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Capcom and iam8bit hosting 25 Years of Street Fighter art show in LA
The iam8bit art gallery/collective in Los Angeles' Echo Park is teaming up with Capcom for a "25 Years of Street Fighter" gallery show. "Combo Attack" is a two-week exhibition of art of over 50 pieces celebrating the classic fighting game series, featuring different artists' takes on characters, backgrounds, and other media from the long history of Street Fighter.The show is kicking off with a free-to-the-public opening night party on August 3 at 7pm. It will have art pieces on display, and feature a real-life Street Fighter 2 "bonus round" (a car to wreck, we'd guess), and several other special installations. The art itself will be up in the iam8bit gallery through August 19, so even if you can't make opening night we're sure Jon Gibson and gang would appreciate you stopping by.
Nintendo launches Rhythm Heaven Fever with a party at iam8bit
Los Angeles' iam8bit gallery played host to Nintendo last night, as the two companies launched Rhythm Heaven Fever with a full scale party. There were plenty of demos of the game on display, live painting by artists Yoskay Yamamoto and Mari Inukai, a live DJ spinning tunes, and a few photo booths where players could dress up and pose, or even dance for a video running on Nintendo's own site.The event was a lot of fun, and you can pretend you were able to be there by browsing through the gallery below. iam8bit always does a great job with these events, and co-founder Jon Gibson promised us there's lots more on the way: He's currently working hard on the leetUP event that iam8bit is co-hosting at the beginning of next month, and says VIP tickets for that one have sold out already. We'll be in attendance, so stay tuned for more.%Gallery-147121%
Adult Swim shows the sappy side of gaming in SUPER iam8bit article
For an after-hours comedy network, Adult Swim takes its video games very seriously; its article on the SUPER iam8bit gallery presents the show as if the most imaginative pages from our childhood diaries were brought to life and thrown onto the streets of Los Angeles. The article delves into the inspirations behind a few iam8bit artists, who seem to agree that the pixelated, lo-fi graphics of classic video games make them catalysts for creativity and imagination, even today. Adult Swim talks with gallery creator Jon Gibson, artists Dave Crosland, Scott Belcastro, Jose Emroca Flores, Stone, Kelice Penney, Sky Burchard and Double Fine's Drew Skillman, who modded a Kinect to make live, ever-changing video-game art. If you're a fan of old school video games, art or men with impressive beards, read the full article at the source link.
Watch SUPER iam8bit host more than 1,000 gamers on opening night, be jealous
If you don't already feel completely unhip for not yet attending the SUPER iam8bit exhibition in Los Angeles, this video will help depress you to the appropriate levels of self-loathing. The new SUPER iam8bit gallery in Echo Park looks like a little slice of gamer heaven on the West Coast, and if those lines are anything to judge by, los angeles can't wait to get in. The show runs until September 10, so if you like what you see in the video above and additional artwork below, head down to Cali and check out founder Jon Gibson's gaming gallery. Gibson plans on hosting a myriad of events in his new space, and we'll be on the lookout for news about chiptune concerts and screenings of Super Mario Bros. in the near future.
Super iam8bit debuts Los Angeles gallery space, begins monthlong art show
iam8bit founder Jon Gibson says the opening of the new Super iam8bit art show in Los Angeles' Echo Park neighborhood this week is really about a "rebirth." Iam8bit is not only premiering over 100 new pieces by artists inspired by old-school video games, but it's also showing off a brand new gallery space, and reinventing itself as a company. "It was just me before, by my lonesome for so many years," says Gibson. "And now I have three partners and we're all equal, and we're all taking charge." Taylor Harrington, Amanda White, and Nick Ahrens have now officially joined the company, and the group will all work together on the art collective's various projects. The new space will be helpful as well -- iam8bit originally found it while putting an event together with Capcom, and eventually leased it themselves. Gibson plans to use it for a number of different functions. "It's so big," he says. "We can do shows here, we can have concerts, we can do movie screenings." The Super iam8bit show has a book associated with it, currently available in the gallery's storefront, open for business Thursdays through Saturdays in LA. And the art show itself is open for the next month. If you're not planning to be in Echo Park any time soon, you can browse through and see shots from last night's opening gala (including a wall-sized Galaga machine, Drew Skillman's retro Kinect hack, and a musical appearance by chiptune artist Leeni) below. %Gallery-130498%
SUPER iam8bit: new art show, new space, new book
Though there hasn't been an art show since 2008, or a book since 2006, the iam8bit crew have been keeping busy. Perhaps you attended their Brink event at PAX East this year, or one of their many fight club promotions for Capcom's fighting games? Or maybe you snagged one of these signs in Los Angeles last week, which iam8bit stuck on everything from signs to buildings to parking meters. The removable posters are promoting not only a new art show, but also a new Los Angeles space to host the art show, and a new book to commemorate it all. In fitting with video game naming conventions, the new project is being called "SUPER iam8bit" and will most likely feature loads of Mode 7 effects. We'll keep you posted on a release date.%Gallery-126488%
PAX East todo: The Digital Game Canon, a panel about video game preservation
PAX East is underway and we're dedicated to making sure each one of you makes it to one very special panel. But first, we'll level with you: it requires some homework on your part. "Ten Games You Need to Play: The Digital Game Canon" borrows its name from the 2007 GDC session of the same name, in which an incredible group of panelists (including this writer) deigned to select ten video games that deserved to be preserved. We're revisiting that effort, and reconsidering it with a stellar group of panelists. This year's panelists include: Henry Lowood is a professor (and curator!) at Stanford University and chairman of the IGDA's preservation SIG. His academic work is focused on the preservation of video games. Chris Melissinos was a longtime gaming evangelist at Sun, before founding Past Pixels, an organization dedicated to the preservation of video games. He's currently curating the Smithsonian's Art of Video Games exhibit, scheduled to open in 2012. Jon Gibson has worn many hats (including games journo and screenwriter hats) but is currently busy with iam8bit, the LA-based outfit responsible for art exhibits, books, and excellent game marketing gigs (think: Capcom Fight Club). David Gibson has been employed as a Processing Technician in the Library of Congress's Moving Image section since 2006. In that time, he has become a key player in the Library's initiative to collect, preserve, and provide access to America's gaming heritage. Chris Grant is a writer who works from home in his pajamas. And your homework: Get a crash course in game preservation by listening to the entire hour-long "b-side" interview with Henry from Episode 2 of the excellent A Life Well Wasted podcast, which you can find here. Read the excellent "Preserving Virtual Worlds" final report while waiting in PAX East lines (download it here!) and, when you finish that, move over to "Before It's Too Late: A Digital Game Preservation White Paper" (which you can download here). VOTE! Head to www.artofvideogames.org and "vote for games that you think are visually spectacular or boast innovative design!" This is for the Smithsonian Institute, guys. Think about that! And, one final bit of homework: Get in line early. The panel takes place at 2pm on Sunday, March 13, at the IGDA Dev Center (on the 2nd floor, right next to Manticore Theater).
