. Many of the artworks will be playable by visitors.

Jurors for Game Show are celebrated game designer and University of Michigan Professor of Education Emeritus Fred Goodman along with CAID Board Members Nick Sousanis and Andy Malone. "Game Show is designed to appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds and to create a hub of communal activity around the gallery. We hope to have visitors who have never been to an art gallery before as well as veteran gallery goers who have seldom if ever considered themselves as active participants in artistic creation," says Nick Sousanis.

National and international artists participating in the show include: Rachel Alexander, Alana Bartol and Emily Linn, Alison Byrnes, Mark Dancey, Sara Blakeman, Krista Connerly, Neil Hennessy (Pac-Mondrian), Jack Johnson, Jacque Liu, Andrew Moskalik, Scott Northrup, Teresa Petersen, Sigrid Piroch, Cynthia Randolph and Andrew Simsak, Perry Rath, Mike Richison, Michael Sivak, Jen Thomas, the University of Michigan's A&D Teams, Sambuddha Saha and Graem Whyte,

Other pieces will include works of art based on Fred Goodman's games, and a piece by juror Andy Malone. Juror Nick Sousanis provides an essay on games in comic-book format.

Opening night events include interactive performance games with "people as pieces" conducted by Professor Goodman. A theatrical performance, "Play: Games are the Enemies of Beauty, Truth and Sleep" by Donald Barthelme, directed by Maureen Biermann. And a late night performance by Neil Hennessy as Ms. Pac-Mondrian.

Additionally, CAID's sculpture garden will play host to an artist designed miniature golf course, featuring 9 holes designed by Detroit artists curated by sculptor Graem Whyte. In addition to this playable activity, artist designed putters and other extras will be on hand for sale. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

The Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit is celebrating its 27th year as a community based non-profit organization. CAID fosters and promotes the essential link between contemporary arts and contemporary society through its exhibitions, performances, critical and public discourse and the funding of contemporary arts and art related activities.

CAID is a 501c (3) certified non-profit organization.

For further details, contact the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit:
5141 Rosa Parks Boulevard
Detroit, Michigan 48208
313.899.CAID

Gallery Hours: Saturday, 12-6pm or by appointment.
www.thecaid.org

info@caid.us
http://www.gameshowdetroit.com

Welcome to Game Show Detroit:

Game Show Detroit is about relationships between things and events. A traditional visitor to an art exhibit expects to find works of art hanging on the wall or pieces of sculpture sitting in the middle of the floor. They expect to find things. An art exhibit, of course, might be said to be an event about specific things because it exists over a period of time. But Game Show Detroit is designed to demonstrate that things can turn into events and events can turn into things each time a visitor moves from one exhibit to another.

To expand on this claim, for many years I have been fascinated by a statement made by James G. Miller when he was Director of the University of Michigan's Mental Health Research Institute, "There is no such thing as structure; there are only slower processes." Similarly, I have been fascinated by the philosopher and educator John Dewey's assertion that far more is likely to be learned about a thing or an event that is named by a noun when the noun is turned into a verb. The word mind when considered as a noun cannot even be located. (The brain can; but the brain is not synonymous with the mind.) But consider the following: Mind your manners? Do you mind? Please mind the baby while I go out. The verb mind reminds us to consider processes not structure and the net effect of the events called to mind by the verb mind becomes the thing called to mind by the noun.

Another of Dewey's favorite examples is the word object. A thing doesn't even become an object until it objects into our consciousness, until it becomes an event.

A single needle in a forest of pine trees isn't experienced as an object unless it is called to our attention. An experienced lawyer turns a thing someone says into a case-saving event by calling out, "I object."

All this is captured beautifully by the idea of a game for a game is a set of rules that establishes a structure designed to set in motion a complex web of processes … be they forward passes, home runs, bulls' eyes, checkmates, trumped tricks or bankruptcies in Monopoly. But nothing better illustrates Miller's claim about there being no such thing as structure than the ever evolving process of rule making that constitutes the history of the game of baseball.

So when I claim that Game Show Detroit is about the relationship between things and events, I am calling attention to our focus on games and art as an invitation to both interact with the things you find at the show so that you experience them as events and to recognize that some of the things you find there are the result of people participating in events.

Our goal is to make a visit to Game Show Detroit the start of a process that leads to participants making their own art and recognizing more fully the artistry associated with games. Art is not distant and esoteric; it is made up of the things and events that we can all mold, reflect upon and improve upon. Our vision is to create a community of people who recognize that they themselves are both creative artists and connoisseurs of the artistry of their neighbors. Democracy is, in the best sense of the words, both a game and a work of art. The Constitution of the United States provides the rules for our game. And it is, of course, explicitly a structure that has built into it the way it can be changed; i.e. a process more than a structure. Put another way, democracy is the art of designing and appreciating things and events that interact together fairly, productively and beautifully.

As Shakespeare put it (except for one little word), "play is the thing." So let the games begin!

Fred Goodman
Head Juror, Game Show Detroit
Professor of Education Emeritus
University of Michigan

"Gaming as a Catalyst for Appreciating Art and Building Community"
ABOUT ARTIST INFO EXHIBITION CARDS MINIATURE GOLF THE COMIC PICTURES PRESS CONTACT LINKS	June 10 through July 23, 2006 Public Opening Reception June 10 from 6pm until 11pm. The Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID) is proud to present Game Show Detroit, an interactive exhibit devoted to the art of games and the game of art. Exhibits include new games designed by artists, familiar games that have been re-imagined, and interactive artworks fusing the idea of games, art, and play. Many of the artworks will be playable by visitors. Jurors for Game Show are celebrated game designer and University of Michigan Professor of Education Emeritus Fred Goodman along with CAID Board Members Nick Sousanis and Andy Malone. "Game Show is designed to appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds and to create a hub of communal activity around the gallery. We hope to have visitors who have never been to an art gallery before as well as veteran gallery goers who have seldom if ever considered themselves as active participants in artistic creation," says Nick Sousanis. National and international artists participating in the show include: Rachel Alexander, Alana Bartol and Emily Linn, Alison Byrnes, Mark Dancey, Sara Blakeman, Krista Connerly, Neil Hennessy (Pac-Mondrian), Jack Johnson, Jacque Liu, Andrew Moskalik, Scott Northrup, Teresa Petersen, Sigrid Piroch, Cynthia Randolph and Andrew Simsak, Perry Rath, Mike Richison, Michael Sivak, Jen Thomas, the University of Michigan's A&D Teams, Sambuddha Saha and Graem Whyte, Other pieces will include works of art based on Fred Goodman's games, and a piece by juror Andy Malone. Juror Nick Sousanis provides an essay on games in comic-book format. Opening night events include interactive performance games with "people as pieces" conducted by Professor Goodman. A theatrical performance, "Play: Games are the Enemies of Beauty, Truth and Sleep" by Donald Barthelme, directed by Maureen Biermann. And a late night performance by Neil Hennessy as Ms. Pac-Mondrian. Additionally, CAID's sculpture garden will play host to an artist designed miniature golf course, featuring 9 holes designed by Detroit artists curated by sculptor Graem Whyte. In addition to this playable activity, artist designed putters and other extras will be on hand for sale. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. The Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit is celebrating its 27th year as a community based non-profit organization. CAID fosters and promotes the essential link between contemporary arts and contemporary society through its exhibitions, performances, critical and public discourse and the funding of contemporary arts and art related activities. CAID is a 501c (3) certified non-profit organization. For further details, contact the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit: 5141 Rosa Parks Boulevard Detroit, Michigan 48208 313.899.CAID Gallery Hours: Saturday, 12-6pm or by appointment. www.thecaid.org info@caid.us http://www.gameshowdetroit.com Welcome to Game Show Detroit: Game Show Detroit is about relationships between things and events. A traditional visitor to an art exhibit expects to find works of art hanging on the wall or pieces of sculpture sitting in the middle of the floor. They expect to find things. An art exhibit, of course, might be said to be an event about specific things because it exists over a period of time. But Game Show Detroit is designed to demonstrate that things can turn into events and events can turn into things each time a visitor moves from one exhibit to another. To expand on this claim, for many years I have been fascinated by a statement made by James G. Miller when he was Director of the University of Michigan's Mental Health Research Institute, "There is no such thing as structure; there are only slower processes." Similarly, I have been fascinated by the philosopher and educator John Dewey's assertion that far more is likely to be learned about a thing or an event that is named by a noun when the noun is turned into a verb. The word mind when considered as a noun cannot even be located. (The brain can; but the brain is not synonymous with the mind.) But consider the following: Mind your manners? Do you mind? Please mind the baby while I go out. The verb mind reminds us to consider processes not structure and the net effect of the events called to mind by the verb mind becomes the thing called to mind by the noun. Another of Dewey's favorite examples is the word object. A thing doesn't even become an object until it objects into our consciousness, until it becomes an event. A single needle in a forest of pine trees isn't experienced as an object unless it is called to our attention. An experienced lawyer turns a thing someone says into a case-saving event by calling out, "I object." All this is captured beautifully by the idea of a game for a game is a set of rules that establishes a structure designed to set in motion a complex web of processes … be they forward passes, home runs, bulls' eyes, checkmates, trumped tricks or bankruptcies in Monopoly. But nothing better illustrates Miller's claim about there being no such thing as structure than the ever evolving process of rule making that constitutes the history of the game of baseball. So when I claim that Game Show Detroit is about the relationship between things and events, I am calling attention to our focus on games and art as an invitation to both interact with the things you find at the show so that you experience them as events and to recognize that some of the things you find there are the result of people participating in events. Our goal is to make a visit to Game Show Detroit the start of a process that leads to participants making their own art and recognizing more fully the artistry associated with games. Art is not distant and esoteric; it is made up of the things and events that we can all mold, reflect upon and improve upon. Our vision is to create a community of people who recognize that they themselves are both creative artists and connoisseurs of the artistry of their neighbors. Democracy is, in the best sense of the words, both a game and a work of art. The Constitution of the United States provides the rules for our game. And it is, of course, explicitly a structure that has built into it the way it can be changed; i.e. a process more than a structure. Put another way, democracy is the art of designing and appreciating things and events that interact together fairly, productively and beautifully. As Shakespeare put it (except for one little word), "play is the thing." So let the games begin! Fred Goodman Head Juror, Game Show Detroit Professor of Education Emeritus University of Michigan
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