Matthew Keff
Heyday, 2019
VR experience for Oculus Rift or HTC Vive
The view is oversaturated with fanfare and cute neon electric color. Taking inspiration from mobile video games and online advertisements, Heyday looks to emphasize the fleeting pleasurable moments they aim to provoke. It operates like a videogame, but (purposely?) misses the mark with the absence of a linear narrative and typical reward structures. Items float about the scene by simulated physics, creating sounds and visual effects. The game is curious about the interplay between people and new tech, particularly within popular digital culture. Keeping this in mind, it can take form as a virtual reality, web, touchscreen or video installation to best suit a specific context and venue. Emoticons and video game collectibles, many of which are pleasurable icons, superficially attractive and entertaining but intellectually undemanding. They are used throughout our digital lives to help communicate non-verbal cues usually seen, heard and felt when we are face to face. It’s funny how emotional experiences that move us are expressed this way. Heyday focuses on the aesthetics of these experiences where negative and positive encounters are glazed over with digital sugar for better or worse.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Matthew Keff (b.1985 USA) is a digital artist and designer who creates visually driven works that take a variety of forms including interactive, motion and installation. The audiovisual ideas are drawn from emoticons, video game collectibles and other icons from popular digital culture. These items are squished together with weird simulation aesthetics of video game render engines as a quip on digital life and feelings.
If you are interested in exhibiting or viewing this artistic VR experience, please send an email to us.
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