A new art exhibition opens later this month, which brings together pinball design and a series of iconic figures from popular culture over the past sixty years.
Pinball Famous is a show created by Dan Burfield who has been involved in pinball for the best part of two decades and had previously used assorted pinball elements in his works.
He told Pinball News how he first started using pinball in his designs. He said, “I’ve been in the hobby for almost 20 years but it was the combination of a gallery group show with a pinball-theme and a local restorer giving me a bunch of roached playfields that started me working with pinball and arcade items as my primary medium to art. Then it snowballed and now I have bulk suppliers that use me as their recycle contact. Garbage is by-the-pound here and burning old cabinets is a lot of work so it’s a win-win for everyone. We’re sparing the landfills and giving this beautiful art a second chance.”
In his latest exhibition he has taken imagery of musicians, actors and models, as well as renowned fashion brands, compositing and layering them with pinball playfields and artwork.
Dan Burfield’s latest show is called Pinball Famous
Pinball Famous is being shown at The Artsmiths of Pittsburgh gallery in Pennsylvania for three weeks, beginning on 26th April with a drinks reception offering the chance to meet Dan and play a The Lord of the Rings pinball brought in for the occasion.
Dan told us how he created the first two pieces last November, after which the gallery director invited him to put on a show there. “The gallery is over 100 feet of wall space so I decided to expand the series to fourteen pieces“, he said.
The pop-art personalities featuring in Dan’s works are: Twiggy, Diana Ross, The Rolling Stones, Dolly Parton, Ziggy Stardust, Audrey Hepburn, Lady Gaga, Cher, Lost Boys, Valley of the Dolls, Pam Grier, Isabella Rossellini, BVLGARI and Tiffany & Co.
David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust with Lost World cabinet side art
The exhibit pieces are three-dimensional
Pinball News asked Dan how the idea for
