Monday, April 28, 2014

Steam Punk


                                                                 Carnevale Steam Punk

I have been hearing this term Steam Punk a lot lately. I was not familiar with the meaning really, not until now. I wasn't certain what it was. Perhaps it is becoming trendy, and more mainstream, maybe not.
I'm certainly old enough to know punk. I loved everything punk. I still do. I know I'm dating myself now.

Supposedly Steam Punk has been around since the 80s. Guess I missed it, and I'm out of the loop.

So I went on the hunt to find out more about it. I came across steampunkcanada which is full of lots of information. I find it quite interesting and fun. I think it's just creative people being themselves really. At the same time, it harkens back to Victorian times and the romantic days of the 19th century to a world of fantasy, discovery, and science. It's a cornucopia all mixed in, of past, present, and future, expressed through a variety of media..

I am not qualified to describe it, so I thought I'd share the definitions I have found, along with some examples. Here the wiki definition. Who knows what is all means, but I sure like it.

                                                   Clock Work Universe - Tim Wetherell

Tim Wetherell is really interesting artist. He has a great definition of Steam Punk on his site. Check it out.
The Victorian age was, to a large extent, an age of aesthetics in which skill and craftsmanship were highly prized. What something looked like really mattered to the Victorians. In contrast, our modern world is fixated on rock bottom dollar. But we do have some really cool technology the Victorians couldn’t have even dreamt of. What happens if you mix that beautiful Victorian sense of aesthetics with the best of modern technology? The answer of course, is Steampunk. An utterly modern artistic movement unashamedly building on the aesthetic traditions of the Nineteenth century. It’s a past that never was, a future that never happened; perhaps a best of both worlds. - See more at: http://www.wetherellart.co.uk/index.html#sthash.8Xtud1qn.dpuf

The Victorian age was, to a large extent, an age of aesthetics in which skill and craftsmanship were highly prized. What something looked like really mattered to the Victorians. In contrast, our modern world is fixated on rock bottom dollar. But we do have some really cool technology the Victorians couldn’t have even dreamt of. What happens if you mix that beautiful Victorian sense of aesthetics with the best of modern technology? The answer of course, is Steampunk. An utterly modern artistic movement unashamedly building on the aesthetic traditions of the Nineteenth century. It’s a past that never was, a future that never happened; perhaps a best of both worlds. - See more at: http://www.wetherellart.co.uk/index.html#sthash.8Xtud1qn.dpuf
During my search, I did find a site by a very talented artist, Choleena Di Tullio who creates Steam Punk art in a variety of forms and takes wonderful photographs. Upon further investigating, I read her biography only to find out that she was Alumni graduate from my Alma Mater, Mount Allison University. Small world!

                                                                     Zeppelin - Choleena Di Tullio

Well it's tea time here in Apple River. Steamy hot tea, nothing punky, well maybe just a little.

Below is one of my favourites by Quebec artist SooZ Jillette

                                                            Puppet Master 2 Sooz Jillete

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