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20 Works by J. MorganJames Morgan is an instructor for Digital Media Art at San José State University and is the Director of Ars Virtua. His work involves social interaction, coded culture and democratic structures in game-spaces and simulations. James curates art and games in physical and simulated spaces.
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Arido Taruajo - a World of Warcraft Opera
This project crosses many disciplinary borders, music, machine learning, game environments, and machinima.
I've heard people say that opera has very little happening in it, but the world of Azeroth where World of Warcraft is set has epic stories that take place and represent nostalgia for many players of the game. The colors in the environment are rich and beautiful and when combined with the voice of Maya Ackerman and the melodies of the AI Roboccini become overwhelming and beautiful. |
American Gun Show
This is the most difficult material I have worked with, but in the process I learned a lot. My co-curator Dorothy and I were very intentional about trying to be neutral and consider the object from many different perspectives. We solicited art from a wide range of intentionally diverse artists and came out of it with a new respect for people. We created a welcoming place where there could be a conversation about guns and gun violence. No one we talked to was pro-massacre. Everyone was interested in a solution. The facilitated discussion that we had around the issue was very encouraging.
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Peacecraft2015, installation, posters, two computer stations and remote server.
Peacecraft attempts to end the war in World of Warcraft thru the use of private servers and intervention within the reverse engineered game-space. Peacecraft is currently offline. |
DPS - Demand Player Sovereignty2011-2015, installation, posters, computer stations, online performances.
Demand Player Sovereignty is about collective political action within the live server environment. alliance protest |
/hug2009, Posters, computer stations, online performances, pamphlets and machinima.
"/hug" [ or slashhug] is a Third Faction project which seeks to establish a non governmental aid organization in World of Warcraft. This exhibit is a mixed reality installation that demonstrates the work of the /hug collective and is inspired in part by the Red Cross. This installation encourages viewer interaction in carrying out Non Governmental Organization of Azeroth missions via hands-on participation. |
V2V - sj2012 Installation, video. Collaboration between the Silicon Valley (represented here) and the Titanium Valley.
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AVAIR2006-2014 Digital environments used to host artistic endeavors, servers, environments, video, text and images.
Second Life, World of Warcraft, and Minecraft residencies hosted across 8 years and with 6 participating groups. |
Learn2Play2010 museum as platform, painting, photography, computers & installation.
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Orwell2011-present Live Virtual Environment.
Robust world for artists, performers, architects and experimenters. Portable data and robust JAVA environment. Hosted in Amazon EC2 and available 24/7 worldwide. Connect via Minecraft 1.12.2 client to 54.68.84.166:25565 Explore the world and talk to any visitors (come in a group). |
Orwell Democracy2013- present
This system embedded method of self governance does not rely on anything but that the environment remain in tact. Local zoning laws and cultural norms are explicated and enforced. |
Ars Virtua2005-2015 Virtual Environment, working collective.
Ars Virtua is a loose collective of artists creating work across a decade in virtual environments and inspired by virtual environments. Began in Second Life, continued through World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, and most recently Minecraft. The collective and its works now include presentations at 3 biennials. http://bombmagazine.org/article/5709/second-life-s-ars-virtua |
Looks Very Tidy2007 Video/Machinima.
The simple transposition of something as mundane as cleaning and vaccuuming becomes an absurd farce when enacted in a virtual environment where there is not dirt. |
Macbeth SV2005 Video.
Macbeth-SV treats the entire city as a stage. Four cameras, four sets of actors moving about downtown San Jose at their own pace, connected by the recorded conference call. Macbeth's ambition is embodied in Silicon Valley, and reflected in this work. Macbeth-SV is an example of Invisible Theater and quotes reality television as one of its inspirations. The classic tale of Macbeth is retold through a technological medium (the cell phone) in the heart of Silicon Valley. This project treated the city of San Jose as the stage and was tied together through the use of cell phones by all of the major players. I believe that the ambition of Macbeth reflects the ambitions of those in the city. (link to background and details) |
Mac$name2009 4-up video, mission architect City of Heroes.
Continuing my love of the Scottish Play and the interpretability of the gaming experience. What you see in the video is four different heroes experiencing the first part of Macbeth translated into a super powered mission. Note that the events synchronize themselves at important moments, the rescue of Banquo, the encounter with the witches etc. The title refers to the variable that holds the heroes name in the software and mashes it up with Macbeth. |
Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity: The Musical2005 Video.
A lighthearted explanation of the special theory of relativity infused into the tale of a super model traveling from Mars to meet up with her lover in the station on earth. Songs represent theoretical musings. |
Artists Going Nowhere2003 Video.
A race by two groups of artists in a circle around the SF Bay area, along with some conversation with commuters and a little competition. |
