From the “about” page of his website, Kenneth Tin-King Hung is originally from Hong Kong, and he now resides in New York. He is a renowned contemporary artist who “through various media I aim to explore the nature of digital comunication while touching on issues such as identity, politics, sexuality and power. My media includes Hi-Definition video animation, video game, digital graphics and mixed-media installations.” I think Kenneth is mainly exploring and communicating a new artistic medium. It is something that I have never seen anyone done before to his extent, as he pieces together political cartoons, posters and various pictures, etc. into thorough statements. It might kind of be analogous to say, doing a research essay, except Kenneth uses pictures and animation and aesthetics.
http://www.gaszappers.com/play/anwr/
One of the pieces of work by Hung was the “Arctic National Wildlife Refuge” game. In this game you take on the role of a polar bear, who can utilize a number of attacks (such as clawing) to destroy oil barrels that fly at you (and damage you if you don't hit them first). Finally, as the final boss, you fight a oil refinery with George Bush's head attached to it. Not only did I enjoy myself, I also felt like a sense of interaction. Kenneth effectively uses this game to sort of guide his audience and promote his views on protecting wildlife. There is a “Facts” section at the bottom of the page, which states that Big Oil, backed by the Bush administration continulously try to open the Arctic Refuge (in northeast Alaska), and that this will without a doubt harm its wildlife, especially the polar bears. I suppose the only flaw that it has is that the page doesn't state what date these events were occuring. But someone could definitely easily look that up. Nonetheless A.N.W.R was a creative project that I think is much more effective for trying to convey a message than say, a plain news article. A.N.W.R is also not the only game in the “Gas Zappers” series; there is also a game where you try to block greenhouse emissions, and another game where you must save Venice from a tsunami. You also control polar bears.
http://www.tinkin.com/arts/obama/
Another one of Kenneth's projects that I am examining is “In G.O.D. We Trust,” one of the videos that we saw in class. This animation really struck me with its very unique yet still accessible style. He seperates the video in to sevem acts, where in each act president Obama is portrayed as a differnet religious diety or prophet, and also in a different chronological phase of his presidential career. According to Kenneth's statement also on the page, he says that the various dieties and prophets that president Obama transform into represent his attempts to heal the world. He remixes several religious diagrams by incorporating elements (by using pictures) of the “current political and economical climate.” What I liked about this project was that even though the video itself was pretty difficult to understand, Kenneth thorougly explains each of the seven acts on the page and all of the key players, events of the scene. By combining brilliant images that are sure to leave an inpact on any audience, he sparks curiosity without being too ambiguous, and even leaves room for further contemplation. Also, by portraying seven different dieties/prophets, I think Kenneth hopes to reach out to a bigger audience. Next, his style allows people to look out for and recognize the pictures of people or things or places that they are familiar (instead of describing them directly with words) with which allows for people to more easily relate to the video.
Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung's videos and games not only provide insight and entertainment for people, they also open up a door to new forms of expression.
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