Artist Statement: The Art of Experience

I have always lived two lives – one while I am awake, and the other, while I sleep. Dreams are a frontier all their own; they represent the landscape of our imagination, and are a gateway into our core selves. So often do I wake up from a dream, wanting to rush out of my bed to tell someone about the experience. Yet, something always gets lost in my description – my words always fall short. The one listening simply needs to have been there, seen the things I saw, and lived what I lived. So, I am drawn to pick up a ‘paintbrush’ - though, not one for painting images, but rather, for painting experiences.

My name is David Harrison Turpin, and I am a video game designer. My art is collaborative – not only in the sense that it requires the cooperation many in diverse fields, but also in that it calls for the participation of the consumer. Some might see this as a weakness of the medium; I view it as its strength. Rather than forcing my thoughts or emotions upon the consumer, I let him arrive there himself. I am the director of a world that, if designed with care, can bring him through a spiritual journey that reveals a great deal about himself, as it does about the artist.

I have things to say, and so my games are designed to speak. I believe that great art is communicative, thought provoking, and emotive, and I aim to design works that carry all of these qualities. I communicate chiefly through a language of choice and consequence, which enables players to experience my thematic influence while exploring the worlds of my games. The player derives meaning from my art not just by seeing or hearing, but by doing.

Adventure is my genre of choice, because I find it entertaining. I view entertainment as an inherent quality of good art; I believe it is the optimum of effective communication. My favorite films include The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones, and The Matrix, and I admire them for their beautiful infusion of art with entertainment, a combination that has always fascinated me. For this reason, I am a proponent of the Postmodern filmic tendency to ‘collapse’ the realms of ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture. I desire to express myself to everyone, and to do that, I must meet them halfway; their time is as valuable as mine. I entice them not with the promise of art, but of adventure.

I am attracted to adventure also because it physicalizes a protagonist’s journey. It is concrete and immersive, and potentially highly expressive. Dreams are likewise powerful because they physicalize our deepest thoughts and emotions. The things that we love and cherish can be found in that worlds we visit every night. Sometimes, we see our inmost fears standing before us, waiting for our response. How we respond is what evolves the dream and progresses our journey. At night, we are all Artists of Experience; my hope is to become one during the day.