Prof. Dr. phil. Stephan Schwingeler (*1979) is a media, art and design historian and curator based in Hannover. He is Professor of Media Studies at HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hildesheim. His research focuses on video games, Game Art and artistic game modification from art-historical and media-theoretical perspectives. He previously taught Game Design in Stuttgart and directed the GameLab at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. As a curator, he has realized exhibitions including “ZKM_Gameplay” at ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, “Global Games,” touring worldwide with the Goethe-Institut and ZKM, “New Gameplay” at Nam June Paik Art Center in South Korea, and “Digital Games” at Ludwig Forum Aachen.
Game Art: Digital Games as Artistic Material
FROG 2026 – Keynote
The talk provides an overview of various formats of Game Art, showing how and to what extent artists engage with computer games. Which influential artists are active in this field, and how do they approach computer games as an art form? Central to the lecture is the idea of digital games as artistic material that can be distorted, overwritten, and transformed within the context of (visual) art. Artists create computer games independently, but they also appropriate and alter existing games, sometimes attacking them to the point of destruction. Smash the systems, break the rules!