Previous
- Your Villain My Hero Music Video
- The Lost Weekend: 2010
- Mid Winter Activities
- Your Villain My Hero Promo Video
- Katie Todd Music Video
- RC POP ART - Featured on Voices.com
- A New Camera
- 23 Amazing Modern Clean Fonts
- Experimenting with photographs
- The Art of Isaac Abrams
Archives
- 02.10.2008
- 02.17.2008
- 02.24.2008
- 03.30.2008
- 04.06.2008
- 04.13.2008
- 04.20.2008
- 04.27.2008
- 05.04.2008
- 05.11.2008
- 05.18.2008
- 05.25.2008
- 06.01.2008
- 06.08.2008
- 06.15.2008
- 07.06.2008
- 07.13.2008
- 07.27.2008
- 08.10.2008
- 08.17.2008
- 08.31.2008
- 09.07.2008
- 10.19.2008
- 12.28.2008
- 01.04.2009
- 01.25.2009
- 04.05.2009
- 04.19.2009
- 05.03.2009
- 09.06.2009
- 11.15.2009
- 02.21.2010
- 02.28.2010
- 03.14.2010
What is Steampunk?
April 02, 2008
I've recently come across an art movement that has been gaining popularity over the past 10 years or so somewhat under the radar.
Steampunk is a subculture of people who take modern day objects such as computers, cars, and headphones and turn them into turn of the century Victorian technology. If you think back to movies like Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and The City of Lost Children, you'll get an idea of the aesthetics these artists are going for.
In a world filled with throw away technology and iPhones that are almost obsolete before they're sold, these pieces of art represent a time when objects had a sense of permanence and timeless value.
The term "Steampunk" was coined by science fiction author K.W. Jeter in 1987. Since then the Steampunk art movement has expanded immensely on the internet and YouTube.
A few noteworthy Steampunk do-it-yourselfers:
Arguably the most widely known artist/inventor is Datamancer, among some of his incredible works is his laptop that starts with a crank of an antique clock winder!
Check out the video here!
He acquires most of his parts online through ebay and Amazon and spends his days hand crafting each antique typewriter key, decorative brass edging and stained wood on the computer keyboards he sells. Another Steampunk tinkerer is Hieronymous Isambard "Jake" von Slatt who modifies anything from scooters to flat screen monitors.
The more I search for this lesser known world where antiques and technology collide, the more I find. A young inventor of all things metal and steam powered is I-Wei Huang who makes steam powered robots.
It seems Steampunk has become a way of life for some folks and I for one applaud them for their efforts and creative ingenuity.
Steampunk is a subculture of people who take modern day objects such as computers, cars, and headphones and turn them into turn of the century Victorian technology. If you think back to movies like Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and The City of Lost Children, you'll get an idea of the aesthetics these artists are going for.
In a world filled with throw away technology and iPhones that are almost obsolete before they're sold, these pieces of art represent a time when objects had a sense of permanence and timeless value.
The term "Steampunk" was coined by science fiction author K.W. Jeter in 1987. Since then the Steampunk art movement has expanded immensely on the internet and YouTube.
A few noteworthy Steampunk do-it-yourselfers:
Arguably the most widely known artist/inventor is Datamancer, among some of his incredible works is his laptop that starts with a crank of an antique clock winder!
He acquires most of his parts online through ebay and Amazon and spends his days hand crafting each antique typewriter key, decorative brass edging and stained wood on the computer keyboards he sells. Another Steampunk tinkerer is Hieronymous Isambard "Jake" von Slatt who modifies anything from scooters to flat screen monitors.
Check out the video here!
The more I search for this lesser known world where antiques and technology collide, the more I find. A young inventor of all things metal and steam powered is I-Wei Huang who makes steam powered robots.
It seems Steampunk has become a way of life for some folks and I for one applaud them for their efforts and creative ingenuity.
Labels: "the city of lost children", gadgets, laptop, mod, mods, steampunk
Am I iPhone Crazy?
March 31, 2008
My girlfriend has recently brought it to my attention that I seem to be cheating on her with another woman. That other woman is my new iPhone that, ironically, my girlfriend gave me as a gift for christmas. I think she suspected that this might not be the best way for us to spend more time together, but never the less, also knew how much I was drooling over it in magazines, websites, and department store windows. She is a very unselfish person and so she bought me the very thing that she now insists has replaced her. That is true love.
"You don't need me anymore now" she says with a sarcastic smile. "You've got everything you need in that stupid phone".
"Not everything", I said. "I can't have sex with it."
"...yet"
Labels: apple, cell phone, computer, girlfriend, iphone
-
Unknown said... -
Don't cream on the screen Robbie!
Everybody is a Graphic Designer.
March 30, 2008
I am an Illustrator and Graphic Designer. I also do websites; both Flash based and CSS based. From the moment I could hold a crayon in my hand, I've spent the majority of my life studying and practicing the visual arts. I went to college for this assuming that my classmates would also be the same kind of visually obsessive types I was. I was under the impression (falsely) that only people who had a background or natural ability in art would pursue it as a means of income. I know I wouldn't even imagine trying to go to college for statistics or quantum theory, as I have no ability to understand or deal with it on any level. My days are filled with perusing gallery award winning sites and searching out, analyzing and admiring artists work from all over the world. I am obsessed with trying to make things look as good as they can and making ideas seem as interesting and yet straightforward as possible for others.
Yet it seems to me that being a graphic designer is one of those few occupations that EVERYONE thinks they can do without the slightest education or practice in. I find it fist clenchingly frustrating to be hired as an expert by a company who needs someone to make their ideas pop and look interesting and professional, yet seem to think it is a great idea to ignore all the work and advice I give them. If they know so much about my job, then why are they hiring me? You don't go into a 5 star restaurant and order the Chef's specialty, only to go back into the kitchen and tell him how to make it. No one would think to step up on the stage of an accomplished singer and try to sing the song themselves or attempt to trade stocks on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange for a week.
You put together a website based on the companies target audience, their goals, their companies image and examples of work they admire, along with color schemes, researched fonts, images and everything else you can think of to help them achieve the goals they have for their company and many of them seem to think they have a better understanding of how to make their site look fantastic than you do.
"What if we make everything on the site round?"
What if I punch you in the face and shit down your throat?
Labels: Ad Agencies, Advertising, Art, Code, Corporate, CSS, Flash, Graphic Designer, Illustration, XHTML
Deviant Art
Flickr
Virb
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
MySpace
3 Comments:
Steampunk is a fascinating new development in the embracing and rejection of new technology. It will be interesting to see if it will influence style and fashion of companies like Apple or Dell.
I seen this stuff in Bizarre magazine a few months back and was blown away. It's really sweet.
I am not a big fan of this particular form of art, but in general I do support anything new in art, like pop art movement was and still is.
Post a Comment
<< Home