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San Francisco, 10:44 AM
Tue Nov 10
28 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety

    The Greatest Velvet Paintings Of Science-Fiction Icons!

    The Intergalactic Hockey Team Is Bioengineered To Play Hard

    The Posters Your Robot Companion Wants To Hang On Its Walls

    Concept Art That Will Make You See Steampunk Anew

    You Could Capture Photos Like This From The Open Sky Near Your House

    The Blob Attacks New Zealand — For Breast Cancer!

    The Guy Who Makes All His Friends Dress Up As Broken Robot Dolls [NSFW]

    Wear Your Favorite Galaxy On Your Legs

    A Deadly Diesel-Powered Walking Machine From An Alternate 1914
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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    That K-9 one is almost... poignant. #starwars
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of Davio Davio
    11/07/09

    @Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.: Yeah... the ol tin dog really does seem to be musing on something. #starwars
     Reply
    Davio was starred Davio was unstarred
    Image of armyofchuckness armyofchuckness
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    I really want the LightCycle one. Not even close to kidding. #starwars
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders promoted this comment armyofchuckness was starred armyofchuckness was unstarred
    Image of bonniegrrl bonniegrrl
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    Thanks for more velvety goodness on io9, Charlie Jane. You know fine art when you see it! ;-) #starwars
     Reply
    bonniegrrl was starred bonniegrrl was unstarred
    Image of Charlie Jane Anders Charlie Jane Anders
    11/06/09

    @bonniegrrl: Yay thanks!! I am totally inspired by your fantastic example over at StarWars.com! #starwars
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders was starred Charlie Jane Anders was unstarred
    Image of bonniegrrl bonniegrrl
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    Those Godzilla and Mothra paintings by Bruce are things of divine beauty. #starwars
     Reply
    bonniegrrl was starred bonniegrrl was unstarred
    Image of Vulcan Has No Moon Vulcan Has No Moon
    11/06/09


    @bonniegrrl: I'd want triptych with Gamera. #starwars
     Reply
    Vulcan Has No Moon was starred Vulcan Has No Moon was unstarred
    Image of gods-n-clods gods-n-clods
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    Valuable and important cultural monuments for future generations. #starwars
     Reply
    gods-n-clods was starred gods-n-clods was unstarred
    Image of bonniegrrl bonniegrrl
    11/06/09

    In reply to The Greatest Velvet Paintings Of Science-Fiction Icons!

    Even more great sci-fi velvet paintings of Doctor Who, BSG, Star Trek, Star Wars and even Godzilla by artist Bruce White here -- [brucewhite.deviantart.com] #starwars
     Reply
    bonniegrrl was starred bonniegrrl was unstarred
    Image of psychiccheese psychiccheese
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety

    The last Vader pic prompted me to do this. #starwars
     Reply
    psychiccheese was starred psychiccheese was unstarred
    Image of SpammerOvTheGods SpammerOvTheGods
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    love the Tron one...but that Boba fett portrait is like a door into his soul.

    #@! #starwars
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders promoted this comment SpammerOvTheGods was starred SpammerOvTheGods was unstarred
    Image of Platypus Man Platypus Man
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    I'll apologize ahead of time, but can anyone tell me who that is in the first one? He just doesn't look familiar to me...

    Also, that TARDIS one is pretty sweet... #starwars
     Reply
    Platypus Man was starred Platypus Man was unstarred
    Image of ManchuCandidate ManchuCandidate
    11/06/09

    @Platypus Man:
    Kane from Alien just before the facehugger gets him. #starwars
     Reply
    ManchuCandidate was starred ManchuCandidate was unstarred
    Image of Platypus Man Platypus Man
    11/06/09

    @ManchuCandidate: Ah. Thanks.

    I never saw Alien, but I've been meaning to. I liked Aliens, but I was always told that they were very different movies. #starwars
     Reply
    Platypus Man was starred Platypus Man was unstarred
    Image of lazyeight lazyeight
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    These are too well executed to be good velvet paintings. Part of their cachet , for me, has always been bad: 2) proportioning, 3)color choice and 4) perspective. #1 has always been poor choice of subject matter; eg, I once saw a badly rendered v-painting of Jesus and Elvis playing guitars on the steps of the Pearly Gates. Unfortunately, I had spent all my money on tequila and returned to the E.E.U.U. empty-handed. #starwars
     Reply
    gods-n-clods promoted this comment lazyeight was starred lazyeight was unstarred
    Image of gods-n-clods gods-n-clods
    11/06/09

    @lazyeight: Always try to snatch up those once in a lifetime paintings! I -did- score a painting of pimps and hookers done like Grandma Moses, but I regret not buying the Creature From The Black Lagoon in cheesecake style. #starwars
     Reply
    gods-n-clods was starred gods-n-clods was unstarred
    Image of lazyeight lazyeight
    11/06/09

    @gods-n-clods: ! Caramba! #starwars
     Reply
    lazyeight was starred lazyeight was unstarred
    Image of ManchuCandidate ManchuCandidate
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    Nights In White Satin?

    Vader in black velvet, never reaching the end,
    Tuskens they've painted, never meaning to send.
    Boba in ways I'd missed with these eyes before.
    Just what the point is, I don't know anymore.

    'Cos I love you, yes I love you, oh how I love you.

    Gazing at Godzilla,flames from the mouth,
    Just what they're thinking through I can't understand.
    Some try to tell me, the art they cannot defend,
    Just what you want to be, Mothra will be in the end.

    And I love you, yes I love you,
    Oh how I love you, oh how I love you.
     Reply
    Edited by ManchuCandidate at 11/06/09 8:02 AM ManchuCandidate was starred ManchuCandidate was unstarred
    Image of Hamslicer Hamslicer
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    Holy Clicksproing, a velvet portrait of a 1977 R2D2 action figure. #starwars
     Reply
    Hamslicer was starred Hamslicer was unstarred
    Image of Hamslicer Hamslicer
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    Needs more Frazetta/Molly Hatchet. #starwars
     Reply
    Hamslicer was starred Hamslicer was unstarred
    Image of gallahad gallahad
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    *coughtackycough*

    And, if you allow for a moment of art school snobbery, he's definitely in that strange area where somebody is kinda technically proficient, but is still lacking an essential flavor that makes the proficiency meaningful. #starwars
     Reply
    gods-n-clods promoted this comment gallahad was starred gallahad was unstarred
    Image of Jassen Jassen
    11/06/09

    @gallahad: *coughsnobcough*

    It's freakin Sci-Fi on freakin Velvet in freakin color and is so freakin bad in so freakin many ways that it makes it freakin uber-cool. So freakin "essential flavor"can bite my freakin *ss.

    [We will now return you to normal programing]

    Your just jealous that none of these are hanging on your wall

    ;) #starwars
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders promoted this comment Jassen was starred Jassen was unstarred
    Image of gallahad gallahad
    11/06/09

    @Jassen: Yes, I am an art snob. I won't be so cruel and heartless to equate his stuff with Thomas Kinkade, but there is no way I'd ever be buying anything like those.
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders promoted this comment Edited by gallahad at 11/06/09 10:05 AM gallahad was starred gallahad was unstarred
    Image of gods-n-clods gods-n-clods
    11/06/09

    @gallahad: Your art school would have taught you the postmodern irony and all that jazz, right? #starwars
     Reply
    gods-n-clods was starred gods-n-clods was unstarred
    Image of gallahad gallahad
    11/06/09

    @gods-n-clods: With the disclaimer that irony's a fairly subjective thing that wanders a very fine line, I'd be more inclined to call it kitsch. Irony implies that the artist is saying something about the thing it's using through using it (see: Andy Warhol; don't see: the vast majority of hipsters).

    This stuff comes across to me as simply "here's some sci-fi thing that I think nerds and myself will like." That's what I meant about it being "technically proficient, but lacking an essential flavor": the guy's a competent painter, but the paintings are just paintings of sci-fi stuff -- there's nothing there that makes them more than sci-fi paintings on black velvet. #starwars
     Reply
    gallahad was starred gallahad was unstarred
    Image of gods-n-clods gods-n-clods
    11/06/09

    @gallahad: I see your points, but what makes them more than sci-fi paintings on black velvet, is that they -are- sci-fi paintings on velvet. Velvet art as a medium is analog/retro, the sci fi imagery is digital/futuristic, and mashing the two create an ironic product-- strictly comedy... we are fawning over them pretty much just for that reason.
    Proficency of rendering the image aside, there -is- a technical proficiency in handling the humor and contradiction of retro versus futurism. It's the job of the artist to covey this humor better; in this case, White's Kenner Chewie and Leia on his DeviantArt page convey this best IMO, and the Elvis Yoda yesterday is the Cream Of The Crap. This handling of subtext, cultural relevance, -then- technical execution, is what separates the hipsters from the craftspeople.
    "Here's some sci-fi thing that I think nerds and myself will like" is a valid operating system; I love LMAO while I'm making fine art (White may be operating in a commodity-niche though, dude has to eat). I fully see your reservations, though. #starwars
     Reply
    gods-n-clods was starred gods-n-clods was unstarred
    Image of Bruce White Bruce White
    11/06/09

    @gallahad: As the artist of these works, I have to chime in here.

    As you might have surmised, I have no real agenda here. I am not offering grand social commentary, nor am I trying to set the art world on fire. I am not trying to be the next "Juxtapoz" cover model. This is a hobby for me and, as a sci-fi nerd, it is a fun and interesting one.

    I don't have an artist's "mission statement", but if I did it would be this:

    "here's some sci-fi thing that I think nerds and myself will like"

    :)

    Cheers,
    Bruce #starwars
     Reply
    Charlie Jane Anders promoted this comment Bruce White was starred Bruce White was unstarred
    Image of gallahad gallahad
    11/06/09

    @gods-n-clods: Seeing the other stuff on his DA page (I'm trying really hard not to dock points for that fact alone), I'm probably willing to upgrade my status to a wavering maybe... thank the action figures for that. Still, though, it's a very fine line and I'm not convinced the concept actually pulls it off well enough. Black velvet paintings to me means tacky black velvet Elvis and, if the series really is intended to be ironic, it doesn't push the irony hard enough to get past that association.

    Then again, I could just go over to him and ask him directly. He apparently lives around a half hour away from me. #starwars
     Reply
    gallahad was starred gallahad was unstarred
    Image of gallahad gallahad
    11/06/09

    @Bruce White: Curses, my internet anonymity has been foiled. Now I feel like a dick... #starwars
     Reply
    gallahad was starred gallahad was unstarred
    Image of gods-n-clods gods-n-clods
    11/06/09

    @Bruce White: Seriously excellent work, sir. I'm going to fan-you-up, and would like to contact you regarding any exhibition opportunities I can share or offer.
    Thanks for the good vibes too! :)
    That Chewie figure is in my garage... memories... #starwars
     Reply
    gods-n-clods was starred gods-n-clods was unstarred
    Image of gods-n-clods gods-n-clods
    11/06/09

    @gallahad: yeah me too, draggin' people into lowbrow/highbrow discussions... art dicks... #starwars
     Reply
    gods-n-clods was starred gods-n-clods was unstarred
    Image of Bruce White Bruce White
    11/06/09

    @gallahad: No worries. I have pretty thick skin ...no one survives art school without it.

    I am all for constructive criticism and analysis, and I enjoyed the back and forth that was going on here. Honestly, I can see validity in your points (I am a lot harder on myself than most would imagine).

    It was only when there seemed to be some "second-guessing" as to my "intent" that I really felt it necessary to speak up, and clarify things a bit. #starwars
     Reply
    Bruce White was starred Bruce White was unstarred
    Image of J_Frank_Parnell J_Frank_Parnell
    11/06/09

    In reply to Science Fiction Legends On Black Velvet Part 2: Blacker And More Velvety
    Wow these are much better than yesterday's batch #starwars
     Reply
    J_Frank_Parnell was starred J_Frank_Parnell was unstarred
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