It’s the iconic video game character Donkey Kong, with a twist.
“I always try to make my characters a bit more illustrative and updated,” said Humboldt Park artist Megan Kind, who did the painting over the summer. “Almost like they got a bit older with us. I liked the idea of the characters playing the games,” not just being “the pawn in the game.”
Kind said she “grew up on” traditional video games, whether Donkey Kong or Super Mario Bros. or Sonic the Hedgehog — staples for gamers in the 1980s.
Celebrating those types of characters — the fun they represent, their connection to childhood — was the idea behind Kind’s mural and dozens more created along the concrete wall and nearby as part of a three-day “paint jam” in August. Called “64 Bit All Stars,” the jam was organized by Chicago artists Luis “Peas” Molina and “Doer.”
“The retro games really tie into many of our childhood memories,” Molina said, and “64-bit” refers to certain older-generation gaming systems.
Of the graffiti incursions he and other street artists did while younger, he said, “After painting Orange Line spots way into the late hours, being chased by police, dogs or other things that go bump in the night, I always remember getting home with some random fast food, sitting down and immediately jump into” a Nintendo game.
Some of the better-known crews known for splashing graffiti art across the city were invited, as were a number of independent street artists.
“The way I organized it was to have the crews doing the games, and between each game, individual artists as the gamers,” said Molina, who lives in Chicago Ridge, though there were some exceptions, too.
Doer, who lives in Back of the Yards, said each artist decided which game to tackle and how.
With a building across the street featuring murals of characters from Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter video games, Molina said, “I thought it would be cool to keep the entire area one consistent theme.”
To ready the retaining wall for the artwork, organizers had to cover up other artwork, using more than 40 gallons of black paint.
![The pink character, a sloth in “Mario gear with a 64 controller,” was done by the artist Bird Milk, who says “my guy definitely looks like he was just beat” by the blue character, done by artist Jeff Pak, in the video game Super Smash Bros. Pak says his main character is “an inside joke between me and someone who broke my heart . . . the ghosts hanging around are Pac-Man inspired.” The moon, by Erwin of the SFA graffiti crew, is from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask game.](https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1f29ee1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/840x630!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2Fe7BlbLYi1Bo8LYyeXsnCI9Ktn2U%3D%2F0x0%3A4032x3024%2F4032x3024%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282016x1512%3A2017x1513%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24200202%2FIMG_4524.jpg)
The pink character, a sloth in “Mario gear with a 64 controller,” was done by the artist Bird Milk, who says “my guy definitely looks like he was just beat” by the blue character, done by artist Jeff Pak, in the video game Super Smash Bros. Pak says his main character is “an inside joke between me and someone who broke my heart ... the ghosts hanging around are Pac-Man inspired.” The moon, by Erwin of the SFA graffiti crew, is from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask game.
Robert Herguth / Sun-Times
![The characters to the right, done by the artist Ali Six, are “based on a video game I first received when I was a kid that came with my Xbox console,” he says. “The game was based on a group of hip hop kids going around different cities and putting graffiti on walls despite the laws and rival crews. It was a nostalgic delight to give ode to such a timeless game” with graphics that “still hold well.”](https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2b3246a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/840x630!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2F3Chdz0_gX9jTHLdHAzOCQQaqhzA%3D%2F0x0%3A4032x3024%2F4032x3024%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282016x1512%3A2017x1513%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24200214%2FIMG_4534.jpg)
The characters to the right, done by the artist Ali Six, are “based on a video game I first received when I was a kid that came with my Xbox console,” he says. “The game was based on a group of hip-hop kids going around different cities and putting graffiti on walls despite the laws and rival crews. It was a nostalgic delight to give ode to such a timeless game” with graphics that “still hold well.”
Robert Herguth / Sun-Times
![The image at left, done by Joey D., is “based on the poisonous mushroom” in the Super Mario Bros. video game, and the character “is playing Super Nintendo,” which was one of the artist’s “favorite gaming systems growing up.” To the right are images from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise done by the CWB graffiti crew.](https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e4cac12/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/840x630!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fthumbor%2Fesyii3KTUlURBiE57Y1m0d166kc%3D%2F0x0%3A4032x3024%2F4032x3024%2Ffilters%3Afocal%282016x1512%3A2017x1513%29%2Fcdn.vox-cdn.com%2Fuploads%2Fchorus_asset%2Ffile%2F24200217%2FIMG_4528.jpg)
The image at left, done by Joey D., is “based on the poisonous mushroom” in the Super Mario Bros. video game, and the character “is playing Super Nintendo,” which was one of the artist’s “favorite gaming systems growing up.” To the right are images from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise done by the CWB graffiti crew.
Robert Herguth / Sun-Times