If you grew up during the NES days, you know that your imagination had to do a lot of work in the 8-bit era. Video game graphics were limited, with some of the most iconic characters of our time consisting of just a few stacked pixels. But that doesn't mean older games weren't as expressive as today's highly detailed 3D; it simply meant that players had more mental space to fill the canvas.
This is the idea behind iam8bit's 20th anniversary art show taking place this weekend. The exhibition, which runs from November 8th to 9th at Studio 8 in Los Angeles, will feature the work of over 70 artists who were commissioned to bring their interpretations of 8-bit games to life. Ahead of the show's opening, Polygon spoke with iam8bit founders John Gibson and Amanda White about the origins of the event. We can exclusively share some of the works exhibited at this year's exhibition.
already 8bit Over the past two decades, it has established itself in the video game industry as a creative production powerhouse. She has previously published games, released vinyl versions of game soundtracks, and almost served as creative director at E3 2020. withdraws months before the show is officially canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But the company got its start by organizing an art exhibition in 2005, inviting artists to interpret their favorite 8-bit games.
“What memories do you have of playing these games as a child? What did these characters look like in your mind's eye?” John Gibson spoke to Polygon, explaining the idea for the show at the time. “Put it on canvas. Create a painting, create a sculpture, no matter what your medium is.”
After missing out on the event's 15th anniversary in 2020 (and narrowly missing out on hosting the “iam16bit” makeup show in 2021), iam8bit has revived the show under the same restrictions for the first time since 2018. It features art borrowed from classic games, including Metroid, Space Invadersand much more. Some of the featured artists have participated in previous iam8bit exhibitions or have already worked with the company on projects. This includes the show's most surprising performer: Keita Takahashi.
The creator of Katamari Damacy has several pieces in the series, and they are as eccentric as you can imagine. His look at The Legend of Zelda shows Link snacking on fast food in Hyrule Field, while the Tetris-based artwork shows Tetrimino pieces struggling to fit on a couch. (You're late: Amanda White already bought the last one.)
Both parts give a taste of what iam8bit wants, creating a show that turns the imagination of individual players into physical art. While artists had plenty of room to experiment with this prompt, they had to adhere to some limitations.
“One of the differences between this show and the original show is that we had to make sure that the artists weren't diving into a 3D expression by basing their art on something more futuristic than what was available at the time,” White said. “There were a couple of artists and we had to pull them back and say you can’t do this. Whatbecause it doesn’t correspond to the era.”
Gibson says this rule leads to crazy thinking, and this is evident in some of the other work we've seen. Artist Andre Sanchez offers a dark, gothic take on Space Invaders by turning one of the iconic alien ships into a skull. Nuri Durr, who created key art for the upcoming gamepetal runnercreated an odeMetroid this takes us back to the mecha anime of that era.A charming piece from Jennifer Nguyen transforms into… Dragon Questenemies into a hand-drawn collage just in time for the RPG's release.ew HD-2D remake. The most striking piece we've seen so far is a “soft sculpture” by artist Anna Chambers, who created a portrait of Princess Peach using felt and fabrics that come off the canvas. No two pieces fit the spirit of the show alike.
Both Gibson and White are excited to return to iam8bit's roots with this show. (“We're just glad to see this thing hanging on the wall again!” Gibson said.) Both see it as an opportunity to encourage people to experience the art in real life, or at least discuss it with others after viewing pieces from the exhibit online. White hopes it can be a force for good in the world at a time when it is needed most.
“Art is an incredibly powerful way to bring people together,” White said. “The video game genre as a theme, regardless of the time frame of that theme, is focused on something incredibly joyful for people. We're bringing people together, allowing them to come together as a community around really positive things. Which, I don't even need to say it, is so important right now.”
The iam8bit 20th Anniversary Art Exhibit is open to the public from November 8th to 9th at Studio 8 in Los Angeles, with a VIP preview taking place on November 7th.
