games  anime  |  toys
Destructoid is gaming news, community, videos, and sometimes love. Take the tour or jump in with Facebook:

 


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.


Continue: More World of Warcraft stories





prev next

14 comments | showing # 1 to 14

Diverse's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/23/2009 20:32
Diverse
The first thing that came to mind was Jet Set Radio, and I do not know why.
Paul Soth's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/23/2009 20:46
Paul Soth
Impressionistic paintings based off TF2 levels? Works for me.
Frohike's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/23/2009 21:13
Frohike
This guy took his fandom and his talent, and used both to express how much better gaming could be. Spectacular...
Magnalon's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/23/2009 21:17
Magnalon
@Diverse
Exactly! It's freaking Rokkaku Dai Heights!
Necros's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/23/2009 21:22
Necros
These are pretty well done, considering how imitative instead of creative so much fanart is.
Elsa's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/23/2009 21:33
Elsa
Wonderful piece of art and easily recognizable as Megaton! Lovely!
Diverse's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/23/2009 21:33
Diverse
@Magnalon YES! I knew it reminded me of one of the stages but I couldn't remember the name. Awesome.
JLanphear's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/23/2009 21:45
JLanphear
This is absolutely beautiful. GORGEOUS, even. It's incredibly well done, and would be brilliant on my wall. :)
Professor Pew's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2009 02:04
Professor Pew
It looks like Mr. Destructoid left his helmet in Canal Barn with Figure!
TheStripe's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2009 02:25
TheStripe
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 - Comment posted on 06/24/2009 03:59
grasslunatic
Wow that's awesome.
liam2015's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2009 04:31
liam2015
I want to buy that.
BattyAdroit's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/24/2009 17:16
BattyAdroit
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 - Comment posted on 06/24/2009 19:56
anal relapse
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.
prev next

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

Comments policy

Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?

Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!

 
New on Destructoid.TV play all videos

Loading
Loading Destructoid Videos


    Win this!
    Dive in! meetup+play for a chance to win a PC

    Dtoid Twitter    Got news?   tips@destructoid.com

    Reviews & Previews
    Crossfire Remote Pistol review
    Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles review
    Left 4 Dead 2 review
    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex review
    Arkedo Series - 02 SWAP! review
    more reviews
    Driver
    Avatar
    GT Racing Motor Academy
    Bad Company 2 beta dishes out meaningful experiences
    Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks
    more previews


    - The Dtoid Army is 50894 strong -

    Showing Cblogs with 3+ faps   show all

    Call for entries: do the wrong thing

    New to Dtoid? Read the survival guide




     Originals
    Jonathan Holmes: Why No More Heroes HD could mean a Wii total victory





















    More Destructoid Originals




     Popular now more






















    Team Destructoid   tips@destructoid.com
    Nick Chester
    Editor-in-Chief
    Niero
    Founder, publisher
    Jim Sterling
    Reviews Editor
    Hamza Aziz
    Community Manager
    Dale North
    News Editor
    Rey Gutierrez
    Video editor & director
    Anthony Burch
    Features Editor
    Colette Bennett
    Tom Fronczak Brad Nicholson
    Ashley Davis Ben Perlee
    Conrad
    Zimmerman
    Chad Concelmo
    Jonathan Holmes Jonathan Ross
    Brad Rice Jordan Devore
    Will Maddock Matthew Razak
    Dyson Joseph Leray
    Topher Cantler Samit Sarkar
         
      Dexter
    Adam Dork
    Daniel Lingen
    Hollie Bennett
    Joe Burling
    Mikey
    Stella Wong

    Josh Tolentino




     

     
      get involved

    register or login
    post a blog
    post a forum
    enter a contest
    contribute a news tip
    suggest a feature
    be a guest editor
    support

    new member's guide
    login assistance
    tech support
    report abuse
    email our editors
    read our dev blog
    nuclear crisis?
    keep in touch

    RSS feed
    Twitter
    Facebook
    Myspace
    Flickr
    Game nights
    Meetup+play online
    seriously

    about Destructoid
    advertising
    terms of use
    privacy policy
    jobs at MM
    buy our crap
    our network

    Tomopop
    Japanator
    Despingation?




    Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press
    living the dream since March 16, 2006