Super Mario Brothers in the Style of Norman Rockwell? Five Works that Modernize the American Master

Courtesy of the Muckenthaler Cultural Center

Aaron Jasinski's Super Mario Brothers

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If Norman Rockwell were alive today, would he be painting kids playing Super Mario Brothers?

The show "American Nostalgia," currently running at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton, shows new artists reinterpreting Rockwell for the digital -- and perhaps a more cynical -- age. Here are five works from the show...

Courtesy ISM: A Community Project

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5. Hugh Dunnahoe's Learning Grandpa's Game
I like how the kid has only half of one leg on the chair. He's clearing aching for some Guitar Hero.

Courtesy ISM: A Community Project

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4. Steven James Petruccio's You're Out!
Those spoiled sports players today. Always needling over contracts. Though remember that Ty Cobb was a jerk too.

Courtesy ISM: A Community Project

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3. Alina Chau's The Law Student
So does the title imply that law students put pictures of inspiring lawyers on their walls? I love the thought that poster sales on the lawn at Harvard Law sell prints of Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Courtesy of the Muckenthaler Cultural Center

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2. Aaron Jasinski's Super Mario Brothers
Though the kids are playing video games, there's also a dog, for that warm and fuzzy Rockwell touch.

Courtesy ISM: A Community Project

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1. Patrick Ballesteros' Land of Nostalgia
Uh, so maybe Rockwell wouldn't have thought Inspector Gadget and He-Man were worthy of his attention. But it's nice to fantasize.

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