Isometric Screenshots

Art is often attributed with trying to make viewers see the world or its events in new ways, something that Isometric Screenshots does well. Made by Jon Haddock, they are meant to give the impression of being a screenshot from a computer game, mainly in how all objects in the space are of the same size throughout the image, not unlike what is seen when playing The Sims or some derivative like it. However, far unlike a game, these images are renditions of major iconic events in recent history (often of the more violent variety) or are of iconic fictional events seen in films (such as The Sound of Music and Twelve Angry Men), mainly in that they are images that "that created a cultural event". In seeing such events in isometric space, the overall effect makes these scenes seem less visceral even though most viewers understand the power behind such scenes should not be lessened in strength, creating an odd disconnect upon seeing the picture and connecting it with the images of the real event. As Haddock notes further down in the page, the events he chose to render are those that had a major impact in his life and the images would likely have been different if another had made them.

I found these images to be interesting mainly in that it makes viewers rethink just what events are being portrayed in the images and try to match them up with what they know or if they don't, then it makes them curious to look up the events being portrayed. In my case, several of the images were of events that I had no idea of beforehand (the beating of Reginald Denny in 1992) or I had an idea of but was uncertain if it was correct (the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.). By reinterpreting these cultural images in isometric space, one has to think about what they know of recent history or go out to learn about the events depicted and explore things they would not have otherwise thought about.