Jump to content

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 235
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

steampunk.jpg

-----

steampunkPC.jpg

Jake von Slatt (not his real name) is quickly becoming something of an icon on the steampunk scene. In his Steampunk Workshop, he's constantly cranking out fabulous fabrications and conducting thoughtful experiments in brass etching, electrolytic machining, kerosene lamp making and other steam-era arts. But Jake's probably best known for his computer mods, namely his steampunk keyboard, and most recently, his steampunk monitor.

-----

nautilusGuitar.jpg

If it's got "punk" in the name, there damn well better be music involved. Jeff Ritzmann is a Baltimore custom-guitar designer and the craftsman behind Thunder Eagle Customs. After customizing plenty of guitars with skulls, flames and other boyish tropes of heavy metal, he decided to create a steam-themed guitar. The response was so enthusiastic, he immediately began work on another. The result is The Nautilus, an ax inspired Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

-----

ElectriClerk.jpg

Andrew Leman's fully functional computer is inspired by the retro-futuristic machinery in Terry Gilliam's Brazil.

"Despite the ridiculous amount of abuse I subjected it to," Leman says, "and despite the fact that all its components are now exposed to the air, the 1988 Macintosh SE which forms the heart of this piece still works just fine." The typewriter is a 1923 Underwood, and that's a working Fresnel lens that can be pulled down over the screen, something early Macs really could have used.

-----

minitron_comp.jpg

What constitutes steampunk is something that is frequently argued among the genre's fans and practitioners. Like pornography, you know it when you see it. Greg Brotherton's work may not be mainstream steampunk, but his desire to "juxtapose mythology with pop culture and invest ordinary objects with fantastic -- sometimes diabolical -- function" and his recasting of antique tech as future tech, certainly puts him in a similar vein.

His Minitron, seen here, crosses the mythological Minotaur with a robot, as rendered in parts from a '40s Kirby vacuum. He's done a series of robots and ray guns built around antique appliances. So what's next for Brotherton? "I'm working on a series of punk robot prostitutes with a WWII espionage look to them." Maybe we're sorry we asked.

-----

neverwas1.jpg

If you went to last year's Burning Man, you may have seen this "art car" crawling across the playa. It and its pith-helmeted and corseted crew also made an appearance at the 2007 Maker Faire.

More of a moving Victorian mansion than an art car, Neverwas is a project of a group of Bay Area artists and dreamers looking to reinvigorate a spirit of adventure and possibility they see missing in today's mall-rat-infested monoculture. You haven't lived until you've seen this baroque wonder roll up, disgorging bushwacky, monocled adventurers and unnatural scientists prattling on about voyages of wonder, exploration and discovery. Seriously.

atomefabrikGoggles.jpg

Every cult has its fetish object. For punk, it's the safety pin; for ravers, it's glow sticks and pacifiers; for cyberpunk, it's mirror-shade sunglasses. For steampunk, it's goggles -- either welding or aviator. Atomefabrik is a U.K. artisan who makes all manner of customizable goggles for sale, mostly decorative ones that live on the top of your head and sport lights inside and colored slides for lenses. These machined brass goggles are not currently for sale, but that could change soon given the response they've generated.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

their all rather grand (have them all MUAH HA HA HA HA). thier first few albums are a bit more darwave but their latest album was a mix of many styles a very good listen.

just a fucking shame i'm stuck here for a while as i wouldnt mind a trip to see them live. the Edison sounds a perfect venue for them.

http://www.myspace.com/abneypark

their myspace

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hehehehe, hey Marc, we should have a Steampunk-themed campsite at the camping trip..would be fun!!

Start collecting JUNK now!! :p Let's brainstorm, and invite anyone else who wants in on this jive..

P.S. I'm real good at reconstructing, deconstructing, thrift store shopping, and quite handy with a needle and thread..not to mention, I've had a real itch to do some cool performance art! I also have a few extra bucks, thanks to your direction! ;)

Edited by jynxxxedangel
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Just got From Dreams or Angels and Lost Horizons by Abney Park. Outstanding! Y'know, I have access to a ton of brass fittings and wires and junk at work. Maybe I'll give these long-dormant creative muscles a stretch and see if I still remember anything from my industrial design classes. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love that pic of Lincoln.

Steampunk has an entry on Wikipedia that's pretty good.

Offshoots include Dieselpunk. Jon's putting together outfits that actually are more of the Dieselpunk look. More WWII than Victorian/Edwardian.

Basically, take Victorian/Edwardian fashions and throw in lots of gears, rust, patina & "post-apocalyptic" stuff like Mad Max, the movie version of Wild Wild West and you've got steampunk. Think if they had computers, cell-phones and other modern electronics back in the late 1800's-early 1900's and how they'd look.

Dieselpunk includes a lot of deco/20's-40's fashion, lots of military-type bits, etc.

I like a lot of Dieselpunk stuff too. I LOVE 30's and 40's military gadgets, aircraft bits... cast metal objects... And the fashions. :love:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really have no strong feelings about this, pro or con. I'm not sure I get it. I just don't see why this is different from the period garb that many of us have been wearing for years and years, other than it seems more acceptable to throw a modern pair of boots, glasses, etc. in with what would otherwise be a period outfit; or mixing genres and carrying a futuristic ray guy with a turn of the century pilot costume. People have been cheating and doing that for years. As for the stuff, yeah, I guess some of it's cool-looking, but why not just collect antiques?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Forum Statistics

    38.8k
    Total Topics
    819.7k
    Total Posts
  • Who's Online   0 Members, 0 Anonymous, 23 Guests (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.