Some Halloween treats at deviantART

We like to argue about whether or not games are art (see the article from David Thomas where he bluntly and emphatically declares that games are not art in his appropriately titled article Games Are Not Art), but while we may never come to a consensus on that here’s something that - there’s absolutely no doubt - is in fact art: pumpkins carved with some of our favorite video games and video game characters.

Carved and photographed for the deviantART crowd, user ceemde has created some masterful Halloween creations featuring Sam & Max, Crusader: No Remorse, Plants vs. Zombies (my favorite of the bunch), Shadow of the Colossus and Pipboy from Fallout. Beautiful.

Check out all these wonderful creations out at deviantART. Thanks to Game Culture for the tip.

The Lab celebrates art and gaming at art.tech

The San Francisco alternative art space, The Lab, will be hosting a three-day festival in early Sept. celebrating what organizers call the intersection of art and technology. While gaming isn’t the only thing going on at this three-day event, it has a prominent place in it, with experimental approaches to video game development explored by several artists that involve interactivity and innovation.

Sean Wallace will be showing Fluxly, a video game featuring wizard duels in which users must make their own hardware controller to compete. Most everything in the game can be manipulated so it up to the user to make and program a controller to find victory. Users can also play the game with some pre-built controllers like a hamster ball, a cigar box, a MIDI keyboard or work on one by programming it and putting it together with the help of a technician. Find out more at as220.org.

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The art of E3: Into The Pixel 2009

Over 16 wonderful works of video game art have been selected from a field of more than 200 submissions from around the world for the 2009 Into The Pixel Art collection - on display at E3 this week in Los Angeles.

In its sixth year, Into the Pixel (ITP) is a juried digital art exhibition that brings together experts from the traditional fine art world and the interactive entertainment industry to display and discuss the art of video games. Into the Pixel is a joint effort of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the Entertainment Software Association and the Prints & Drawings Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The 2009 ITP collection will open tomorrow, Tuesday, June 2, during E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Art in this year’s collection features a wide array of genres, including landscape and anime to fantasy.

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The Rundown: March 10, 2009

Welcome to the New York City edition of The Rundown. As you can see from the shot above there’’s no money in this month’s budget for socks or shoes. Oh well, if General Washington’s boys can do it, why can’t I? Thank you very much Mr. President. Actual news is available after the jump, I swear..

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I Am 8-Bit Opens August 14

I Am 8-Bit, an art exhibition inspired by gaming, will open tomorrow in Hollywood. The opening night extravaganza, as they call it, will happen August 14 and wall run from 8 p.m. to Midnight. Besides the art, which I have been told by voices in the ether is “wonderful,” attendees can enjoy musical performances by Computer Jay and DJ R-Rated. All of this and more will take place at the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery (6650 Hollywood Blvd). The exhibit will run until September 7.

I Am 8-Bit is sponsored by Capcom, Foundation 9, 47 Communications, Nord Core, and the letter “Z.” Find out more at www.iam8bit.net.

I AM 8-BIT Invades L.A.

Video game inspired art exhibition, I AM 8-BIT, returns for its fourth installment this summer. The annual group art exhibition will have its grand opening extravaganza on Thursday, August 14, 2008 at the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery in Hollywood, California from 8 p.m. to Midnight. The show will run until September 7. Launched in April 2005, I AM 8-BIT takes inspiration from the many characters and worlds of classic 80’s videogames.

“Mario, Mega Man, Pac-Man, and Sonic are just as iconic as The Beatles to our generation,” says I AM 8-BIT founder and curator, Jon M. Gibson. “They are our childhood heroes, our babysitters, our most awesome fantasies - and it’s amazing to see how wildly and diversely artists choose to interpret them, because every experience is a personal one.”

Over one hundred artists are contributing to this year’s I AM 8-BIT, the show’s largest contingent yet, with a roster of established street and underground talent being added to the mix. ”

This year, I AM 8-BIT is made possible sponsors Capcom Entertainment, Foundation 9 Entertainment, Nerdcore, Colt 45, Skooby’s, 47 Communications, and Blik Surface Graphics.

Find out more at www.iam8bit.net