http://cache.io9.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png http://io9.com/tag/art http://io9.com/tag/art

Life isn't easy if you're a genetic experiment. Or an expendable minion, a powerful being wedged into an itty-bitty living space, or a recently downgraded scientific entity. Fortunately, it's a little easier to bear the pain if you've got someone in a similar situation to share the load. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5884164&view=rss&microfeed=true

Adventure Time has gone from a shiny new distraction to a major freaking part of our lives. We can no longer remember a time before Adventure Time, and it feels as though Finn and Jake are more real than most of our friends. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5883545&view=rss&microfeed=true

This beautiful image [hi-res available here] was recently recognized by National Geographic as one of the best photographs of 2011. Two of the magazine's photo editors appreciated it for its cryptic quality. Is the subject of this photograph a sprouting fungus? A microscopic photo of a leaf? A snowy landscape? More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5883452&view=rss&microfeed=true

You may recognize artist Keith Thompson's work from Scott Westerfield's Leviathan books and as those creepy doodles from the remake of Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. In addition to those projects, Thompson's crafted a nightmare fuel gallery of necrotic creatures with pedigrees in both science fiction and fantasy. Just behold that stomach-churning Pripyat Beast above. We're sorry. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5882817&view=rss&microfeed=true

Lewis Carroll's first iteration of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was a much shorter work titled Alice's Adventures Under Ground. Although the final product is well known for John Tenniel's memorable illustrations, Carroll himself illustrated his original manuscript. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5882448&view=rss&microfeed=true

Does the Mona Lisa have a twin sister? For years, art historians thought a second version of Leonardo Da Vinci's famous painting was a copy created years after the original. But now that the painting has been restored, it appears it may have been painted at the same time — and in the same room — as its more famous sibling. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5882287&view=rss&microfeed=true

Pity the poor Tyrannosaurus. With those teeny little arms and that great big body, T-Rex is incapable of doing things that come easily to you and me. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5882222&view=rss&microfeed=true

These stunning snapshots are from a series by Japanese photographer Tsuneaki Hiramatsu, who employed a variety of time-lapse techniques to capture the awe-inspiring beauty of fireflies in flight. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5881943&view=rss&microfeed=true

Every year, Science Magazine teams up with the National Science Foundation to host the International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. Participants are asked to enter photographs, illustrations, informational graphics, videos, and even interactive games to be judged on their visual impact and ability to communicate a scientific idea. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5882090&view=rss&microfeed=true

The X-Men are the champions of mutant-kind, and our favorite ridiculously over-powered outcasts. And one of the coolest things we love most about the X-Men is, they get around. When they're not traveling in space or time, they're meeting lots of other unique characters. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5882096&view=rss&microfeed=true

Apparently there's a mall in Seoul where shoppers can ponder the biomechanics of The Incredible Hulk relieving himself, an act that requires a seismologist, an eight-person hazmat squad, and a charm of soothing from Dr. Strange. Add this to the list of unsanctioned superhero public art around the globe. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5881976&view=rss&microfeed=true

It's really refreshing to see photos that put the "play" into "cosplay." And photographer Michael Smith at Emerald Coast Cosplay does a fantastic job of capturing the playfulness and silliness of cosplay. His photos from SukoshiCON Destin and some other recent conventions are just bursting with personality. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5881792&view=rss&microfeed=true

Locked away because of her strange waking visions and her nightmares, Faye is seeing a disturbing vision of the world's impending destruction — even as the real world beyond her walls is actually falling apart, thanks to an oil crisis which has caused chaos and mass rioting. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5881750&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Dark Lords of the Sith. Most of us grew up fearing Darth Vader and his compatriots — but the Sith Order holds many other secrets to dread. And a new volume of Star Wars lore, Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side, is chock full of monstrous Sith apparitions. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5881168&view=rss&microfeed=true

In 1979, designer John White was 11 years old and had never seen Ridley Scott's Alien. Still, that didn't stop him from writing his own comic book adaptation of the film using markers and notebook paper. Explains White — who has also released his nine-year-old self's take on Star Wars — of his reference material: More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880944&view=rss&microfeed=true

Here's something that should appeal to fans of Gōjin Ishihara's profoundly weird children's art. In 1969. a Japanese magazine published these exceedingly intense depictions of life at the center of our planet. Taking cues from Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Lost World, these drawings and diagrams are the strange remnants of some plesiosaur-filled fever dream. I love the heck out of them all.

More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880661&view=rss&microfeed=true

Later this year, Dark Horse Comics will release The Massive, a new ongoing comic book from writer/illustrator Brian Wood (DMZ, Channel Zero, Northlanders). More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880634&view=rss&microfeed=true

In 1966, famed pulp artist Norman Saunders — who illustrated the 1962 Mars Attacks cards — produced a series of magical paintings for Topps' Batman trading card line. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880564&view=rss&microfeed=true

Nikki Graziano was a photography and math student at Rochester Institute of Technology, and she found the perfect way to combine her passions. Graziano examines the shapes that appear in her photographs and overlays the mathematical functions that best describe them. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880329&view=rss&microfeed=true

Say goodbye to your innocent childhood vision of multi-colored Space Invader bugs dancing happily across the sky. Character artist Tom Carruthers would like to replace it with a fang-filled piece of fleshy nightmare fuel. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880261&view=rss&microfeed=true

We've seen plenty of clever and quirky artwork centered on Disney's stable of princesses, but what about their other halves? The Disney princes finally get their due, taking center stage on the covers of familiar magazines. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880224&view=rss&microfeed=true

We've long been fans of Alex Pardee's nightmarish artwork. We've seen his children-digesting monster installation, his horrifying dream beasties, and his post-apocalyptic web series about a block-headed alien. Now, behold his freakish reinterpretations of beloved superheroes. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5880146&view=rss&microfeed=true

We've seen the X-Men receive the club kid treatment. Now artist Viria13 has given the Disney Princess pantheon new duds (presumably in the spirit of a certain internet meme). More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5879636&view=rss&microfeed=true

Can you guess the subject of this photograph? It's a bloodshot alien eyeball! Just kidding, although all that red totally resembles vasculature don't you think? More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5879594&view=rss&microfeed=true

This landscape may not look like that much - it's a solid B+ in middle school art, I'd say - but this might just be proof that its creator, a computer program named the Painting Fool, is a creative being. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5879423&view=rss&microfeed=true

Our new favorite fan-art mashup combines Star Wars and Tank Girl, to give Princess Leia a bit more attitude to cope with that nerf herder guy. Mashup artist James Hance posted this a couple days ago, and prints and T-shirts are already available. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5879363&view=rss&microfeed=true

Check out a modified record player that reads growth rings from a tree like musical notes. Created by German artist Bartholomäus Traubeck, Years takes the annual rings that you find in cross-sections of trees and converts them into piano music. He describes the process on his website: More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5879326&view=rss&microfeed=true

We've seen kaiju inserted into yard sale paintings and vampiric 1800s facsimiles of Nicolas Cage. In the spirit of such portraiture comes Alex Gross' series of science fiction cabinet cards, in which he takes poor dead bastards who kicked it 100+ years ago and repaints them as pop icons. Gross will be presenting a new batch of cards in Los Angeles next month. Here are some of our favorites.

More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5879051&view=rss&microfeed=true

Astronomical, the latest project by artist Mishka Henner, is an entire scale model of the Sun and the nine traditional planets...and absolutely nothing else. As you can see in the video below, it's one giant reminder of cosmic emptiness. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5878906&view=rss&microfeed=true

Marvel's gearing up for the release of The Avengers with some curious promotions, but here's one that's pretty magnificent. Come April, Marvel will give select comics variant covers depicting Earth's Mightiest Heroes as illustrated by the likes of Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and Monet. Here's what they've unveiled so far. I wouldn't mind having that Georges Seurat hang in my boudoir one iota.

More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5878868&view=rss&microfeed=true

We've been loving The Midnight Archive's ghoulishly chipper web shorts (previously: 1, 2, 3). Their latest episode takes us to the studio of artist Sigrid Sarda, who specializes in creating wax mannequins. Says the show's producers, "The charmingly perverse Sarda has taught herself the ancient art of sculpting in wax and it is every bit as creepy and interesting as you might expect." For more of Sarda's malleable humanoids, see her website. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5878323&view=rss&microfeed=true

When you think about it, the Doctor is a bit like a cat. He turns up where you least expect him. He has mysterious adventures out of sight of the human race. He always lands on his feet — eventually. And you suspect he can size you up with a single look. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5878097&view=rss&microfeed=true

For the past two weeks, you've delighted us with your flash fiction pieces about dead (and undead) giants and disembodied brains that surf the web. This week, your inspiration is a bit of otherworldly car trouble. As always, post your story in the comments. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5878093&view=rss&microfeed=true

Who wouldn't want a looming Cthulu guarding their living room? Artist Kirill Rozhkov illustrated a collection of Lovecraftian monsters for the Danish carpet company EGE. The line is called "Dark Water" — check out the monsters in both illustration and rug form! More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5877964&view=rss&microfeed=true

Concept art takes us to strange worlds and expands our imagination — but sometimes, it's also as sexy as hell. You can't look through the artist galleries at CGHub, Concept Art World and other sites without finding some concept art that's basically pin-up art as well. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5877933&view=rss&microfeed=true

Drop what you're doing — this is more important. Oregon sculptor Jud Turner has built a life-sized model of a Columbia mammoth skeleton, he's done it with 95% recycled materials (mostly old farming equipment and agricultural tools), and it's probably the most jaw-droppingly bad-ass thing I've ever laid my eyes on. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5877904&view=rss&microfeed=true

Russian photographer Alexander Semenov creates photographs of marine life that just burst with color and energy. You may have understood, on some intellectual level, that the ocean depths are an ecosystem, teeming with life and all connected. But looking at these stunning photos will make you see it in a new way. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5877674&view=rss&microfeed=true

All across the globe, there are monuments and tourist attractions that transform our otherwise boring reality into a gleefully tumescent fantasia. Here are the world's most otherworldly phallic vacation destinations. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5877589&view=rss&microfeed=true

Unless you're a synesthete, you probably don't get very many opportunities to see music. But this 3D data visualization project, Portrait of the Ghost Drummer, by Polish designer Odaibe allows you to do exactly that. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5877591&view=rss&microfeed=true

Impulse buy alert! We here at io9 have a thing for creepy fiberglass dinosaur sculptures (as seen at destinations like these). So we were visibly jazzed when tipster Laura informed us that someone was selling a 10-foot-tall, three-toed-sloth sculpture for a bargain $4000. More »
]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5877499&view=rss&microfeed=true