Diary of a mad curator (pt 2)
Or: how i am 8-bit—an art show devised out of an unbridled love for 80s videogame nostalgia—came to be.
Monday, February 14, 2005
While Nintendo and Atari originally wanted to sponsor the event, I can’t wait any longer for things to make their way up the corporate ladder. Approvals are a bitch!
Keith Robinson of Intellivision Productions, (a blast from the videogame past), has stepped in to help us out. As I’ve quickly learned, putting on an event of this size requires a lot of money: promotional materials like flyers, postage to send them out, security, entertainment, liquor, bartenders, gift bags…
Oh yeah, we locked in one of my favorite bands—8-Bit Weapon—to play the opening party (they compose their music on old-school hardware like a Game Boy and Commodore 64), and even scored Gerardo (of Rico Suave fame) to preside over the event. Intellvision’s awesome PR maven, Josh Stecker, is even going to help out with nabbing us some more media attention.
At this point, any kind of aid is much appreciated. This show just keeps more bloated by the day.
Friday, March 18, 2005
‘Wow!’
That’s all I could say as I stared at Greg Simkin’s submission.
‘WOW! WOW! WOW!’
He calls it Pac-Man in Hospice, and it features a slew of geriatric gaming icons, aged and decrepit—Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Mario, Q*Bert. Man, the image of a wrinkled yellow geezer sucking down pellets through an IV is just too cool! I can confidently say that people are going to flip out when they see this in person. Jensen was right: this guy’s gonna be huge! Like Mark Ryden huge!
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Since i am 8-bit is becoming more and more of an art event—it’s not just an art show anymore—we’ve decided that it’d be smart to team up with Acme Game Store, a trendy retail shop that neighbors Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight. It’s about twice the size of the gallery, so it’s a great party space. Plus, the art scene is something that lends itself to their hip Hollywood image. The only trouble: they don’t have space to hang art, so they are literally building a rolling wall for the middle of the store. Talk about going the extra mile!
Monday, April 4, 2005
I got an interesting e-mail last week from Chronicle Books. An editor there, who used to work at Next Generation Magazine, was incredibly hyped at the idea of doing a book based on i am 8-bit. Little did he know that Chronicle is, by far, my favorite publisher; my dream publisher. If the show is successful, the plan would be to have the book hit stores next April… you know, with a follow-up art show.
Man, we’re already talking sequel before the first even debuts. People really like this thing. Here’s hoping things go well for the Little Art Show That Could.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
We’re officially freaking out! The gallery’s RSVP line was getting assaulted by callers, so we shut it down. The opening isn’t until this Tuesday night, but the spreadsheet of attendees is nearly one thousand people thick! It’s fucking crazy! And that’s just people that were responsible enough to make reservations.
I’m really worried. Where the fuck are all these people going to fit?
Monday, April 18, 2005
Done! We’re done hanging all the art. And just in the nick of time! It took the entire weekend, but about 140 pieces are now ready for the show. Yet, we’re still awaiting a few last-minute additions. Typical, but what can ya do? I need sleep. Tomorrow is going to be insane!
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Gasp! The show was an amazing success! Like… blockbuster status! I mean… fuck!
For as much as we were able to count, at least 1,500 people rolled in from 7 to 11 p.m. The crowd was so heavy, people were flowing off of the sidewalk, much to the upset of some circling police cars. Nearly 70 percent of the art sold in just a few hours—an absurd achievement by gallery standards. I didn’t see them myself, but some celebs even showed up: Gregory Smith (Everwood), MTV’s Kennedy.
We also had a giant NES controller on loan from my producer friends at the cable station, G4. It was 8-feet wide, weighed well over 100 pounds (more than 45 kg), and required two-people to play even a simple round of Super Mario Bros. Imagine one dude mashing the A button while the other worked the D-pad. On a 50-inch plasma, it was a sight to behold.
Seth from 8-Bit Weapon rocked the house. Games we’re literally falling off the shelves of Acme from the intense bass. And then there was a woman who, I’m told, actually wept a few tears looking at one of the pieces of art. Not to sound cocky or anything, but damn—i am 8-bit induced tears! Now that’s a quote for the movie poster!
Monday, May 9, 2005
Chuck Klosterman, who wrote the very cool pop culture anthology, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, just agreed to do the forward for the i am 8-bit book! As if this thing weren’t already so real, it just got even more momentous!
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
The Electronic Entertainment Expo was in town this week, so we decided to have a closing reception tonight. Like the opening, it became a much bigger deal than we ever expected. We just figured, people are here from out-of-town… let’s give them a chance to see the show. 8-Bit Weapon played again, and, well, what can I say? It was awesome! The local news even came and did a live satellite broadcast, calling us a “happening Hollywood party!â€
To think, a few more days and it’s over.
Friday, May 20, 2005
Nearly a year after its conception… i am 8-bit officially closed today.
I’m sad. Almost mad, even. It’s just too soon. It was a wild ride.
Thankfully, it doesn’t stop here. I’m working on the book with Chronicle. I’ve launched a small t-shirt label to produce old-school gaming art shirts. And, yup! I just marked it on the calendar today: April 19 to May 20, 2006. Another i am 8-bit is just a year away!
Shit, it’s late—I’m going to bed.
This is the second in a two-part ‘diary’, written by iam8bit curator, Jon Gibson, especially for JumpButton.
Who is Jon Gibson?
As if it weren’t already obvious, Jon M. Gibson is co-curator of i am 8-bit in Los Angeles and author of i am 8-bit: Art Inspired by Classic Videogames of the 80s. He also writes scripts for animation, having worked for the likes of Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network.
| The i am 8-bit book Blip. Bleep. Bonk! Ahh, the soothing sounds of games long gone—those pixellated treasures from the 80s that made our thumbs twitch, our mouths water. Such were also the crude—yet consuming—soundtracks for arcade and console heroes like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and a stoic, little paddle named Pong! I am 8-bit, held at Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight in Los Angeles, aims to recapture those glory days. The concept is simple—a talented arsenal of artists painting, sculpting, moulding or inking their old-school videogame memories—but the results are nothing but. The roster spans the globe, featuring over 100 of the world’s most renowned pop and low-brow trendsetters, all mining their childhood for that pixel-perfect piece. Whether it’s Mario bonding over a mug of cold beer with Donkey Kong, or a geriatric Pac-Man—wrinkled and retired—sucking pellets through an IV, every artist has their own unique vision of the gaming past. They’re not just pretty pictures; these are personal stories from a bygone era, told one brushstroke at a time. www.iam8bit.net |
Jennifer Juniper Stratford
Excellent read! Many, many thanks for putting this article together.
It’s really amazing where gaming culture is going. I can’t wait to see where things evolve to over the next decade.