We are proud to welcome a fantastic new artist, Jude Buffum, to our team
at Mendola! With Jude, we get two strong styles--8-Bit/Pixel and Info
Graphic--wrapped into one. Both styles command attention and delight the
eye... a killer combination!Jude's 8-Bit/Pixel work pays homage to classic video games, such as Super Mario Brothers and Pac Man. His pixelated characters may play tennis and bowl (see "The Dude" on the right), but they remain flatly pressed against an ever-present computer screen. Jude repeatedly references pop culture and cult movies, including The Big Lebowski and rapper T-Pain's Auto-Tuned music.
CLICK HERE for Jude's 8-Bit/Pixel Portfolio CLICK HERE for Jude's Info Graphic Portfolio
Despite his clear affinity for modern culture and technology,
Jude also displays an affection for low-tech image-making: namely,
cross-stitching. In this traditional art form, needle and thread are
used to create small X stitches on linen. These cross-crosses optically
mix to create one image, say, of a cat or a bundle of flowers.Jude applies this idea to computer graphics, which also rely on the optical mixture of small patterns (i.e. square pixels). He blurs the line between high technology--video games--and low technology--cross-stitching. This effect can have chilling consequences. "Juego Terminado" ["Game Over"], for instance, depicts a classic Day of the Dead skull, smiling simultaneously in traditional threads and modern pixels. We are not sure which game has ended--the game of life or hand-made crafts?
At first glance, Jude's alternate style, Info Graphics, appears to convey cut-and-dried mechanical and scientific information. However, his content is rarely so serious. One of his images breaks down how a cat stores nine lives in its intestines; another shows how a leprechaun (living a slot machine/robot body, no less) would mix a bowl of Lucky Charms. Silly ideas have never been explained so well, and clear information has never been more fun.
We look forward to sharing more of Jude's work with you soon!
