Artist Profile:
Jack Gutmann

Jack Gutmann is a generalist artist from Syria, he considers himself on a mission to push the boundaries of games beyond the realms of fun and profit. He sees games as an opportunity to learn and explore beyond one’s limitations. In 2016 he worked together with Causa Creations on a game about his escape from Syria in the name of Path Out. Currently, he joined forces again with Causa to work on a new game project about migration.
 
Short description:
Jack shares his perspective on how he thinks games have been one of the strongest cultural instruments. How they have been shaping how millions saw/approached the world, how games have been educating many more about history, languages, creativity, and much more.
Jack also talks about how Games can be unintentionally political and might reflect what some might have thought was appropriate to see the world at a point in time, the kind of damage that might have left on marginalized people and cultures.
 
Unlike other mediums games can reach the entity of the player, as the player emerges with that character and that world, not just as a third person reading/watching but in an immersive experience. Because of this Games can access the psyche and the inner consciousness, this can leave a mark for a long time just like a digital tattoo.
 
Video games can be a double-edged sword, their impact has been maybe undermined due to the fun factor or the graphics, regardless of which is the reason, video games are still a new medium to explore and I believe we can change the way we preserve it as we push its boundaries beyond just profit and fun, but as a medium for art, history, education, simulation, team building, health, and relationships.

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