by Elizabeth Manson
photos by Bona Hong

In honor of the upcoming E3 Expo, on June 15th, The Hive hosted B3, a video game-themed show that featured their 26 resident artists, 70 group show artists, and 10 performances. Being a slight video game nerd myself, I was particularly intrigued with the prospect of an entire exhibition dedicated to gaming’s pop cultural influence. I wasn’t disappointed; The Hive turned into a happening, game-friendly place, where underground art lovers and gaming nerds could mingle, drink, and play Mortal Kombat.

As promised, the walls in the front room were covered with art inspired by classic video games and consoles, including Marta Roige’s “My Old Friends,” which depicted Chun-Li kicking Mario on a Tetris battlefield, and Alex Shaefer’s “8-bit Mona Lisa.” Also, an entire wall of the room was dedicated to a video game-themed mural by Dytch that was painted in an impressively short 12 hour span. The mural contained everyone’s classic gaming favorites like Link, Mario, Bowser, and those Pac Man ghosts. You couldn’t help but look at it and smile at all the wasted hours you spent with these characters.

I was also equally impressed with one of the featured artists, Apricot Mantle, who used video game culture as more as a stylistic inspiration. His exhibition Colored Pencil Wonderment featured horror movie-themed, Resident Evil-esque pieces like “Texas Chainsaw Survivor.” Almost more impressive than the images themselves were the accompanying frames that Mantle constructed; “Texas Chainsaw Survivor” was framed in “mud” textured with footprints and broken chainsaw blades.

When I had my fill of the featured art (although, I admit, I gravitated back that way eventually), I decided it was time to get my drink on. Wandering over to the bar, I passed the stage where bands like B Reactor and Chinatown were performing in front of a projection of some sort of erotic He-Man movie. I also passed by (and watched) the live artists who were quickly churning out video game-themed watercolors, like one of Shy Guy that I eyed enviously.

Once I had my vodka tonic in hand, I was able to properly enjoy what else B3 had to offer, which, in this case, were the people. There were the burlesque dancers from Feminine Oddities gyrating on a pole to the live DJ’s music, and weaving through the crowd were women wearing beautifully detailed (and incredibly uncomfortable looking) ceramic corsets by Nicole Moan. Also wandering through the crowd were a cross-dressed Peach and Mario couple, the only two people brave enough to wear costumes.

The group of people in attendance is what really amazed me about B3; there were hard core gamers, and hard core art aficionados, and those who were a cross-section of the two. It seems like video games really do bring people together by forcing them to spend hours alone in front of a screen. Beautiful.

Be sure to check out the exhibit through June 26th, and be prepared to bust out your old Nintendo system.

Quick View:
WHAT: B3 at The Hive
WHERE: 729 Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014
WHEN: June 5th, 8PM-12:30AM

EXHIBITION DATES: June 5th-June 26th

WEBSITE: http://www.hivegallery.com/