"I Am 8-Bit" art exhibit opens tomorrow night in Los Angeles
by Kevin Kelly 
{ Apr 16th 2007 at 4:35PM }
They'll have 200 piece of artwork from over 100 different artists, including the giant, working, five foot tall Atari 2600 controller pictured above, which was commissioned for the show. Playable on the controller, projected 30 feet wide, will be "Mega Man 2600,"a homebrewed game by David Galloway, created for The Blue Bomber's 20th Anniversary. Talk about a "mega" man. (How could you not see that coming?)
"I Am 8-Bit" is "a talented arsenal of artists painting, sculpting, molding, or inking their old-school videogame memories. For some photographic evidence, check out our preview gallery below.
Gallery: i am 8-bit at GDC
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jonathan Tran @ Apr 16th 2007 4:45PM
The whole 8-bit retro thing has gone a little too far. Half the people who peddle this stuff never even played an 8 bit console, let alone owned one.
Steve @ Apr 16th 2007 5:19PM
I don't know why people remember the Atari 2600 so fondly. I think I was 8 when my grandparents got one for me back around 1982-1983 and I remember when my dad first got it up and running I saw Combat and was disappointed. I didn't let it show, and I certainly played with the system a lot, but I knew from day one that the Atari 2600 was nothing but a 2-bit system far inferior to the arcades.
To me the NES was revolutionary because it was the first time I had ever seen arcade quality graphics on a home console.
REUYL @ Apr 16th 2007 5:42PM
I'm all for nostalgia, but isn't this a bit much? Some of the artwork doesn't have much to do with 8-bit anyway.
Diskoboy @ Apr 16th 2007 6:01PM
I vow that one of these days, I'm gonna buy that Excitebike piece.
Mr Khan @ Apr 16th 2007 6:19PM
The 8-bit retro-craze is just running with the '80s retro craze that has run roughshod basically since 2004
In 10 years, you'll be seeing hordes of nostalgia for SNES, Genesis, T16, and Neo-Geo, while people listen to the Spice Girls in a nostalgia-induced haze
Rubang B @ Apr 16th 2007 6:53PM
I am so playing with that joystick tomorrow night.
Rubang B @ Apr 16th 2007 11:23PM
If anybody goes to this tomorrow night, I'll be the guy dressed as a Goomba rocking my DS. The name's Rubang B. Word up.
tituspullo @ Apr 16th 2007 11:48PM
nice photos!
Aberu @ Apr 17th 2007 4:12PM
When will the realize being a nerd isn't about 8-bit gaming. It's about sitting around with your friends and talking about 8-bit gaming, 16-bit gaming, 32-bit gaming, 64-bit gaming, 128-bit gaming, and the future of fucking games. Let alone whatever else you want to talk about. Besides that, this nerd revolution thing is stupid as hell. Nerdcore is crappy music for those that take it seriously. Being a nerd, when I was a kid wasn't a badge, you just kinda did it and ignored others who told you otherwise. Now it's like, omgz your a nerd too? Let's exchage phone numbers lawlz