Isometric Screenshots: The Art of Jon Haddock

"Assassination of Martin Luther King"

Jon Haddock is an artist whose work is a clever response to life in a digital age. Many of his projects involve rendering cultural events in a style akin to “second life”, comic book art, or interactive sculpture. His isometric screenshots from 2000 look like 16-bit video game graphics but are, in fact, virtual world representations of moments both real and fictional. His work is at once political and lighthearted, providing an apparent commentary on the nature of reality without taking itself too seriously. It’s disconcerting how disconnected you become viewing a computer graphic depiction of civil rights protesters being hosed down by firefighters in Birmingham, AL as though this image of Haddock’s were fictional. It speaks to the the power of virtual media to distance viewers from reality, and to the potential for outlets such as television and computer games to dull our sensibilities. All the more so now, nine years after Haddock’s screenshot project, with better games on the market that feature more realistic graphics and more intense scenarios than ever before. Gamers can play “war hero” from their living room couch with all the graphic realism of Iraq or WWII and none of the horrific reality or consequence.

Scene from "The Godfather, Part II"

Anonymous man confronts tank at Tiananman Square, Beijing 1989

Theodore Kaczynski's cabin