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Pinball style: drama and design
melissa harmon
Pinball Style is an exhibition with commentary on pinball art from the 1940’s through the 2000’s. Melissa Harmon’s work explores dramatic and historical context with a touch of fashion police humor.Art Opening: Friday, July 2, 2010, from 6 p.m. to 12 midnightADMISSION TO THE ART EXHIBIT IS FREE TO THE PUBLICStay and play pinball for suggested donation.Show runs from July 2 to August 1, 2010
Pacific Pinball Museum
1510 Webster St., Alameda, CA 94501Museum Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 2pm to 9pmFriday and Saturday to 12 midnite. Closed Monday.Adult $15, Child $7.50We are a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization 20-2467607Visit www.pacificpinball.org or call Melissa Harmon 510.205.6959.
Astro , 1971– by Gordon Morison, commentary by Melissa Harmon Astro: Green Girl and Her Pet Robot. Skin is in! Green, or whatever color you want. So is having your own pink and orange robot as a fashion accessory. In the 70’s as the US space program took off, designers such as Paco Rabanne, Betsey Johnson, Peirre Cardin and Andy Warhol made clothes from space age materials with studs and insets like these on Gordon Morison’s chubby robot. Limitless optimism is seen in almost every pinball scenario from the 50’s through 70’s. As long as everyone is having a swell time, there are no real losers. No need to speculate about the fate of the characters in pinball art; their well being is permanent.
OP Pop Pop: As she throws paint by the bucketful, the artist is well dressed for the occasion. The double row of buttons and hint of pleats gives the skirt a bit of military tailoring, a conservative touch. Layered haircut, geometric jewelry and shoes, the pointed geometry of her legs and arms brings order the the wild scene. Op Art, Pop Art, Abstract Expressionism and Psychedelia are all referenced in Op Pop Pop. Pop art is considered one of the last Modern Art movements. Because of her technique, the pictured artist is an Abstract Expressionist like Jackson Pollock.
Egg Head, 1961 – by Roy Parker, commentary by Melissa HarmonEgg Head: There’s a genus (sic) at work in the Unipac (Univac) computer laboratory while sexy blondes, brunettes and redheads in low cut gowns smoke and play play tic tac toe. Poor Oxie Robut and the scientist are both terminally horny. Oxie is covering up his steely hard-on with the tic tac toe board. The scientist sweats while he twiddles little buttons on the electronic confuser which measures the statoshere. At the top, a peaceful egghead of the intellect points to his own noggin. His clown makeup and red stripes confirm his nerdly status. The sexiest guy in the scene is the god Mercury, pictured atop a mechanism labeled mercury switches,a new invention at the time.
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Pinball Fantasies - The Art of Shane Pickerill
At the Lucky Juju Art Gallery May 7th to June 30th, 2010 Opening Friday May 7th from 7-11 p.m. Admission: $15 / $7.50 for 12 and under Includes Museum admission to over 90 machines on freeplay, finger food, no host bar.The Pacific Pinball Museum 1510 Webster Street Alameda, CA 94501 www.pacificpinball.org 510-769-1349
Pinball Fantasies
Pinball Fantasy is a concept for a pinball game and is designed to function as a working game. I spent nearly one year designing this piece and I looked at lane clearances, ramp heights, shot paths, etc. in an attempt to create a design that will actually work when manufactured. I put a lot of thought into game play and into the "goals" of the game. I then used the CAD drawings as blueprints for creating 3-dimensional parts in the computer with 3D software. The 3D parts are dimensionally accurate, representing life-size parts. I used texture maps and materials to color these 3D parts in order to give them realism and character. I added lights to the 3D "scene" in the computer to further enhance the realism of the game. The final image was created by 40 individual computers, each rendering a 1" x 60" strip of the entire image. These strips were then assembled into one very large final image. The final image was printed on Duratrans film. This image is printed at a reduced scale (5/8), making it smaller than the size of the actual game. In the end, I created over 200 different playfield layouts in the CAD program. I often find ideas from my earlier designs that I had discarded, and use them in new ways in my current design. My long-term goal is to manufacture a working, physical game based on this design. I'm also interested in creating more light boxes with my imagery.
Shane Pickerill www.shane-design.com
M.F.A. 1996, Cal Arts, Valencia, CA
B.F.A. 1992, Millikin University, Decatur, IL
Shane is an artist/designer living in southern California. He works in a variety of media including 3D digital imagery, fabric sculpture, and painting. His work often blurs the line between art and product design, and he strives to create work that is interactive. Shane enjoys using 3D and CAD computer software as tools for designing his work. “Pinball Fantasy” is Shane’s most recent work that he designed to work as a real pinball game. His long-term goal is to take this piece from image/concept to a working, physical prototype.
Curator’s Notes:
When I first started talking with Shane about Pinball, he had an idea for a wall mounted machine and was looking for help in trying to design it. At first I thought it was an impossible task but a year later, when I saw his design, I was truly in awe. Whether it worked or not, it was stunning! It reminds me of dreams I had playing pinball on an enormous playfield where I could barely see the area where the ball was scoring. This is a breakthrough in its design and concept but also as an art form. Functional Art is not new, but in this form it is. I hope to play on Mr. Pickerill’s beautiful design before pass through the spinner of life. -Michael Schiess
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New Art Gallery Opens in February
Pinball Art: Fine Art
January 07, 2010
PINBALL ART: FINE ART
A CELEBRATION AND ART OPENING
At the Pacific Pinball Museum
1510 Webster St., Alameda, CA 94501
February 5, 2010 from 2pm to 12 midnight
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Kim Piazza Conceptual Recycling Art
KIMBERLY PIAZZA
TIRE RECYCLING CONCEPTS
IMAGES FOR EARTHDAY
Tires are omnipresent yet invisible in our lives until one goes flat.
Opening: Friday, April 2, 2010, from 2p.m. to 12 midnight
Admission: Adult $15, Child $7.50
Show runs from April 2 to May 1, 2010
Pacific Pinball Museum
1510 Webster St., Alameda, CA 94501
Museum Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 2pm to 9pm, with extended hours to 12 midnite Friday and Saturday. Closed Monday.
Kimberly Piazza’s paintings propose fantastic methods for recycling tires.
She writes: “What are we going to do with all the old tires? One of the luxuries I enjoy as a painter is that my proposed solutions don’t have to be proven scientifically or be mechanically viable.”
Kimberly Piazza’s work is a meditative look at humankind’s impact on the natural environment.
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The Pacific Pinball Exposition 2010
The world’s largest pinball show comes back to Northern California in 2010!
Save the date!!!! October 1-3rd, 2010
Alameda’s Pacific Pinball Museum is sponsoring our annual Pacific Pinball Exposition (PPE) at the Marin County Civic Center Exhibition Hall in San Rafael, CA. We are planning on another fun filled event good for the entire family.
Venue: Marin Civic Center Exhibition Hall - 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael, CA
Highlights:
- Over 300 Pinball Machines in one room ! in addition we will have arcade novelty games of various genre.
- Seminars on various topics Pinball and Technology : General Repair, History, New Tech
- Tournaments for all ages and skill levels with prizes
- Raffle : General Daily Raffle items and Special Pinball Raffle
- Displays on the History of Pinball
- Vendors: a variety of Pinball parts, apparel, books, backglasses, and other pinball related items to purchase.
Accommodations will be available in adjoining property at a discount: Embassy Suites Hotel, San Rafael CA : Embassy Suites San Rafael
More information and articles can be found on our Exposition section on the home page
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