We all need to take a minute to appreciate how lucky we are that so many nerdy things in the world are cherished these days. What was once dismissed as geeky nonsense is now, in so many ways, popular and mainstream. And while there will always be the naysayers who, well, say “nay” about whether or not this is a good thing—we say nay to them for their aforementioned saying of nay because of the wonderful places like Gallery 1988. Their ability to curate and celebrate some serious pop culture artwork it is nothing short of a nerdy kid’s dream come true.
Their latest show is a tribute to the NES classic Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! and, boy, are we excited for every single bit of it. The game is nearly thirty years old and still so ingrained in our memories that we’re just about to risk every bit of income we have to get our hands on any and all of these pieces. The show—Don’t Cry, Mac: A Tribute to Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!—tasked artists with re-imagining the game’s characters in their own style making for an eclectic mix of prints and mixed media items. Here are a few of our favorites.
Stephen Andrade’s “X Marks The Spot” print is just phenomenal and seems like it could be a real pulp magazine cover from way back when. Hey, crazier magazines and covers have existed in real life.
Holy moly, these two are fantastic! Not only is one an actual 3D paper sculpture, but artist Adam Hoppus made the “The King of Video Land” as a print as well so you can hang it and be forever tempted to build it yourself. And yes, that’s most certainly the version of King Hippo from Captain N: The Game Master.
OK, so for $1,200.00 the DrilOne “NES” might seem a bit steep but hear us out. If everyone reading this gets enough friends to just give them a dollar and then you give us those dollars, we can get purchase this for the writer of this article and he’ll totally be your best friend. Deal? Cool. We’ll be waiting by the mailbox the 1200 bucks!
Some of our favorites are in the gallery below and all the pieces are available to purchase on Gallery 1988’s site.
Which ones are your favorite? Let’s discuss in the comments below!
Images: Gallery 1988
Featured Image: Gallery 1988 |Â “007 373 5963” by Belinda Rodriguez
