Scene: North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 74, Ed. 1 Friday, February 17, 2006 Page: 4 of 12
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Scene I NT Daily
February 17-20,2006
Lilian Castillo/NT Daily
Feng Mengbo prepares for his
experimental intermedia per-
formance Thursday afternoon
in the Merrill Ellis Intermeda
Theater.
Continued from page 3
by inserting his own likeness into the
game, so the enemies are like cloned
video game versions of himself.
The artist behind "Ah-Q" gave a
quick demonstration before the con-
test began. He casually placed his
hands on his waist. Then, with the
footwork resembling that of an Irish
step dancer, Mengbo started expertly
dominating Ms creation with a series
of jumps and steps.
After Mengbo's demonstration,
Max Kazemzadeh asked the audi-
ence to produce a volunteer to play
"Ah-Q." The mostly-female crowd,
students of NT's Children and Art
class, said nothing for about five sec-
onds, when finally the first guinea pig
came forward.
Til do it," a young blonde said.
'Alright!" Kazemzadeh cheered.
Some other male students cheered
in agreement.
Amanda Clark, Denton junior, pre-
tended to do a few warm-up stretch-
es and hopped onto the game pad.
The timer was set for two minutes as
Clark began frantically moving her
feet and shooting at the virtual en-
emy-Mengbos.
"This is too hard!" Clark said.
Her female classmates encouraged
her by saying, "Push that button!"
and "You're out of ammo!" After the
two minutes expired, Clark stepped
down from the game pad with a smile
on her face.
She thinks that the piece could so-
licit a larger following of video games
this way.
"It's graphic, it takes you to a virtual
world," said Clark. "I think it's incred-
ible."
The next contender was Sarita
Talusani, teaching fellow and pro-
fessor of the Children and Art class.
She stomped rapidly on the foot con-
trols with black, knee-high boots, as
Mengbo and her students cheered
her on. Loud applause ensued when
her turn was over.
"It's extremely wonderful," Talusani
said. "People can see that art is not
just on a wall; you can find it some-
where you would never imagine."
Talusani also saw a sense of acces-
sibility to Mengbo's work. "You don't
have to be an art student to enjoy it,"
she said.
More students had their turns at
"Ah-Q," as the competition lasted
from 2 - 4 p.m. Wednesday in the
NT Gallery. The prize was awarded
to the shooter with the most kills, or
"frags." An energetic female student
from Talusani's class was the win-
ner of a $50 gift certificate to Radio
Shack.
Immediately following the com-
petition, Mengbo lectured to a
group of students in the Visual Arts
Building 223. The lecture involved
a discussion of his work and what it
means for the art world. The emerg-
ing genre of work, more generally re-
ferred to as new media, is becoming
more popular as the younger gen-
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erations reach university level. Stu-
dents who study new media often
find careers designing video games
or computer programs.
"It's so fun," Mengbo said to his
audience about the genre. "A lot of
art people just stand and don't play.
This can be a big mistake, to take art
so seriously."
Students of Kazemzadeh's art
classes hung around before and af-
ter the lecture to discuss new media
art.
"Some people never touch a paint-
brush," said Michael Toussaint,
Highland Village sophomore. "But
with electronic media art, everyone
has a computer or a cell phone."
"It's kind of self-taught," said Jen-
nifer Templin, Arlington junior.
"People start drawing and studying
others and they get awesome from
what they teach themselves."
Not only does new media mean
promising careers as technology in-
creases, it may change the face of art
as we know it.
"With traditional models, the in-
formation was controlled by an elite
few," said Christos Polemanakos,
Lake Jackson senior. "The idea that
art can be manipulated is a sign of
the times."
Although this form of creativity is
more accessible, Mengbo doesrftthink
it should overshadow the classics.
"You must learn about art history,
please," Mengbo said to the students.
"Don't just go to chat rooms or go
online. If you don't know art history,
what can you do in the future?"
Diana Block, NT Gallery director
seems to be in agreement.
"I don't think traditional media will
be swept away," she said. "There is
still much that remains to be seen."
Mengbo appeared once again for
an experimental music concert 4 to 6
p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Merrill
Filis Intermedia Theater in the Music
Building. The turnout was a bit larger
than that of the film screening, and in
a much smaller space.
The intention of the concert was
to show how music could be used
to control Mengbo's recreation of
"Quake." When playing the game
in 1999, he found out that the MIDI
function in the game could be modi-
fied. Thus, an electronic piano or
drum machine could be used to con-
trol the game.
"I play at home with the drum
machine," Mengbo said.
Unfortunately, there was some
difficulty getting the program that
Mengbo designed to synchronize
with NT's computers.
Mengbo just smiled and said, "I
am truly sorry I cannot bring this
piece to you, but I am very honored
to show you the work in progress."
The artist began explaining the
process of turning a video game
into a sort of theatrical event, as the
audience watched the demonstra-
tion on a giant screen.
Feng Mengbo shared his work
generously with NT students. With
pieces that are more interactive,
like "Ah-Q," it seems like the media
not only reaches the audience, but
comes back to the artist as well. Ac-
cording to Mengbo, this is gratifying.
"It's not easy to make a living,"
Mengbo said. "But I will still say
it must be a game. Art must be for
nothing."
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
Department of Dance & Theatre
A
c°
S3
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♦ 1., n
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February 17 & 18, 2006 @ 8:00 pm
February 19, 2006 @ 2:30 pm
University Theatre, RTFP Building
Tickets $7.50 & $10
www. danceandtheatre. unt.edu
940.565.2428
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Scene: North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 74, Ed. 1 Friday, February 17, 2006, newspaper, February 17, 2006; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145309/m1/4/?rotate=180: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.