When Pixels Were King
I AM 8-BIT is a huge group art show which opens in Los Angeles in a couple months. Curated by Jon Gibson and Katie Cromwell, the show features 100 artists who have created artwork inspired by “classic” videogames – classic in this instance meaning pre-1995, an era of “button-mashing when 3D was a fantasy on par with flying cars – when gaming weas about style, expression, and, most of all, unyielding fun.” The artists, many of them working in animation (surprise, surprise), are unapologetic about their fondness for low-res gaming, and their homages cover all the major and minor arcade and videogames of the Eighties and early-Nineties including PAC-MAN, Q*BERT, STREET FIGHTER II, CENTIPEDE, DONKEY KONG and SUPER MARIO BROS. I AM 8-BIT opens with an ’80s-themed party on April 19 at the Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight/Acme Game Store (7020 Melrose Ave, Hollywood, CA 90038) and winds down with a closing night party for E3 attendees on May 18. Some of the animation folk represented in the show are Anna Chambers, Doug TenNapel, Dave Wasson, Ricky Garduno, Bill Wray, and Lynne Naylor, along with artists from the illustration/comic scene like Steve Purcell, Miles Thompson, Chip Wass and Gary Taxali. Stay tuned to iam8bit.net for more details.
The piece above is by Sean Clarity (after EXCITEBIKE), and below are a couple pieces from the show by Chris Reccardi (inspired by CENTIPEDE) and Tony Mora (from MIKE TYSON’S PUNCH-OUT).
