Naughty Dog 30 Year Anniversary Gallery Show Recap, Future Plans

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Naughty Dog 30 Year Anniversary Gallery Show Recap, Future Plans

Saturday, September 27 was opening night for our A Tribute to Naughty Dog: 30 Year Anniversary show at Gallery Nucleus. We expected to have a good turnout but the response was truly unbelievable.

Naughty Dog 30 Year Anniversary Show

That was the line nearly an hour before the show started. Once inside it was even crazier:

Naughty Dog 30 Year Anniversary Show

We can’t express enough how awesome all our fans are and we thank everyone who visited the gallery or joined the conversation online via #NDMemories or #ND30. We asked one of the opening night attendees, a PlayStation MVP, @SanchoWest, to tell us about his experience there. Here’s what he had to say:

“Art meets Art. In many ways, this sentence totally nails what Naughty Dog’s 30 Year Anniversary Art Show at Gallery Nucleus is all about. The video games we experience everyday are, in fact, interactive, artistic expressions. The visual concept art from these games hanging next to fan art within an art gallery just made a lot of sense. I wondered – why don’t other developers do this? Naughty Dog is constantly showing us that the root of great games is art.

When I was at the exhibit, it was like seeing old friends again. Remembering the time spent with Nathan Drake, going through the jungles, trekking across the desert and scaling the mountains for lost loot to remembering the pain, anguish and despair I felt with Ellie in The Last of Us. A particular art piece stood out to me called “A Portrait of a Happy-Go-Lucky Girl” and it featured a woman infected by the Cordyceps virus. The artist, Matthew Woodson, captured her last human moments before turning into a “Clicker”. It was haunting and sorrowful. While a very powerful image, I never thought a game could inspire such wonderful art. But, give credit to Naughty Dog for welcoming this medium and championing it.

I assumed that I was going to see impactful pieces and relive gaming memories. One thing I did not expect came from a The Last of Us installation. It was very simple. It was a looping video of various The Last of Us Game environments, similar to a screensaver. This is where I found myself lost; lost in the attention to detail. I was entranced with a post-apocalyptic world filled with empty buildings. Vegetation invaded concrete jungles. Buildings looked worn and tired. It was surreal and very unexpected because these feelings came from taking a brief moment to stop and reflect on images I had seen a million times while playing The Last of Us.

Overall, the event was very inspiring and showed, in the abundance of fans pouring into Gallery Nucleus, and in the elated faces of the Dogs, 30 years well spent. I’m really looking forward to Naughty Dog’s future. Their recent events, like One Night Live and 30 Year Art Gallery, along with the new Naughty Dog Online store, are creating a stronger bond between us fans and the Dogs. Do yourself a favor and visit this exhibit, and experience some lasting, memorable art.”

Naughty Dog 30 Year Anniversary Show

The show runs until October 12. If you want to buy some amazing fan art act now. Select pieces are still available online. Also, for a limited time, Gallery Nucleus is the only place you can get our The Art of Naughty Dog Limited Edition book as well as other cool Naughty Dog merchandise.

On October 4, from 1-5pm PST, Naughty Dog artists will hold a Concept Art Workshop at the gallery for a limited audience. The following weekend, on October 12, a 3D Character Modeling Workshop featuring a character modeling demo from our artists and a 3D Printing Demo by 3D Systems will be happening from 1-5pm PST. These events are first come, first serve, so show up to the gallery early to get a seat.

Hope to see you at the gallery or hear your stories about the show and our anniversary during the next few weeks. Share your thoughts with #NDMemories and/or #ND30. We’ll be re-tweeting and sharing our favorites. Onto the next 30 years!

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20 Comments

4 Author Replies

  • I’m the guy who wear blue shirt in the first picture.
    Fly from China especially for the great event.
    Love Naughty Dog for my life.

  • you must be loaded with money gskyace :)

  • SanchoWest? Man, I looked at that guy’s YouTube vids years ago when I was first starting out in Last of Us Factions to learn how to play better. (I still watch many of his vids, but now just for entertainment; my crew and I would kill that guy in Factions nowadays lol)

    Which reminds me, any news on the Remastered Photo Mode contest?

  • Naughty Dog 4 life

  • What about Crash Bandicoot

  • More contests please

  • This is all pretty cool! Will there be a video showcasing some of the event? I wish I could see so much more…

  • Man, I wish i could go but i am working my butt off to have some extra money for Black Friday this year.

  • Would really appreciate it if this question was answered- What’s the difference between the limited edition and the regular? I can’t make my purchase until I know the differences. My decision and purchase will be based off that.I don’t want to be naive and just expect the limited edition to have enough content just because it’s the limited edition. It’s $60 more, so I have to know.

    • The limited edition includes 6 lithographs and comes in a very nice package. It’s faux leather and hard shell cased.

  • CONGRATULATIONS !! NAUGHTY DOG’S !! I wish you guys release a BETA and a new videos for UNCHARTED 4 …

  • You were with me since I was a child with Crash Bandicoot, and now I feel like we grew together, and I’ve had plenty of good times with your games. Thanks for those good times :)

  • Thank you @Eric. I don’t specifically know what images the lithographs will be or what material it’ll be on, but I did see the cover difference. I have to admit the hard covering and the package look great! It’s nice to know there will be no special or bonus pages in the limited edition. The LE is basically just a better external version. Nonetheless, it’s still tempting. Since the Jak II statue, made by Gamingheads, isn’t coming till next yr (wish it was the Jak 3 statue), I should be able to buy the Limited Edition version of The Art of ND. Usually, the only things priced this high that I buy are Collection Edition items, but I may make an exception this time. Still wish it was at least $10 cheaper haha. But the main concern is I can’t buy this atm, because it’s only available at Gallery N.

  • Congratuations ND! a sale of your digital games would be a nice way to celebrate ;)

  • Wow that’s amazing. Wish I could have gone. Looks awesome. When will the video documentary you guys teased be uploaded to be watch on the interweb? Very much want to see that.

    Anyways great work and very excited to see what else comes out of your studio. Cheers

  • @ jhernandez360

    SCEA no longer owns the rights to Crash Bandicoot

  • Amazing stuff Naughty Dog!

  • Favorite company right here hands down!!! Naughty Dog forever.

  • PLEASE a new Crash Bandicoot to PS4! Long overdue.

  • Still waiting for a Way of the Warrior Remastered announcement! Shaky Jake must do battle once again!

  • Lol good call on the way of the warrior , loved the white zombie soundtrack

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