At a Christie's auction in Hong Kong, Japanese artist Tenmyouya Hisashi 's traditional-meets-modern Gundam painting "RX-78-2 Kabuki-mono 2005 Version" went for HK$4.8 million (approx. US$600,000). Says Hisashi about his work:
In Japan there are many "Gundam-Otaku's," and their adoration of Gundam is intense. Therefore, I did not want to change their image of Gundam. By changing Gundam's "mobile suit" to tattoos, I altered his body, and made him even more customized. I emphasized the very concept of the "mobile suit," and by setting Gundam against a background of gold leaf from traditional Japanese painting, I emphasized Gundam's samurai origins.
Hit the jump for another Hisashi work — this one inspired by a fighting game.
According to the artist:
In my mind, the distinctions between combat video games, manga, and ukiyo-e have become blurred. This is a painting that combines on a single screen the features of moving images, manga frames, and single prints.
Great stuff.
Gun-Slinging Robot [Bloomberg via Sankaku Complex]