Just because the video games in the Mario Bros. franchise feature Mario and Luigi as good guys doesn’t mean that the other denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom don’t see them as total jerks.From their penchant for destroying brick structures to their cold blooded turtle kicking tactics, the Mario Bros. just might be the enemy after all.

These propaganda posters from the Mushroom Kingdom urge you to take action against the moustachioed plumbers, and they ask the question the Shy Guys are afraid to answer- “The Koopas are fighting, why aren’t you?”

Link  –via Super Punch

In the world of fine art there’s always someone trying to radically change the game with their artwork. While this can lead to some  innovative and interesting pieces, it can also turn things into one big mess, and forced innovation causes artists to lose sight of how important traditionalism can be to maintaining artistic integrity.

Enter Barry X Ball, a sculptor who’s decided to take it back to the old school by sculpting portraits and figures out of marble. He crafts these incredible works of art while paying attention to fine details, such as the natural flow of the veins in the marble and the retention of natural edges and form whenever possible.

You can check out a selection of Barry’s marble works at the link below, works which somehow manage to be traditionally beautiful and utterly surreal at the same time.

Link  –via Beautiful Decay

What started as an art form practiced by prisoners and tramps has become a really cool way for crafty folks to show off their modeling skills by building awesome structures, and sculptural works of art, out of a million or so little pieces of wood and lots of glue.

Hit the link to peruse a gallery featuring eight matchstick art masterpieces, full of fine detail and fantastic constructs, just don’t light up anywhere near these highly flammable works of art or you can kiss them goodbye!

Link

(YouTube Link)

You might not know the name Wayne White, but you’re bound to have seen the works he has created over the last thirty years or so of his artistic career.

From stop motion animation, puppets and set design for PeeWee’s Playhouse, to music videos (Peter Gabriel’s Big Time and Smashing Pumpkins’ Tonight, Tonight) to his fine art series, which features 3-D text painted into classic lithographs.

Wayne White is an amazing artist, his talent is such that he’s left no artistic medium untouched, and there seems to be no limit to what Wayne can accomplish, so why has it taken so long for someone to make a documentary about him? Probably because all the money has been tied up in making supernatural teen love stories and Romcoms. Oh well, better late than never I suppose…

Link  –via TDW

Sure it seems like a conceptual idea that would never work in real life, but this bathtub is actually completely functional, not to mention totally awesome -or at least, it would be if the creator actually finished the project. BoingBoing is trying to track down leads to find out if it was ever completed or not. If you have any information, share your knowledge in their comments section.

Link Via BoingBoing

You don’t often think of a garbage can as an art medium, but some artists do. And how nice is it to disguise an ugly-but-necessary object as something delightful? My favorite of the collection at WebUrbanist is this graffiti-embellish can by Job Willemsen and Tom v.d. Hurk in the Netherlands. Link

(Image source: Wooster Collective)

After seeing this great Star Wars version of Marcel Duchamp’s mechanically abstracted Nude Descending a Staircase, Irene Gallo wanted to see what other geek interpretations of classic artworks have been put out there. The resulting round up is quite enjoyable.

Link Via Geeks Are Sexy

We’ve featured a number of great art shows that took place at Gallery 1988 before, but that’s because they have so much awesomely geeky stuff go through there. Their most recent show, Multiplayer x2, focuses exclusively on classic games of the past including Castlevania, Mario and Pac Man. If you happen to be in LA before March 3, be sure check it out.

Link Via Laughing Squid

This might just be a better movie than both the Phantom Menace or The Adventures of Tin Tin. Would you go see it?

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Grant Snider at Incidental Comics found the secret to making life a lot more artful, interesting, and …strange. Link -Thanks, Rich!

He’s so cuddly you might just be tempted to let your kids play with him, until they actually see the movie and suddenly start refusing to go to bed and having nightmares every day.

Link Via CraftZine

These Victorian style portraits of Star Wars characters by Terry Fan lead one to believe that C3PO is powered by steam, and that droids actually enjoy wearing three piece suits. Everyone knows that these things are untrue, of course, but it’s a romantic version of the Space Opera that hasn’t been fully explored yet, so let’s just go with it.

In this series you get Darth Vader looking quite dapper, Yoda with a top hat that somehow makes his head look even smaller (and his ears even bigger), C3apo as a gentleman about town and Boba Fett fresh from overseas service in the military. These portraits  look like they were taken a long long time ago, in a place that’s not so far away after all…

Link  –via Rampaged Reality

Artist Marcelo Gallegos has several lovely Valentine cards that stray from the normal hearts and flowers but still convey romance. This card depicting the elder god in love is my favorite. See the others at his Etsy store. Link -via Buzzfeed

Hill Valley of the future is such a wonderful place to live, or at least it is when created by Lego artist Alex Jones. He has even more cool movie sets on his Flickr page for the viewing enjoyment of any Lego enthusiast.

Link Via Geekologie

Who knew Sabotage was so perfectly written to become a venn diagram? Really though, sabotage should go into another bubble. After all, it’s sabotage.

Link Via Laughing Squid

Illustrator Tim Doyle had a rather clever premise in mind while creating the pieces for his debut art show “Unreal Estate”- give various locations from pop culture an artistic makeover.  Here’s what Tim has to say about this series:

“Unreal Estate” is a collection of locations that many of us know and have been to on a weekly basis at times, but we can never actually visit. These places are in our memories- transmitted and entrenched there through a cathode-ray tube. Some of us have been going to these places for decades- some of these places were taken from us, way too soon.

Man, giving the Kwik-E-Mart a realistic edge makes it look even scummier than it does on The Simpsons!

Link  –via JazJaz

If you’ve ever wondered what the Angry Birds look like after they take down those dastardly pigs, these illustrations by deviantARTist Scooterek should fill you in on what they look like after battle. Their medical bills must be through the roof, good thing their game is so popular!

Link  –via Rampaged Reality

Scientists have known what is contained in the Earth’s core for about 75 years now, but that hasn’t stopped sci-fi authors and artists from doing some wild speculation of their own.

These images by Japanese sci-fi illustrators are really far out, and I’m sure you’ll agree that the Earth’s core would make the awesomest setting ever for a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, or a great video game premise-Astronauts Vs. The Earths Core.

Just don’t go looking for science, because these sci-fi illustrations are mostly fiction.

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My apologies to those of you who might actually like Twilight, but I’m sure you already know that there are plenty of others who would gladly carve up your sparkly vampires into beautiful planters. Since the link to the original source is broken, here’s one to a different tutorial to make your own.

Link Via Craftzine

I love to see Alex Pardee’s take on iconic characters because he always manages to wow me with his redesigns. From his perspective, the world is full of shifting facial features, sharp teeth and splattered edges.

It’s a fine mess when you think about it, and love or hate him you gotta admit-Alex Pardee is an original. Here’s his fresh look at superfolks who were getting a bit too big for their britches.

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Everyone knows Ansel Adams was a master of landscape photography, a master of black and white naturalist photography, and one heck of an innovative artist. What most people don’t know, however, is that Ansel also enjoyed documenting life in the city through the lens of his view camera.

Flavorwire has posted a gallery of images that were commissioned by Fortune Magazine in the 1940s, in order to document Los Angeles’ aviation industry as only Ansel Adams could.

See what the City of Angels used to look like, compared to what it has become, by taking a fascinating trip back in time through these magnificent photos.

Suggested soundtrack music-Come Fly With Me by Frank Sinatra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, or Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition by The Merry Macs.

Link   –image credit: Ansel Adams

If you’re releasing advanced copies of your new video game, you probably want to make sure everything is perfect, lest the reviewers critique you for something that won’t even be in the final version of the game. Of course, while you’re probably focusing most of your energy on the game itself, it’s generally a good idea to at least take a good look at the box art and spelling, lest you release “revelaitons” to the world.

Link Via The Consumerist

This incredibly cool sculpture is brought to you by the twisted mind of Ron English, an artist known for warping iconic figures into ironic statements (see Fat Tony and Dead Mickey), and who previously brought us an Obama-Lincoln mashup that was all the rage a few years back.

This time, Ron has brought us Obama hulking out, as he prepares for the upcoming election by saying “You vote for me or OBAMA SMASH!”

Link  –via AnimalNY

Alex Gross takes classic Victorian pictures and then repaints them into portraits of pop culture personalities like Aquaman, Bride of Frankenstein and Godzilla. His work will be exhibited at the Jonathan Levine Gallery in LA next month, so if you’re in town, stop by and support a great geek artist.

Link Via io9

Laurent Craste has a serious problem with porcelain, and his knowledge of ceramics allows him to put a hurting on delicate pieces without letting them fall to pieces.

Warped and imaginative, he has come up with some great ways to bend porcelain to his will, and I wondered “how did he do that without cracking it?” many times as I checked out his site. Take a look for yourself, and see if you have any pity for porcelain.

Link  –via Beautiful Decay

What happens when lawn gnomes get bitten in the zombie apocalypse? Apparently the gnomes get a hunger for flamingo flesh the way regular zombies start craving human brains.

Link

Erin and Matt are big fans of Tim Burton’s Alice of Wonderland. How big? Big enough to theme their wedding after the film. Even if you weren’t a big fan of the movie yourself (or if you find it strange that Alice is marrying the Hatter), it’s still easy to appreciate the amazing level of details incorporated into the occasion.

Link Via The Mary Sue

Ever want to make your own sweet Cyclops visor? Well then head over to Lounge Geeks where you can learn how to make your own for less than $30. Now that’s a value for some sweet style.

Link Via io9

While your teachers may have spread lies about planetary plates shifting and causing the continents to separate, Dan Meth is brave enough to share the truth with us. Pangaea occurred when the continents were cuddling with one another, but when tensions started to rise and the honeymoon phase ended, the happy group had no choice but to split up.

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I don’t know about you guys, but I sure wouldn’t spend this gorgeous artwork on just anything. No, it would have to be on something awesome like a wookie cookie.

Link Via The Daily What

If you put all ten together they spill out the entire inscription put on the inside of the classic One Ring. I don’t know about you other geek gals, but I’d love to wear these to a fancy dress occasion…they’re practically jewelry after all.

Link Via io9

After all the fan movements to save the show, some artists are celebrating with Community-inspired fan art. While there are a bunch out there, this X-Men one might just be the best I’ve seen so far.

Link Via The Mary Sue

You may not want to use this bad boy in the rain, because as wicked as it looks it’s made entirely of paper!

Crafted by Leo Firebrand, this paper replica of the Snub Pistol carried by the super soldiers in the Gears of War video game franchise looks badass, but you’d better have a backup weapon when Boomers start crawling out of emergence holes.

Check out Leo’s site for more of his epic papercraft creations, they’re super cool, and can be used as a grocery list when the war is over.

Link  –via Kotaku

Camilo José Vergara takes photographs of street art. A popular subject for the art he finds is Martin Luther King, Jr. who appears in murals in city after city. Smithsonian has a dozen of Vergara’s pictures of these MLK installations, with some information about each one. The mural pictured here depicts the 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech, on a wall in Philadelphia. Link

Smithsonian also has the story behind the original photograph that became the iconic image of that speech. Link

(Image credit: Camilo José Vergara)

These adorable Valentine’s Day cards feature zombie characters from the Left 4 Dead video game series, and they’re full of dorky gamer humor, putrid sentimentality, and jokes about vomiting.

So, if the apple of your eye doesn’t enjoy these cards by Alexandria Neonakis as much as you do, it’s probably time to start the search all over again. Is that love in the air, or the sickly sweet smell of decomposition?

Link  –via GeeksAreSexy

You may remember Stacy mentioning Nicole Dextra’s ice typography series in her May article about a dress made out of yucca plants. (link). Well, now you can take a look for yourself at Nicole’s bold statement-typography made out of solid ice, some letters standing over eight feet tall, spelling out thought provoking words that naturally return to the earth over time due to changing climate temperature.

Here’s what Nicole has to say about the project:

The Ice Typography series consists of three-dimensional words fabricated in ice placed outdoors that speak to how the viewer’s gaze frames and informs the landscape. The installations have varied from 8-foot high ice letters on the Yukon River to 18-inch high letters set in downtown Toronto. When the ice texts are installed on site, the temperature determines how long it will take for them to change state from solid to liquid. This phase of transition becomes symbolic of the interconnectedness of language and culture to the land as they are affected by time and by a constant shifting and transforming nature.

Now that’s what I call environmental art!

Link  –via Beautiful/Decay

Who knew that pokeballs, the devices used by the characters in the anime series Pokemon to capture their little critter pals, would be so beautiful in real life? Created via photo manipulation by DeviantARTist wazzy88, their elemental contents look so real, like they could burst out at any moment in a surge of bling. No wonder Pokemon don’t mind being trapped inside those things for hours on end!

Link   –via Rampaged Reality

The Golden Girls were wonderful in proving to America that older women are still interested in romantic pursuits.Now you can celebrate your love interest in the style of these classic women with these fantastic Golden Girls Valentine’s Day cards.

Link Via Craftzine

If you’re a fan of Tim & Eric, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Venture Bros, or any of the other wonderful shows on Adult Swim and happen to be in the LA area before February 4, then be sure to stop by and enjoy the Gallery1988 x Adult Swim show. A variety of artists have come together to share their love for the late-night programing block and their resulting creations are simply delightful.

Link Via Laughing Squid

This time-lapse GIF shows a portrait piece being created by artist Tom Deininger, who specializes in making amazing sculptural works of art out of found junk and garbage.

The use of found objects gives each piece a unique color scheme, and the elements that make up each piece are recognizable, as if the pieces may be lurking around in your trash bin somewhere, waiting to be released. His use of objects as texture also brings the subjects to life with their own power and personality, and they’re all eco-friendly to boot!

Tom has been featured on Neatorama before (link), and in the time since he has created a ton of new artworks, which are now featured on his website. Take a look, and see if you find Tom’s trashy artworks a-peeling. *wink*

Link  –via Beautiful Decay

This unlikely romance actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it-they’re both prone to violent fits of rage, he is more swine-like than Kermit will ever be, and they both enjoy spending time touring the stars in spaceships.

This adorable fan made illustration comes to us courtesy of DeviantArtitst Loopydave, and I think it would make a great poster for all the fans who love both the Muppets and Star Wars.

Link  –via The Mary Sue

Tired of playing Skyrim on your console and want to instead play mandolin while living out your dreams as the Dragonborn? Then you’d better head over to TT Guitars on Etsy to get your own Skyrim electric mandolin. Of course, if you prefer bass or guitar, you can always try those as well, but somehow mandolin seems more appropriate for Skyrim.

Link Via Geekosystem

Fabian Gaete Maureira is an artist in Santiago, Chile. Here he demonstrates his fast finger painting technique for people on the street. See more of Maureira’s work at his site. Link -via reddit

DeviantArt user Mwar has quite the skills when it comes to making cool video game posters. Perhaps the greatest ones in her massive gallery though are her art nouveau takes on Mass Effect and Portal.

Link Via The Mary Sue

As if Skyrim doesn’t take enough time already, this Monopoly version is sure to add a few more hours to your game play. Of course, fighting in dungeons is definitely a lot more exciting than monopolizing the lands of the Nords.

Link Via Geekosystem

Stephen Gaeta (featured previously) is a doctor and an artist. He uses visual humor to illustrate medicine and typography to create art about science. This graphic called Transgenic is composed of the text from the DNA of chromosome 1 of the human gene. It’s a very long code! See the full size version at his site. Link

You’ve seen the eye of Sauron back piece, but this one chest piece truly captures the epicness of the film and book series with its amazing detail and vivid colors.

Link via Geeks Are Sexy

It’s hard to make heads or tails of these photos, because photographer Philippe Ramette has manipulated them to create an uneasy sense of gravity defiance.

They provoke a feeling of vertigo in some viewers, and your mind will race to separate the elements of the photo and make sense of which way is up.

I really enjoy the clever way in which the people are worked into each scene, and how they often seem to be hanging out on the edge of nowhere.

Link –via DesignTAXI

(YouTube Link)

When the proud father of 8 year old twins Eloy and Oraibi wanted a new tattoo, he didn’t get all liquored up and head to a parlor down by the docks. Instead, he let his kids take a crack at inking up their old man, and from the looks of it they had a blast!

Isaiah Toothtaker has been a professional tattoo artist for around 10 years, and he’s apparently decided to pass the tradition on to his little ones.

The results, as expected, are a bit shaky and very painful. I just hope his kids don’t take to covering themselves up with ink at such an early age.

(NSFW for one moment, when Isaiah curses due to the pain).

–via AnimalNY

The amazing prop creation team over at Kropserkel created this fantastic set of armor and a variety of others as potential Nazgul armor. You could even commission them to custom make your own set of Lord of the Rings Armor, how cool is that?

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