To coincide with the launch of The Sims Life Stories, Electronic Arts is staging a two-week exhibition from 1-14 March in London, based around the art of teen advice story, from 1950s and 1960s illustrations and 1970s and 1980s photo stories in teen magazines through to the virtual era and The Sims.
The Sims Life Stories Exhibition features works from legendary magazines including Romeo (1957 – 1974), Jackie (1964 – 1993), Blue Jeans (1977 – 1991) and Patches (1979 – 1989) alongside present day examples of teen conundrums from the newly issued game, The Sims Life Stories, which allows players to guide characters through some of life’s more tricky interpersonal situations.
The Sims Life Stories Exhibition is a world first project and has been created following unprecedented access into the world of teen magazines. The exhibition will be split into five broad themes and will compare and contrast the advice, the fashion, the people and the issues faced by teenagers through the decades. The real topics of discussion and debate that have graced common rooms, park benches and bedrooms throughout the last few decades will be presented to the public this March.
Exploring the content that informed the tears, the arguments, the looks and the parties, The Sims Life Stories Exhibition will explore and celebrate some of the iconic art and storylines that gave us advice over and above what teenagers learned behind the bike sheds.
The subjects explored are:
1. Friendship – Dealing with jealousy and arguing
‘Will Lisa and Sarah survive the New Years Party from Hell’ Blue Jeans, 1991
2. Love - Exploring everything from boyfriends to broken hearts via flirting and cheating
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have done that Ginny’…‘It takes two to make a kiss…’
3. Appearance / Fashion– dressing up, weight loss and gain and general self esteem
‘Fit for nothing - is exercise the answer to getting a date’ Blue Jeans, 1990
4. School to Jobs – Growing up and taking on responsibility
‘Since I’d left school, I hadn’t been able to get a job. I’d spent more time in the job centre than my home…’ Patches, 1982
5. Family – sibling rivalry and parents
‘Having left the orphanage under a care order because of a fight I’d been in, I was living with foster parents…but I just didn’t fit in. In a temper I’d even smashed up Mrs Grant’s favourite flower bed…’ Patches, 1982
"The art of teen advice has evolved through the decades and the exhibition will give a unique insight into wider social awareness around the identity, image, aspirations and social constructs as teen life has grown," says EA.
The Sims Life Stories Exhibition will culminate in exploring how dilemmas are resolved in the virtual era following the romantic plot and issues faced by Riley Harlow, star of the new game The Sims Life Stories, as she moves through each of the exhibition’s themes. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to trial what they have learned from the exhibition on Riley via laptops and see whether they have more of a sober 1950s outlook, wild 1980s viewpoint or liberated 'noughties' approach.
