8-Bits
Me Nick. Me huge nerd. Me like painting. As shown by 8-Bits, I have much love for Pop Art and videogames. For 8-Bits, I wanted to depict a sacred space from a videogame. A lot of NES Games (and even one or two Sega Master System Games) crossed my mind; Super Mario Brothers, Donkey Kong, Tetris, etc. These games stood out, but each game felt too iconic in as pop culture icons. In terms of public perception of videogames as a form of media, Metroid has been somewhat of a secondary icon which had much more to explore in terms of aesthetics and composition.
There was something about Metroid’s isolation and minimalism that I find hypnotizing as a game and as a painting subject. Anyone who has ever played the original Metroid game can relate to 8-Bits desolation. I had intended to capture Metroid’s permeating, dark aesthetic and the sinister movement within 8-Bits, and I had hoped to recreate the feeling one experienced while watching or playing the original game.
8-Bits was painted on a 36×36″ canvas which warps the standard aspect ratio of the typical television which Metroid was originally played on. I had actually drafted out a different scene from Metroid as a follow-up to 8-Bits; the canvas I stretched had dimensions to mimic the proportions of a standard television, and the composition had been pencilled onto the canvas. Unfortunately, that canvas was stolen from Mason Gross in late 2004 so it was never fully realized. If the person who stole my canvas ever reads this, please do me a favor and fall off the second story of a building onto a tall railing.
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