When you look at art, you see what you want to see. And some people, as Irene Gallo, the art director for Tor Books, points out, see science fiction. BoingBoing pointed us towards the Tor blog, where Gallo has collected a great series of sci-fi-themed artworks inspired by classic paintings. Whether translating modern painting to hyper-modern painting or just swapping out a traditional angel’s wings for something a little more nerdy, these works are playful studies that were probably as much fun to make as they are to look at. Click through to see some of our favorites, and then be sure to check out even more over at Tor!
Justin Bieber recently discovered steampunk, so it makes sense that Disney would be the next one to get the aesthetic makeover. DeviantARTist MecaniqueFairy (didn’t the name give it away?) has given several of the Mickey Mouse studio’s villains and other characters a pseudo-Victorian makeover, outfitting each creation with period accessories and other modifications. See if her works meet your nerdy approval past the break. Read More »
You can thank our friends at BoingBoing for tipping us off to this neo-Victorian series of models, a work in progress by Lego artist Matt Armstrong aka “Monsterbrick.” His crazy steampunk inventions — which range from an antique typewriter to a meerschaum pipe (complete with a plume of smoke!) — are surprisingly realistic and detailed, in spite of the fact that they’re entirely made up of little plastic bricks. Click through to get a better look at Armstrong’s impressive work, and let us know in the comments which piece is your favorite. Read More »
Wondering what steampunk has done for us lately, besides fill our streets with folks in absurd, overpriced aviator goggles? Behold the Pactuator, a gear-filled, hand-cranked Pac-Man. Its creator, Johnathan M. Guberman, tells Boing Boing that the device is “going to be part of a larger project: a playable, mechanical Pac-Man cabinet, called ‘Pac Machina.’” Amazing. But we can’t wait for the game. We want the Pactuator right now. Please, Guberman, start mass producing these babies. And how about some Ms. Pac-Man while you’re at it? Watch the clockwork Pac-Man and lust after one of your own below.
In these times of mash-up mayhem, when publishers are rallying around such titles as The Meowmorphosis, even the most nonsensical literary crossovers fail to surprise. Be that as it may, we were still awestruck to see the art from a newly released comic book called Steampunk Palin, which was announced back in August.
According to the folks at Comics Alliance, who have posted an in-depth review declaring that the book is “so bad it’s good,” it takes place “in the near future, in the immediate aftermath of a war that has destroyed all the Earth’s oil. A new power source is needed, and Sarah Palin steps forward to suggest steam power as a replacement. A conglomerate consisting of big oil and nuclear power interests makes a counterproposal by blowing her up with a bomb at the meeting where she suggests this.” We’re not sure what’s funnier — the idea of Palin as an anti-big business activist or the fact that a third of the book is devoted to Palin pin-ups. Check out some panels from the comic after the jump.
A post-apocalyptic, paranoid, Baroque fantasy, Zenith is set in a future in which geneticists have eradicated unhappiness, giving rise to a black market in pain-inducing drugs — and one man’s self-destructive quest to break through.
A visually stunning art-house Blade Runner for a generation in thrall to sex, violence, conspiracy, and urban tribalism, the film fits its “retro-futuristic steampunk thriller” tag-line perfectly. Its many plot twists innovatively even cross over into social media, drawing viewers into the mystery at its heart with engagement far beyond the film itself.
Imagine the exuberance and pageantry of a Renaissance fair but add about 400 years and you’ve got Indie Market’s third annual Steampunk Day and Fashion Show. Held on Sunday in Brooklyn, the gathering of steampunk enthusiasts, some calling themselves COS-players and others professional fashion designers, brought out a healthy phalanx of photographers and shoppers looking to pick up the hippest Victorian-era accessories (jewelry, fancy hats, and so forth) for their own, often home-made, ensembles.
Today at Flavorpill, we loved GOOD’s infographic version of the most controversial books in America. We found out what Conan O’Brien was really thinking during his 60 Minutes interview. We wondered how someone would react to spotting one of Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s oil paintings in our apartment. Total conversation piece. We considered dropping $1000 to have ’90s rocker Juliana Hatfield write a personalized song for us. We realized that skinny jeans, do in fact, serve an important function. We chortled over the “Is It Steampunk?” Flowchart — it’s so funny because it’s true. We wished that the New York City Department of Buildings would leave Shepard Fairey alone. We wanted Hollywood to stop mining our childhood for sequel ideas. We got a kick out of Ironing Man. And finally, we wanted to thank Yeasayer’s Chris Keating for introducing us to some of the band’s more obscure influences in a new mixtape.
