Institutionalized Aesthetics: Video Games and the Contemporary Art Gallery

Abstract

The art museum or gallery is not a neutral space for housing works. As much as it accepts new types of media, they have to adapt to suit the context of viewing and the conventions of an art-historical discourse. This type of institutionalized aesthetic underpins the evaluation of art objects and even imposes a definition on what art is. Working critically through this discourse, this article examines the limitations of art museums and galleries in presenting, evaluating, or addressing the ludological and temporal aspects of video games. First, it outlines how assumptions pertaining to the visual arts carry over into the selection of games as well as their placement within exhibitions. Second, it examines how this discourse, which is invested in the architecture and structure of the art museum, also privileges a particular regime of spectatorship based on shared viewing, the autonomy of art, and aesthetic contemplation.