The Super iam8bit Art Show Looks Amazing

The Super iam8bit Art Show starts next Thursday, August 11th in L.A. and man, it looks like it is going to be a doozy. This will be the fifth incarnation of the show and by far the biggest yet. From their site:

Over 100 artists will reimagine their 80's gaming fantasies, delusions and secret desires via all sorts of media - painting, sculpture, plush, and even some more interactive experimentation. Highlights include:

*A special tribute to Galaga's 30th anniversary featuring the world's largest "arcade cabinet"

* The transformation of the entire gallery into an 80's gaming wonderland by designer decal collective BLIK

*An interactive, "retro-fied" Kinect hack from Double Fine super-artist Drew Skillman

This show really represents the best aspects of fan art. Fan art can stretch the pathos of a popular game or comic by exploring territory that will never be touched in a large, money making franchise. Take the image below, for example. Rather than showing the Koopa Troopas as some kind of malicious monster, we see them as turtles being burned to death by Mario's fireballs. That'd be a game I'd love to play, a Koopa Troopa working his way up the ranks, trying to take out Yoshi and Mario.

Images via the Mario Painters at Rampaged Reality.

"Plight of the Koopas" - Darick Maasen