rt and video games seem to go hand-in-hand. We’re not talking about graphical prowess, but the art assets themselves. Looking at the current generation, with the jaw-dropping and breathtaking cinematics that Square pumps out for Final Fantasy, Link’s new toon-shaded chibi look in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, or even Bungie’s meticulous design work on the alien Covenant race in Halo 2, these very different art styles will be forever emblazoned in every gamer’s memory, as well as inspire future video game artistry. But 20 years ago, outside of the box art for games of the 8-bit era or the cabinet work seen in the stale smoke filled arcades, the color pallets relied on a miniscule 16-color scale.
Curators Katie Cromwell and Jon “The Kid” Gibson (freelance video game journalist and overall old school game dork) are putting on an art exhibit this spring in Hollywood, California, which is dedicated to the world of 8-bit gaming. Titled “i am 8-bit”; the show will be taking place from April 20th through May 18th at one of Los Angeles’s newest galleries, Gallery 1988 at 7020 Melrose Avenue. I am 8-bit will gather work from 97 different artists that submitted over 100 pieces, and all art submitted has to relate to a video game that dates prior to 1995. The art featured in the exhibit isn’t just fan submitted art, or recreations or updates of the original 8-bit assets. These pieces are coming from independent underground artists, whom are expressing their emotions and thoughts of their gaming past.
Opening night for the i am 8-bit exhibit is on Tuesday April 19th, and should be an interesting affair to say the least. Emceeing the event is none other than Gerardo of Rico Suave fame. Music is to be provided by 8-bit Weapon, and Power 106, with free cocktails flowing and served by the Suicide Girls. Attendees will have the opportunity to get the first chance to bid on each of the art pieces as well as pick up limited edition t-shirts and game-inspired plush creations by artist Anna Chambers.
The art pieces range from oil paintings, canvas paintings, wood paintings, paper drawings, and even sculptures and plush doll designs. From the pieces we’ve seen so far, the works range from the obvious and basic to the bizarre and just plain “what the heck were you on when you created this?” Yet, if you’ve played some of the games from the NES era, or stepped into an arcade in the 80s, it won’t take you long to recognize which game each piece was inspired from. With pieces titled, @!#?@!, Bossa Nova Blanca, to my personal favorite PacMantra (or: Inner Tranquility and Wholeness of Being After Eating That Pac-Man Bastard), the artsy gaming crowd should surely be in for a treat.
Sure, these artists were obviously inspired by their childhood gaming memories, but what about the specific pieces they designed. We got a chance to speak with some of the presenters to hear what they had to say.
Anna Chambers
Donkey Kong With Barrel
(from Donkey Kong, arcade)
stuffed and stitched, 12 X 19
www.annachambers.com
"Donkey Kong? What's not to love!?"
Sean Clarity
Excitebike
(from Excitebike, NES)
illustrator, acrylics and orysmacolor pencil on canvas, 11x17
www.fnaok.com
Excitebike just never got old; all the other NES games just seemed to wear out on me. But there was no shortage of retarded possibilities my brother and I could explore by making custom tracks...which were almost entirely composed of speed boosts and "H" jumps -- the small, triangle jumps that would send you flying when preceded by twenty speed boosts.
It also had some of the best animation from the 8-bit games. The idle shaking of the bike to the exhaust were spots of quality that you didn't find in most of the old games. The simple somersault wipeouts were also a nice touch.
Daniel Peacock
PacMantra (or: Inner Tranquility and Wholeness of Being After Eating That Pac-Man Bastard)
(from Pac-Man, arcade)
acrylics & oil on canvas, 4.75x6.5
www.danielpeacock.com
Pac-man is the yellow dude. I don't know the names of the other things chasing it. There are three of them, I think. Different colors. So I got to thinking: Who are those guys? Is one better than the rest? While observing a vintage Pac-Man game in action, these three ghosts always come across as having the same qualities, but some must be better than others. There must be a happy-happy/joy-joy moment when, let’s say, only one of these ghosts gets Pac-Man. Eats ‘em up -- or whatever he does. Slides right over the thing. That must be satisfying. Pac-Man loses, ghost wins. This is the trigger to another deeper experience -- a deep satisfaction. And I suppose there may be an almost spiritual thing, a simple, 8-bit transcendence where it just reveals itself, where the ghost has this nirvana moment that ancient mystics and books on tape can teach us today.
Doug Murphy
Sark and Tron
(from Tron, Arcade)
mixed media (plexiglas, vinyl sticker, electro luminescent wire), 10x10
My dad would take me to Golf n' Stuff -- where Karate Kid was filmed -- which had a huge videogame area and go-karts. The place was like a kid’s dreamland. I only had a few games I liked to play and Tron was my favorite. The coolest thing was the glowing blue joystick and the black light that lit up your white t-shirt -- it gave such an ambience to the experience. It felt like you were really in it, which was interesting. Looking back on it now and how the concept of the movie was just that: "in the game.” When the game would start, you had four choices: the tanks, the light cycles, the spiders, and the tube with the colored blocks. I always, always, always, did the light cycles first -- which were my favorite thing in the movie. I loved the sound of those things accelerating. It was also easy to win to build up your confidence for the other levels. I wasn't much of a gamer back then, but because I loved the movie so much, I was drawn to it aesthetically and conceptually. For “i am 8-bit,” it was a no-brainer to pay homage to Tron, especially with the new technology I'm using in the piece which uses electro-luminescent materials to give the glow effect. It seemed like the quintessential game to represent as an icon of the era.
For more information about i am 8-bit, click here for the official website.