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James Barnett's Fauxvism: Fallout 3's Megaton meets Matisse photo

The Internet is a wonderful place -- you can find anything on it, including the results of videogame × Fauvism mash-ups.

Well, let's back up a bit. Perhaps Arizona is a wonderful place, since it's where artist James Barnett lives. From the header image, you can probably tell that he's a painter; and if you're a fan of Bethesda's Fallout 3, maybe you recognize Megaton, one of the game's largest and most memorable venues.

He painted it in the Fauvist style that was spearheaded by early-20th century modernists like Henri Matisse. The name comes from the French word for "wild beast" (un fauve), and the movement rejected realism, opting instead for striking colors and abstraction. Barnett seems to be a displaced Fauve, although his videogame adaptations are uniquely modern in their own right. He explains on his blog:

These aren't from screenshots I found online; I navigated around inside of each of the games until I found a composition I liked, and then made a painting of it. I certainly spend more time in games than wandering the idyllic countryside. There's a whole spiel behind this, starting from frustration at 3D games slavishly imitating real life ... 

Barnett has a number of paintings in his "Fauxvism Series" -- scenes from Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3, Half-Life 2, City of Heroes, and World of Warcraft -- which can be seen here. Prices range from about $100 to over $1000, and Barnett is available for commissions. Some of his older work includes two fantastic pieces of Alyx Vance.

If you want to read more about James Barnett and his art, be sure to check out this fantastic Wired piece from 2007.


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14 comments | showing # 1 to 14

Diverse's Avatar
Diverse at 06/23/2009 20:32
The first thing that came to mind was Jet Set Radio, and I do not know why.
Paul Soth's Avatar
Paul Soth at 06/23/2009 20:46
Impressionistic paintings based off TF2 levels? Works for me.
Frohike's Avatar
Frohike at 06/23/2009 21:13
This guy took his fandom and his talent, and used both to express how much better gaming could be. Spectacular...
Magnalon's Avatar
Magnalon at 06/23/2009 21:17
@Diverse
Exactly! It's freaking Rokkaku Dai Heights!
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 06/23/2009 21:22
These are pretty well done, considering how imitative instead of creative so much fanart is.
Elsa's Avatar
Elsa at 06/23/2009 21:33
Wonderful piece of art and easily recognizable as Megaton! Lovely!
Diverse's Avatar
Diverse at 06/23/2009 21:33
@Magnalon YES! I knew it reminded me of one of the stages but I couldn't remember the name. Awesome.
JLanphear's Avatar
JLanphear at 06/23/2009 21:45
This is absolutely beautiful. GORGEOUS, even. It's incredibly well done, and would be brilliant on my wall. :)
Professor Pew's Avatar
Professor Pew at 06/24/2009 02:04
It looks like Mr. Destructoid left his helmet in Canal Barn with Figure!
TheStripe's Avatar
TheStripe at 06/24/2009 02:25
Pew, that's a truck.

Also, I'd totally come up with two or three bills for the Megaton, but $1050? Not really. Sometimes it's no surprise why artists are starving. Don't get me wrong, I love it all, I'd love to own it, I just don't see him getting what he asks for. Shit, that's a new TV and change, or a kickass new gaming rig.
grasslunatic's Avatar
grasslunatic at 06/24/2009 03:59
Wow that's awesome.
liam2015's Avatar
liam2015 at 06/24/2009 04:31
I want to buy that.
BattyAdroit's Avatar
BattyAdroit at 06/24/2009 17:16
This is wonderful.

@TheStripe: Original art is generally a pretty high-end luxury item. If a person is still sweating a decent television or gaming rig, then art collection is probably not for them.

That being said, I wish I could afford to put Megaton up on my wall. :)

Artists are not always starving out of necessity. There's a lot of interesting reading material out there about the Bohemians of the early twentieth century.
anal relapse's Avatar
anal relapse at 06/24/2009 19:56
I followed the link to the Wired article and read this:

"Blown up to canvas size, the characters from Gradius or Contra or Ninja Gaiden stop looking like games and start looking like Jungian archetypes..."

Oh you stupid pretentious cunt. This is what puts people off reading or at the very least puts them in a bad mood.
Then, I read the comment at the bottom:

"uh, welcome to the world of digital culture, guy. digital gaming has been the subject of poetry, narrative, film, or video art for as long as it has existed. gaming generally has been the subject of the arts for as long as art has existed."

This reaffirmed my faith in humanity and reminded me why I don't kill serially.
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