PINBALL WEEKEND AT HORDALAND KUNSTNSENTER, BERGEN.
Over the course of a weekend in May 2023, Bergen Pinball Club moved six of their pinball machines into Hordaland Kunstsenter. Neighbours and anyone else interested, were invited to drop by to test their skills and enjoy a social and playful weekend with six beautiful pin ball machines produced between 1962 - 2022. The event was a collaboration between Bergen Pinball Club, Hordaland Kunstsenter and Maia Urstad, as part of the project Dear Neighbour* curated by Daniela Ramos.

When: 20 - 21 May, 12:00 - 22:00 both days
Where: Hordaland Kunstsenter from 12:00 - 17:00 and Bergen Flipperspillklubb 17:00 - 22:00.

Listen to «TRY ME AGAIN» Kjell Erik Husom talks about the adventure of Pin Ball in a sound track by Maia Urstad (norwegian voice)

A BRIEF HISTORY OF PINBALL:
The pinball game tells an interesting cultural story which also contains an account of aesthetic and technological game development. Starting with ball games around a hole in the ground several hundred years ago, Pinball's history takes us on an exciting game journey from the early 1930s, through gradual development, improvement, technological innovations, and constantly new functions and finesse. During World War II, the factories that produced the games were retooled to produce war-related items, while old games were refurbished with new patriotic motifs and became popular fixtures in bars and gathering places. 1947 is considered the year when the "modern" pinball game was born, as the use of electricity in machines gave new possibilities. Its popularity grew in the 60s and 70s, - and new solid-state technology and digital displays led to a boom for game developers and players alike. More complex rules, digital sound effects and speech were also adopted. During the 1980s, pinball manufacturers navigated several new changes in technology, and pinball became more elaborate through the use of computing resources. In the latter half of the decade, games could include full soundtracks, elaborate light shows, and backbox animations—a radical change from the previous decade's electromechanical games. Gradually, the pinball machines received stiff competition from video games, and little by little they disappeared from the surface, into the homes of collectors and into pinball clubs run and maintained by enthusiasts. Pinball is a game of skill, it's about precision, it's physical, and a great gathering point!

*ABOUT DEAR NEIGHBOUR:
Dear Neighbour is a mediation project and collection of letters that are sent to people living in the vicinity of the arts centre. For each installment, an artist is commissioned to look at the format of the letter and create work that responds to this idea. Through this initiative Hordaland Kunstsenter hopes to get closer to the people who live in the neighbourhood, by giving them something that we care for. Dear Neighbour is initiated and curated by Daniela Ramos Arias.

Curator: Daniela Ramos Arias, Hordaland Art Centre
Pinball: Kjell Erik Husom, Bergen Pinball Club
Artist / concept and sound work: Maia Urstad

Receptionist and host: Carol Stampone,
Tech: Dillan March
Photo documentation: Runa Halleraker

 Pinball guides: Sigurd and Torkel Husom
Thanks to Wenche Høidal Husom, Lars Ove Toft.