Pokézombie

It's very interesting that you identified the connection between people's obsession with Pokemon Go with the figure of zombie - mindless and purposeless. Tim Burton's style, especially, is a very suitable media for combining comic figures with zombie theme. Very nice discovery and thoughtful mingle of existing arts. But one problem is the theme of this product: is it going to criticize the people who are playing Pokemon GO? Or is it just a friendly, kind reflection of a common phenomenon? How is it going to cater to consumers' needs?

You've made a good choice of style and theme for your proposal.

While the concept seems interesting, and Tim Burton's style is ideal for portraying the 'harmless undead' archetype, I do feel the need to ask what your driving message is - for example, is this an awareness piece, or is it targeted at 'zombie players' of Pokemon Go whom you have designated as being mindlessly obsessed? That is, is the sole goal to bash something that people find entertaining? Because there are a lot of people who are obsessed and passionate about Pokemon and Pokemon Go, and if the sole goal of the piece is to insult them, then that's not a goal that I can respect. If, however, you're offering a critique on new trends and are trying to point out flaws in how people approach the game, I suppose that'd be a healthier approach.

I really like the theme and style of this proposal, and it's especially prevalent right now with Pokemon Go so widespread. I kind of have the same question as the other two; the sketches look almost friendly and cute, but they're also zombies, so there might be some sort of message conflict here. It would be interesting if the message was mixed, but it depends on what you want to get across.

However, your idea is pretty original, and the way you emulated Burton and created something that is relevant today is really exciting, and I'm excited to see your final project.

Hi guys, I talked to tianjunm somewhere else so I didn't reply to his comment up there, sorry for the confusion. I am pretty passionate about Pokemon Go, and so are many of my friends, so don't worry! I'm definitely not going to criticize something people like so much about, let along insult them. The reason I chose zombie-styled Pokemon art is because I like the art a lot( I know it might not be the best reason,) but it is true that I want to communicate the message that people are overlooking important things while they are focusing on the game. I just want to give people a different way to look at this Pokezombie phenomenon. The word "zombie" isn't going have an insulting notation in my work, instead it's kind of both cute and creepy. I haven't thought of a slogan, but most likely I'm going to let the viewers decide on what my art work means to them. Thanks for your comments, I have found them very helpful! XD

Hi Sky! I really like your idea and how you put it into practice by remixing The King's Museum with those Poke-zombies. Both the Tim Burton’s quirky, satiric style, and Rene Magritte’s witty and thought-provoking work are perfect choices for your theme, and you arranged these Poke-zombies so well in the painting. For example, you put the Luvdisc in the position of the person’s heart, and used Golbat as a mask. All these details help me understand your thoughts and reflections on this feverish game.

I noticed that in the Critique you wanted to improve your work by analyzing what each individual Pokémon can mean to the resulting artwork. I would suggest that you look into the prototypes of these Pokémons and maybe they will inspire you. I also feel that the term “Augmented Reality” you mentioned is a very good focus, since AR is a new idea in game area, and it probably will occupy the market for years in the future. So maybe emphasizing on AR can also help you target a larger group of audience. (though it is already an amazing work!).

Overall, your work is interesting and thought-provoking. Thank you very much for giving me such a great experience!

I really liked the motivation behind your work. As someone who also got really swept up in the Pokemon Go mania as well, I saw the project as more of a critique against the fixation on our phone screens. It was cool how you chose such a tangible way to represent the craziness - the Pokemon figures, normally cute and colorful, look particularly disturbing in this setting. I also liked how they were actively taking over the human's body. Especially since the human figure was taken from a famous art piece from earlier in the 20th century, it reminded me of Ai Weiwei's concept of popular brands being placed on valuable cultural artwork.
In your critique it seemed like you wanted to add more significance to the individual portions of the work, but I recognized a lot of subtleties that you'd already included in your final work. Perhaps more could have been added to the background of the work, but it might also have taken away from the idea that "Pokezombies" are absorbed only in their own personal world.

I really like this idea. Especially, the idea of representing Augmented Reality using a painting of Magritte, a surrealist, was clever. Would you say that the surreal representation of life is a more accurate depiction of what is "real" in the world?

I love this project's approach and creativity toward a very modern part of popular culture. Your commentary on "Pokezombies" is an interesting, and relevant one, The Pokemon placement was clearly very well thought out as the finished product is really aesthetically pleasing, and the edits over the original work fit well. Your documentation shows you understand the source materials, and the content of your inspiration. The only thing I would have liked to read more about was how you found these Tim Burton inspired Pokemon images. Great work !