I went to see Eric Nakamura and Martin Wong of Giant Robot speak at the Walker Art Center last night. They were speaking as part of the Student Open House: Attack of the Giant Robot which was sponsored by the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC).

I had not been to the Walker since it reopened after the redesign so I was a little disorientated when I got inside. I ended up getting there just as they were opening the doors to the auditorium and it meant I didn't have any time to wander around the new section. I'll have to try and make a trip back when I have more time to wander around the museum.

The auditorium they were speaking in apparently seats 385. The space wasn't full but there was definitely a really good turnout. They got a bit of a late start so instead of speaking for an hour or so, they ended up rushing it a bit so they could fit in the Q&A session. When Eric asked if anyone was familiar with GR, they got a pretty good response. They basically talked about who they were, where they came from, how the magazine got its start, what the experience has been like in putting out the magazine, and about the joys and difficulties of doing a lot of this stuff on your own. Their talk was accompanied by a slide show, too, of pictures of people they've interviewed (GWAR, Chow Yun Fat, Jet Li) and people they work with or have worked with. Plus other miscellaneous pictures.

Here they are during their talk



Afterwards, they met and signed things for people who were at the talk. I waited around a little bit for the crowd to die down then I introduced myself to Martin.



We chatted for a little bit and then I introduced myself to Eric. We talked for a little bit as well and then they invited me to come along to King and I Thai (a restaurant) they were going to with people from the Walker's WACTAC.

So, I got to drive Eric and Martin to the restaurant. I had a fun time at the restaurant. I got to meet some people that I would normally not have a chance to meet in person. Like Wes of Burlesque and Kris (and his lovely wife) of ROBOTlove.

Oh, here's a picture of Eric and I (along with Buddha) at the restaurant on my way out the door



All in all, it was a fun night. I got home way too late and so I'm tired now. But, it was all worth it.

And, I'm going to stop now before I come off as more of a complete fanboy than I want to.