I went to this gallery last year here in Hollywood, and was pretty blown away. This isn't exactly fan art, it's something a little more intense. The pieces each take a certain video game--the characters, worlds and themes--and sort of slather it with resonant and meaningful imagery. It seems (to me at least) the idea is to project new meaning onto something usually perceived as static, indulgent and childish.
Some of the recurring ideas I pull from these: failure, ecstasy, determination, hubris, impotence, gluttony...some pretty intense shit for Mario, Mega Man and Pac-Man. It's a shame that all of the pieces are all pants-shittingly too expensive. Hundreds and thousands of dollars.
Imagine a future where they have entire museums of this stuff. Someone would have to theoretically be the curator of such a place, and schmooze patrons with chatter like this *schmooze voice*: "Yes, D'Flobinshaute, he has one of the finest Samus Arans, at least for a Welshman, that is."
Anyway, I'm going to try and make it in September. Below are a couple of my current favorites of these.
