The Return of iam8bit: SUPER iam8bit

"MK Kalamari" by Jose Emroca Flores


"Plight of the Koopas" by Derick Maasen


"'Zeruda no Densetsu" by Carlos Ramos


"Portrait of Rockman" by Chris Sanchez


"Absolute Power" by Tim Shumate

Gallery Nineteen Eighty-Eight is doing a sequel to their legendary iam8bit show, entitled SUPER iam8bit! If the promotional pieces that G1988 have released are any indication, SUPER iam8bit should be absolutely outstanding.



It appears that G1988 is also releasing the second volume of videogame-inspired art to coincide with the show. I was a huge, ginormous fan of the first volume, entitled simply "i-am-8-bit: Art Inspired by Classic Videogames of the '80s" and will definitely be grabbing Volume II once it's been released.

SUPER iam8bit starts August 11th, 2011 at Gallery Nineteen Eighty-Eight in Los Angeles. You can buy the first iam8bit art book here, while the second book should be sold hereabouts whenever it's out.

So Analog by Squid Kids Ink.

(Click for larger image)

These are super rad. Meet 10-Doh!, B-Side, and A-Drive, three prototype vinyl figures from Squid Kids Ink. They'll be debuting at DesignerCon 2010 in Pasadena, CA on November 20th. Sadly, since these are only prototypes, they won't be for sale - though there may be a few blanks available for purchase at the Con.

My love of vinyls is well-documented and I can think of nothing better than seeing the So Analog series earn itself a solo custom show (with the exception of maybe owning a few of them). So if you're in the Pasadena area on the 20th of November and you happen to stop by D-Con, make sure you give these sculpts the proper adulation they deserve - and if you so happen to feel like grabbing a blank 10-Doh! for me at the same time, well, I wouldn't turn my nose up at it.

[So Analog, by Squid Kids Ink]

I AM 8-BIT

Sean Clarity, Peter Gronquist, Gabe Swarr
(click image for full-sized version)

Another day, another reason to move to Los Angeles. Gallery Nineteen Eighty-Eight, located at 7020 Melrose Ave. in L.A., is hosting the second annual I AM 8-BIT exhibition, and... wow. The first series was pretty neat, but this new one is amazing. So much videogame love.

Michael Gagne, Martin Ontiveros
(click image for full-sized version)

The list of contributors is a veritable who's-who of the contemporary pop surrealism scene: Tim Biskup, Steve Purcell, Jim Mahfood, Luke Chueh, Gary Baseman, Brandon Bird, and dozens more. Who knew that Nintendo was so universal and profoundly influential? Most works draw their inspiration either from the NES roster (Super Mario Bros, Megaman, Metroid) or from the earlier Atari era (Pacman, Asteroids, Donkey Kong,) with few if any references beyond the late '80s. A handful even comment on the nature of videogaming itself.

Jose Emroca Flores, Love Ablan, Yosuke Ueno
(click image for full-sized version)

If you live in or near L.A., you could do worse than to plan a visit to Nineteen Eighty-Eight this weekend. If you don't, you're still in luck. The first I AM 8-BIT collection has been collected and recently published by Chronicle Books, and is readily available at Amazon.com. At under $15 USD, the book is stupidly affordable and you really owe it to yourself to add it to your own library.

Link: I AM 8-BIT website.
Link: Gallery Nineteen Eighty-Eight.
Link: I AM 8-BIT: Art Inspired by Classic Videogames of the '80s at Amazon.

(note: All above photos were originally posted at Vinyl Pulse, an art blog which I heartily endorse and recommend. I cropped them and did some other minor tweaks for presentation's sake but all credit goes to Vinyl Pulse and the original photographer.)