AVOID MISSING BALL

From the first blips of phosphorescent light to the vast online worlds we play in today games have become both a mirror and driver of modern culture. Few videogames have had as profound an impact on technology and entertainment as the one that started it all – TV Ping-Pong. This first-of-its-kind survey will explore the early history of influence that led to the development of this iconic game, from early experiments at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Sanders Associates to the start-ups of Silicon Valley, and celebrate the pioneers who created a new medium.

On view at the exhibition will be a comprehensive archive of first-generation home gaming systems including the Magnavox Odyssey, Sears Telegames Pong, Coleco Telstar, and myriad rare clones – some playable on vintage era-correct televisions – as well as the Atari VCS playing Video Olympics, Commodore Pet running Pong!, and several early arcades.

Also featuring the immersive experience ACID PONG by video artist Josh Randall aka @robotkid, a psychoactive gaming trip challenging interaction and reaction. Randall embraces the inherent glitchiness of the technology and asks, “What if it was more glitchy?”

Also on display in the gallery is a selection of prints from Ira Nowinski’s photographic series Bay Area Video Arcades, generously on loan from Stanford University Library.

Opening in September is the special exhibition Microsoft Adventure: Applications for Consumer Amusement featuring vintage computers running early Microsoft game software including the original Microsoft Adventure, Olympic Decathlon, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Minesweeper, and Age of Empires... the success of which led to the creation of Microsoft Gaming and Xbox.

Curated by Van Burnham with additional support from Eric Ayzenberg, Bill Buckley, Apres Davtyan, Matt Downes, Georgi Dzneladze, Eric Kim, Cassandra Pineda, Josh Randall, Paul Slocum, and Chris Younger.

Presented by Microsoft

This inaugural exhibition is a collaboration between Supercade, Ayzenberg Group, and sp[a]ce gallery to support development of the Supercade Museum of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the premier institution dedicated to the medium of games.

Host or Publisher Supercade