The inspiration for this project came about when I was invited to participate in Gallery 1988’s, “Shopping Malls” group show, dedicated to the shops of both past, and present. Thankfully, I was born on the cusp of the digital age, so I was still fortunate enough to have experienced the analog days of yore. My memory as a preteen consisted of weekends, and summers spent in the local shopping mall, either reading books on the floor (in B Dalton, Crown Books, or Waldenbooks), or sneaking into Rated R movies at the adjacent theater (which was easier than it should have been). I am very thankful for those days, and I think they were what kept me grounded among all those neon lights, retro carpeting, smoke, and the artificially flavored aromas coming from the food court.
Originally I decided early on I was going to illustrate a poster depicting one of the many bookstores I would squat in, while reading fantasy novels among the stacks. During the development of the image, I had a conversation with a friend of mine, in which the topic of an old arcade chain came up, ‘Aladdin’s Castle’. It was then I recalled how many countless hours, and quarters, I would spend in the locale at my neighborhood mall. I determined then, ‘Aladdin’s Castle’ was a much better subject to pay homage to than the previous one.
After choosing the new focus to center my project around, I set about brain storming how I could properly pay my respects to the long departed chain. The only image that came to mind was the ‘tokens’ you could acquire as a patron at the arcade with the company’s logo on it. I determined the best method to replicate this look was to create an enamel pin that looked like a ‘token’. It was a simple design that I quickly produced in Adobe Illustrator, using the now defunct company’s one time logo, and font as inspiration.
Once completed, I contacted my supplier Alchemy Merch who fabricated the ‘Wonka Bar’ pin I designed for Gallery 1988’s “50th Anniversary of Wonka” group show. Through my correspondence with Alchemy, I determined (with their aid), that antique gold was the most logical choice to replicate the same material and look I had in mind for the arcade ‘tokens’.
Having finished the ‘token’ in a manner of days (if not actual hours), I realized that I had the time to design a backer to accent it. For this, I drew inspiration from my memories of the location I would visit locally. I recall the atmosphere vividly; the smoky neon lights, and long mirrored hallway that created an almost looking celestial looking entrance. The sirens call of the various machines that echoed down the entryway was always too much to resist. It kind of reminded me of the beginning of ‘Space Mountain’ at Disneyland for some reason. At the end of this canal, was an almost cavernous looking brightly lit space filled with arcade games, and change machines. I would enter in anticipation that whatever new machine they had wasn’t taken by ‘campers’ or out of order. I wanted to keep the color scheme within a spectrum that spoke most to me as both nostalgic, and era specific. I also included a cabinet arcade machine centrally, like the beacon I recall. As a final touch I then added a little bit of background information about the business, who honestly had a fascinating run, along with my own shameless self promotional information.
In retrospect I should have proofed the backers, as the colors came out really dark when I received the final product. Even with that in mind, I was still really happy with how the pin, and backers turned out.
The main piece was developed primarily in Adobe Illustrator, where I vectored out the shapes of the font, and body of the coin. The backer was designed primarily in Procreate on my iPad, with some minor edits done in Adobe Photoshop, before sending both files off to my supplier Alchemy Merchandise.
A couple of weeks later I received the final product in the mail after getting a series of confirmations from Alchemy detailing the multiple steps involved in it’s manufacturing. Limited to a run of 50, the enamel pin is antique gold and measures roughly 1” x 1”, each with it’s own illustrated backer.
It was made specifically for Gallery 1988’s “Shopping Malls” group show, which ran from June 4th-18th, featuring my work, from this post, along with the rest of the show’s collaborative pieces. My work as well as that of my peer is available for viewing or purchase, on the gallery’s website.
For more information, or to see a
catalog of my other work, please visit my online store here.
You can also find me on various social media platforms below doing a multitude of other artistic things that include hand lettering, and the occasional sculpting/crafting
.
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