Space Invader Part 1
Nothing says geek street art like Space Invader.
Spotted! Space Invader - Amsterdam
Did some reading up on the original Space Invader game, and found that not only was invasion the theme of the game, but invade was also exactly what it did to the gaming market. Released in 1978, the Space Invader game became so popular so quickly that it actually caused a shortage of Japanese 100-yen coins and warranted the opening of special gaming arcades that only housed Space Invader consoles. In 1980 Atari licensed the game and Space Invader became the first ‘killer app,’ or video game that is so sought after that the user will buy special hardware or software just to play (…the Space Invader game quadrupled sales of the Atari system).
It was at this point that video gaming really came into it’s own as a genre of entertainment and began to compete with media such as music and television. Together, Space Invader and the video game systems achieved their own invasion- in our public spaces, marketplaces, and homes.
Taking the invasion to another level is one of my favorites- French artist Space Invader. Chances are you have already seen his work and know a bit about it. The project that put Invader on the map is his epic and continual creation and installation of the pixelated Space Invader characters in cities around the world. Check out the Around the World section of his site for a list of invaded cities and lots of photos. He builds most of his pieces from tiles and then adheres them onto walls, bridges, signs, etc… For each city he meticulously maps the locations of his pieces, and then scores them for a point value- old school video game style.
Space Invader - Around the World
Space Invader - Points
Space Invader has been in action since the mid ‘90’s and he is an incredibly prolific artist… so more to come on his other projects soon!
Meanwhile- here are a couple links to background info and photos:
Swindle Magazine article by Shepard Fairey, “Space Invader”
Flickr Space Invader Group
Tags: Geeks, Space Invader, Video