Loop Card Game

2015, playing card sets in metal box, edition 60
Collaboration mit Michael Wegerer (AT), Scott Betz (US), Richard Phillips (US)

im Projekt ‘Loop – Brennende Fragen’, 2015 Künstlerhaus Wien

For the exhibition LOOP – BURNING QUESTIONS four artists conducted an experiment over several months in the course of which they continually introduced communication loops into the virtual realm in order to explore issues around the use of online media in a critical, innovative manner. The content of the conversations was derived from the participating artists’ interest in and approach to “BURNING QUESTIONS IN ART AND SOCIETY”.

This cooperatively developed “CARD GAME – BURNING ISSUES” is presented as a spatial game installation, which allows visitors to actively participate. The game consists of a cycle of 32 burning questions of our age in visual form, including topics of Gene Research Stocks, National Identity, Oil Companies, Media – Privacy & Censorship.

Playing Subsequent Cards

In this games, only the “open” ends of a card layout are open for play. An end is open when it has no other card connected to it. Cards can be matched with the image end of the card or the line end of the card. Any orientation is accepta-ble for image matches – end to end, side to side, or end to side. The only arrangement for the black line side of the card is with the lines touching and the rectangle space around the line matching. This too could only be end to end or side to side, but the orientation for side to side could be up-side right and up-side-down.

 

Your Loop Story

Matches may look very similar in form (image) but they may also relate in idea (content). Therefore the game is not played in silence, but each play requires a vocal articulation of the story of the two image cards. The player must explain why the card play is justified and find a sentence to describe the realationship. It is possible that all the players could see different stories. There is no story for the black line cards.

Ending

Some player will tell some stories, some player will hear some stories. The game is over when all cards are played and all stories are told.