July 25th, 2010 — Show Coverage, Video
Saturday night, July 17th brought Super Art Fight 7, the latest in our main event live shows, presented as a part of Artscape 2010 at the Metro Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland.
If you’ve been following along on this site, you’ve seen the results, and you know where Super Art Fight is heading into SAF8, but how did the artists feel like it went?
Each competitor spoke with our own Darren Gendron after their bouts, and you get their thoughts exclusively here, in a series of interview videos at SuperArtFight.com! Follow the jump for the videos!
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July 25th, 2010 — Show Coverage, Video
July 19th, 2010 — Show Coverage
Saturday Night, July 17th, 2010. A balmly summer’s night. Day 2 of Artscape 2010. But most importantly, the date of Super Art Fight 7.
Our return to The Metro Gallery for a full event for the first time since Super Art Fight 5 last fall, the evening featured four intense bouts in front of a brand new crowd. It was a night to remember, as Jamie Baldwin notched the first successful victory on her championship belt, Chris Impink gained a surprise victory, Michael Bracco and Bryan Prindiville went toe to toe in a tightly contested bout, and Chelsea Grose earned a perfect 2-0 record.
Hosted by Ross Nover and Marty Day, with DJing by DJ Sheephead and musical interludes provided by Goodbye New Plans, here are the full details of what went down.
Bout 1: Chelsea Grose (2-0) defeated Kelsey Wailes (2-2).
With the starting topic of “SPACE”, these two SAF rookies battled tooth and nail in an Art Fight that saw Space Hippos, flying poop and a giant hammer appear. Tightly contested the whole bout, Chelsea Grose narrowly snagged the victory out of Kelsey’s hands, giving “Grose Misconduct” a perfect 2-0 record. Not a bad start for a rookie!
Bout 2: Chris “Impact” Impink (2-4) defeated Jami “Angry Zen Master” Noguchi (1-4).
A much anticipated battle between two SAF veterans, this clash quickly enforced the 21+ rule of the evening, with Noguchi drawing many a phallic object on the Art Fight canvas. But perhaps it was too much, as after a bout where it seemed Noguchi had it in the bag, Impink grabbed the audiences love and appreciation in the oh-so-crucial voting stage, giving “Impact” a much needed +1 on his record.
Bout 3: Michael “Spaghetti Kiss” Bracco (5-2) defeated Bryan “Silent But Violent” Prindiville (0-3).
It was Bryan Prindiville’s first one-on-one bout, and honestly, he couldn’t have had a harder opponent in former SAF Champion Michael Bracco. Prindiville did his best to hold court and stand at the same level of an SAF veteran like Bracco, but at the end of the bout, Bracco (and his horrifying art) held the audiences favor, giving Bracco an unheard of 5-2 record.
Bout 4: Jamie “Brawlin’” Baldwin (4-2) succesfully defended her Super Art Fight Championship against Nick “Ghostfreehood” Borkowicz (2-5).
Six months in the making, this match lived up to the hype. Both competitors stepped up the psychological warfare with full costumes, both ready for the war that would ensue. They threw each other off the stage, dived off the stage, the battle going both on the canvas and off, and despite an extremely close audience reaction, the official decision was made – the Metro Gallery continues to smile on champions, and Jamie Baldwin now had her first successful defense.
So where do we go from here?
Super Art Fight officials are aiming at a fall date for Super Art Fight 8. The date and location is still to be determined, but we do aim to keep the numbered events within our home town of Baltimore. As for Jamie Baldwin’s next challenger? Coming out of SAF7, the victors were Michael Bracco, Chris Impink and Chelsea Grose, with Michael Bracco having the best record of the 3. Could we see a Bracco/Baldwin rematch at SAF8? Only time will tell. Stay tuned!
Coming later this week: Post Match Interviews with ALL of the evening’s competitors!
July 16th, 2010 — Press Coverage
With less than 24 hours until our return to the Metro Gallery for Super Art Fight 7, the anticipation is building, so much so that a number of media outlets picked up on the awesome.
This past Wednesday, the alt-weekly City Paper featured an interview with the five folks behind the birth of Super Art Fight, and it’s a heck of an insightful read. It’s also our final word on a certain blanco hip-hopper.
From shows at Baltimore’s Metro Gallery and the Ottobar to venues as varied as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Centennial High School in Ellicott City, Super Art Fight is working to become a phenomenon. The touring art competition, launched in summer 2008, is the brainchild of five local webcomic creators: artists Nick Borkowicz, Chris Impink, and Jamie Noguchi (who compete in the matches) and writers Marty Day and Ross Nover (who host and offer commentary).
“The best way I’ve heard it described is it’s Win, Lose or Draw meets pro wrestling,” Nover says. A typical Super Art Fight bout lasts around 30 minutes and features 2-4 artists positioned in front of an enormous sheet of white paper. Each is given a topic to illustrate. Every five minutes, the artists are given a new topic via “The Wheel of Death,” a random word generator made up of topics submitted in advance by attendees and “activated” by an oversized lever pulled by an audience member. Crowd cheers pick the winner. What really makes Super Art Fight stand out is the participants’ ability to vandalize and sabotage the drawings of their competitors: a horrific Lovecraftian monster can be ruined in an instant by a well-placed cartoon heart, for example.
In anticipation of the upcoming free July 17 Super Art Fight at Artscape, City Paper sat down with the crew to discuss the event’s inception, the art of art war, and a bizarre history with nerdcore rapper MC Chris.
If that wasn’t enough, the blog The Epic Gentleman’s Society did a full profile of us. Having been there from our first show, the piece does a great job of chronicling our growth from an upstairs attraction to a full blown show, touring the country.
If you haven’t been hearing the buzz about Super Art Fight yet, you’re missing out. Think “Pictionary meets Pro Wrestling,” an incredibly accurate description given to me by co-founder Marty Day. More specifically, Super Art Fight is a beautiful blend of art, live entertainment, audience interaction, and a little bit of insanity, all mixed in a melting pot of ink and awesome.
Last, but far from least, the venerable Baltimore Sun mentioned us as a part of their “Artscape Survival Guide“.
Metro Gallery: This gallery presents live competitive art — yes, such a thing exists — Saturday night during the Super Art Fight. Artists are faced with a blank canvas and a limited amount of time to create a masterpiece in front of a live audience.
Can you feel the excitement in the air? It all hits a fever pitch tomorrow, at 7pm as doors open for Super Art Fight 7. BE THERE!
July 12th, 2010 — Show Coverage
Coming off of last year’s debut at Connecticon, we at Super Art Fight had a good feeling about our return to the Nutmeg state. What we didn’t expect, however, was how amazing it would be. Last year, we packed a room so tight, the fire marshall showed up. This year…we learned we may need an EVEN BIGGER room for 2011.
A record-setting 2,000+ fans jam-packed the Main Events room at Connecticon 2010 as we presented The Havoc in Hartford, featuring 3 bouts, all with a 25 minute time-limit. Hosting was handled by SAF commentary staff Marty Day and Ross Nover, and auctioning was handled by our own “Eh Yo” Dern.
In the opening match, Yuko Ota defeated Super Art Fight co-founder Jami “Angry Zen Master” Noguchi. This was Yuko’s second appearance on the CTCon stage, and Jami’s CTCon debut. Yuko’s fanbase was in full effect (she was by far, the most requested artist going into the show), and in a bout that started with “World Cup” as a topic, the canvas was covered with Vuvuzellas, Noguchi’s adorable/disturbing puppy cows, and all sorts of assorted craziness. Noguchi, a veteran of SAF’s past and present, fought hard, but couldn’t stop “The Crusher” Yuko Ota from taking the victory.
Filling out the middle of the card was a Connecticon favorite, a Super Art Fight tag match. The team of Alina Pete and Dirk Tiede (aka the “WereTeam”) defeated Garth Graham and the debuting Tina Pratt. While not as wild as the main event tag seen at CTCon 2009, the battle was brought hard to the canvas, with Pratt making a solid showing for a rookie, but the more seasoned “WereTeam” won out in this “Epic Space War” battle. The canvas threw all sorts of objects (tacos, Scott Pilgrim, Carl Fredricksen from Up) in Space, but at the end of the day, the adept teamwork of Pete and Tiede won the audience over.
Finally, after one year of smack talk, battles across the US, and unbridled mayhem, SAF Co-Founder Nick “Ghostfreehood” Borkowicz faced head to head against Lar De Souza. Connecticon 2009 saw the battle fly off the canvas, with boards being broken, punches thrown, and absolute insanity gripping the Art Fight stage, and this year was no different. Distracting dance attacks, insulting t-shirts and yes, even TIME TRAVELING letters came into play in this SAF classic, but when the “Kawaii Apocalypse” battle’s dust had settled, one man’s hand was raised in victory. While Nick raised his overall profile from a relative unknown to a close competitor, the audiences response was obvious – Lar De Souza had won.
Ladies and gentleman, The Havoc in Hartford was truly one for the ages, and we cannot thank you enough for joining us this weekend. As we stated across our Facebook and Twitter, we are unbelievably thankful for such a jaw-dropping turnout and we hope to see you all again soon at future events. Big thanks to Alyssa Mow of Connecticon for booking us in the Main Events room in the first place, staff member Eric for going above and beyond the call of duty in assisting us with setup, and to the Main Events room staff for great video and audio work.
If this was your FIRST time seeing us, please, by all means, join our mailing list (the link to the right), follow us on your favorite sites, and stay tuned to SuperArtFight.com as we announce more and new shows throughout the year, and hopefully for years to come.
July 5th, 2010 — Show Announcements
With 12 days until we return to the Metro Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland for Super Art Fight 7, tensions are high amongst the SAF roster.
In fact, some of our artists have taken to Facebook to call out their opponents in the form of digital smack talk!
It all started this weekend with the above image from Nick “Ghostfreehood” Borkowicz, calling out his SAF7 opponent, SAF Champion Jamie “Brawlin” Baldwin.
If that wasn’t enough, Kelsey Wailes then decided to visually attack her SAF opponent, Chelsea Grose, whom she apparently believes needs to be eaten by a shark.
Then, when you thought you’d seen it all, “White Dynamite” Chris “Impact” Impink calls out Jami “Angry Zen Master” Noguchi.
Interesting to see that thus far, Bryan Prindiville and Michael Bracco haven’t hit this level of disrespect towards each other, but with less than two weeks until showtime, who knows what else we will see between opponents.
Any way you cut it, the tension will be broken on July 17th as we perform LIVE during Artscape as part of our FREE show – Super Art Fight 7. Be there!
July 2nd, 2010 — Show Announcements
Photo Courtesy Flickr User "AKA Dilweed"
One of the key components for ANY Super Art Fight show, the Wheel of Death controls the turn and tide of every battle.
Taking each artist and making them add new topics every five minutes rapidly changes the landscape of each bout – and YOU, the fans get to pick every twist and turn.
That’s right! It’s that time again, as we ask you to suggest new topics for the Wheel of Death for Super Art Fight 7!
As always, go nuts, but please try to keep your ideas concise. ”Robocop riding a banana”? Awesome. “Clown Version of Robocop riding a flaming banana on top of an ice cream cone made to look like a robot President Obama”? Yeah, that’s a little much. Brevity is the key to wit, and the key to making a great Wheel of Death topic.
The topic post is open from NOW until 11:59pm on Wednesday, July 14th.
Give us your best topics, and be sure to come see whether they make the wheel LIVE on Saturday, July 17th as we present Super Art Fight 7 – a FREE event during Artscape 2010!
July 2nd, 2010 — Show Announcements
At Super Art Fight events as of late, there seems to be the general feeling that ladies rule. And honestly, we’re not going to question it.
In fact, in 3 out of the 4 bouts at Super Art Fight 6, women were the victors – one of whom, Jamie Baldwin, is our current SAF Champion.
So when it came down to pairing up the bouts for Super Art Fight 7, we had an interesting quandry. Over the past 2 shows, a pair of female competitors have debuted, made an impact (not to be confused with our own Impink), and stood tall in victory.
Ergo it was decided – let’s see who is the better fighter?
That’s why on Saturday, July 17th at the Metro Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland…it’ll be another first ever bout…
ROLLER GIRL VERSUS ROOKIE PHENOM….
Chelsea “Grose Misconduct” Grose vs. Kelsey Wailes!
Both competitors coming off of HUGE victories at Super Art Fight 6, it really could be anyone’s win here, and could have HUGE ramifications on the championship rankings.
Join us for our FREE show on July 17th – Super Art Fight 7!
July 2nd, 2010 — Show Announcements
As announced in the wee hours on our Twitter account, this year’s appearance at Connecticon is more than just your typical appearance…it’s….
THE HAVOC IN HARTFORD!
One year after our fire marshall worrying debut in Connecticut, we return to the scene of the crime, invading the Main Events room on Saturday, July 10th at 3:30pm.
We will be presenting 3 bouts on that days card, and for the main event, it doesn’t get any bigger than this…
GRUDGE MATCH: Nick “Ghostfreehood” Borkowicz vs. Lar De Souza
At Connecticon 2009, a true blood fued was born, as Looking For Group/Least I Could Do/Gutters‘ Lar De Souza made his Super Art Fight debut in a tag match opposite SAF Co-Founder, Nick “Ghostfreehood” Borkowicz. In front of one of the most dedicated Art Fight audiences to date, these two men raised SAF to a new level. Boards were broken, injuries were had, and it was clear when the dust settled that Super Art Fight would never be the same. The war continued at Super Art Fight 5, as Lar traveled to Nick’s homebase of Baltimore, Maryland, and defeated Nick in front of his own fans, friends and family.
On July 10th, the rubber match will be had – it’s been a long year since these two men started their fued, and at The Havoc In Hartford, the battles reach their breaking point. But, with Nick having a SAF Championship bout at Super Art Fight 7 just one week later – is his attention being pulled in too many directions?
Join us at Connecticon 2010 on Saturday July 10th at 3:30pm in the Main Events room to find out who’s hand is raised in victory.
This will be a FULL Super Art Fight event, including 2 additional bouts (announced the day of show) including artists such as Alina Pete of Weregeek and SAF Co-Founder Jami Noguchi. Additionally, SAF Commentators Ross Nover and Marty Day will be on hand to give the event the true Super Art Fight feel.
July 10th. The Havoc in Hartford. Connecticut will NEVER be the same again! BE THERE!
June 21st, 2010 — Show Announcements
In the year of our lord, 2001, the Iron Artist competition was invented. Pitting artist’s against each other in a live art competition based on the popular Iron Chef TV series, it was in many ways, the prototype for what became Super Art Fight.
The creator of Iron Artist? Our own Chris “Impact” Impink.
In June 2008, Jamie “Angry Zen Master” Noguchi teamed with Nick “Ghostfreehood” Borkowicz to take Iron Artis out of the anime conventions and into the rock clubs, placing it under the new title of “Art Fight”.
It was an immediate success, and quickly grew into the show who’s website you’re now reading – Super Art Fight.
As the shows grew, Chris Impink became a member of the roster, as did Jamie Noguchi. Noguchi, given the name of co-founder, rose through the ranks quickly, becoming the first ever Super Art Fight Champion. By comparison, Impink, called a godfather by those who knew the true origins of SAF…did not receive that respect. He hasn’t been to the top. He hasn’t held the championship. He doesn’t get the credit.
So, while the card was formulating for Super Art Fight 7, our 2nd Birthday Celebration, a free live event occurring during Artscape at The Metro Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland, Chris Impink picked up the phone.
Tired of being a second stringer, tired of being ignored, Chris had one demand.
On one of the most important shows, on one of the most important days in Super Art Fight history…Chris wants Noguchi in a first time ever one-on-one bout.
That match? IMMEDIATELY approved.
On July 17th, in Baltimore, Maryland…Jamie Noguchi is going to feel the Impact.
