Friday, January 14, 2011

Shoot the Duck!


Here's my entry for Gallery 1988's 'Multiplayer' video game-themed show at their new Venice location which opens Saturday, January 15th.

I think my passion for video games really sparked up again when the Nintendo Entertainment System was launched. My brother and I snatched up the system that came with ROB the robot and two games, Gyromite and Duck Hunt. As cool as the idea of a video game-playing robot and spinning gyros balancing on red and blue buttons seemed, we immediately came to the realization that Gyromite was damn near impossible to play. We ended up throwing the robot aside and pounded on the red and blue buttons with our fists in frustration. You can finish that game pretty fast that way!

Most of our time was then devoted to Duck Hunt. There's no better way to get kids into firearms by making shooting things fun with a game like Duck Hunt! We spent endless hours shooting green and pink ducks, white clay targets, and throwing the actual gun at the condescending dog when he'd laugh at you for missing. So when it came time to create a print for a video game that held fond memories for me, Duck Hunt was a no-brainer.

I always had the idea of creating a practice target featuring the duck from the game that I'd actually shoot at a range. Putting a bullet through your own art is kinda sacrilegious, but this is one case where i thought it was appropriate....and unique. My friend Danny let me use his 9MM handgun at a gun range and i went to town on about half of the prints. I hit a few bullseyes here and there but I found out that the real thing is way harder than the video game. Unlike the game, you can hit the ducks at point blank range by putting the gun directly on your TV.

Here's a video of me at the range. If you notice, I flinch after the first shot. That's a result of a scorching hot shell hitting me in the head. Yup, it definitely is a much different experience than that video game! Hope to see you at the show!

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Ahhh, good ol' Duck Hunt! A great game to be sure, and a great piece of art to go with it!

Can you give us a head's up on whether you'll ever complete the Indiana Jones set with a Kingdom of the Crystal Skull print? I've got the others, but am holding off framing and hanging them until I know whether there will be a 4th.

Keep up the great work!

Tanner said...

Thanks RHDech! I'm glad you got a kick out of the Duck poster.

Unfortunately, I doubt the 4th Indy poster will get produced any time soon, if at all. The demand for it wasn't nearly enough as it had been for the 1st 3 films.

Ray said...

Hi Eric! Unfortunately, I don't live in LA so I couldn't make the show, but I guess you sold out of this before they could be put online. Will you be selling any copies? Also, any word on a Crash variant?

IggyD said...

Oh man... missed the drop... if you get a few please keep me in mind... thanks

ochfish said...

Ya i'm with Ray... did you hold any bullet hole versions back? i sure hope so... holler...

Tanner said...

Glad you dig the print guys, unfortunately the print run was so small for the show. I believe they asked each artist to supply 30 - 40 prints to the gallery. I had never considered printing a bunch more and selling them at a later date like some of the other artists involved had. Sorry for the short supply and I'll definitely consider printing extra for any future shows I'm a part of.

Ray, I'm glad you dig the Lost piece. I miss that show just thinking about it. Unfortunately, (geez the bad news keeps coming) it was a project that we artists have no control or rights over. A variant or reprint would be something that the network would have to give the ok on. Sorry about that.

Larry said...

Couldn't tell in the video. Did you hit anything?

Tanner said...

EAT with Larry! Unfortunately I didn't hit anything. That's why half of the prints were 'holeless'. :(

Adam said...

Love this - please consider another printing!

Tim said...

Hey Eric,

Even though I planned my weekend around securing your print, I missed out... But I did just get one on ebay for $200.00 (which is crazy). But after getting it in the mail today, it was worth it! This is awesome, can't wait to frame it up... Or do I shoot it? Soooo confused