A new meandering miscellany today in which I talk about the curious parallels between Candlesnuff Fungus and the the protagonist species in the Alien film franchise and accidentally stumble into a Steampunk photoshoot.
My life is nothing if not varied.
People do sometimes say that my junk sculptures have a kind of Steampunk aesthetic. That's not my intention, to be honest, but I'll take the compliment as I rather like it. Back in 2009 I got the opportunity to wander around Art Donovan's fabulously eclectic and wonderfully appointed Steampunk exhibition at Oxford's Museum of the History of Science. It was the first such exhibition ever put on in this country and it was well worth a visit.
So what is Steampunk?
Doctor Grymm, one of the exhibitors at the show, describes it thus: 'Steampunk offers a melding of late 1800's aesthetic with scientific discovery and other-worldly technology ... Steampunk artists create an alternate world not bound by the modern millennial conventions of physics, science and convenience technology. Today, the movement is alive with artistic creation and ideas to bring a world that never happened into reality'.
I like to think of Steampunk as utility's evil twin.
Utility is boring. Take music for example. It seems to me that with technological advancement and the move from vinyl and tape to CDs and now digital downloads, the only real improvement has been portability. But is that actually a good thing? Before the Sony Walkman came along, I had to listen to my music at home - and I really did listen. I put on the headphones and listened to every note. And if I was travelling anywhere on public transport, I read a book. Now I have an i-Pod and I don't read on the train. and the music has just become background noise (if I can hear it above the tinny hissing and farting of overcranked MP3 players on the London Underground, or over the conflicting cacophony of 12 schoolkids all playing different ghastly computer-generated dance tracks out loud on their mobile phones).
God, I sound old.
But is digital sound quality really any better than vinyl? I'm not convinced that my normal, aged, fur-lined human ears are good enough to tell the difference. Besides which, what we've lost in square inches, we've surely lost in soul. To play an LP I need a turntable, amplifier and speakers. There is a sensual pleasure in placing the needle in the groove and hearing that first crackle. There is something primal and, dare I say it, sexy about the throb of the sub-woofers. You just don't get that from pressing a button with a triangle printed on it and sticking two rubber nipples in your ears. A hand-made wood, brass and velvet gramophone has a beauty and solidity that is entirely absent from my cleverly designed, tastefully moulded but utterly soulless Bose sound dock. It's the same with telephones; there is something immensely satisfying about slamming the receiver onto the cradle and cutting off the complete arse that you've been arguing the moral toss with. Pressing a little button with a red phone symbol on it just does not do it for me and leaves me unsatisfied no matter how hard I stab the bugger. As things get smaller, lighter and ever-more plasticky, I'm yearning for the old clunky analogue stuff. I want tactile pleasure as well as utility. I want music that is raw and natural and passionate instead of digitally-remastered with all of the clicks, hisses and string buzzes removed. I want green racing Bentleys and not the anonymous jelly moulds that fill our streets and which I can no longer tell apart. Which would you prefer - Marilyn Monroe or some anodyne, airbrushed Vogue cover girl?
Oh right. Maybe just me then.
Anyway, that's part of what appeals to me about Steampunk. Things should not only work but they should also be a joy to see, hear, smell, touch and, possibly, even taste. That's the ethic behind the work of chefs like Heston Blumenthal who insist that a meal is an event rather than just taking on fuel. It's why the presenters drool over certain cars on Top Gear - any competent engineer can make a car go fast but only an artist can make it look like a Bugatti Veyron EB16. And the fact that people are starting to return to vinyl and cassettes and VHS and film photography seems to me to prove the point that people want substance for their money. There's no joy in an MP3 download, whereas a 12" album with a beautifully painted gate-fold sleeve by Roger Dean is a thing of weight and beauty.
Steampunk is the absolute antithesis of utility. Bill Gates will give you a white ergonomic plastic keyboard that does the job very well. In Oxford, Datamancer gave us a brass keyboard with old-fashioned typewriter keys and a plush velvet wrist rest. Given the choice, I know which one I'd prefer on my desk.
Elsewhere in the exhibition there were quirky sculptures by Belgian artist Stephane Halleux and by the aforementioned Datamancer and Doctor Grymm. There was also work by Tom Banwell, Molly 'Porkshanks' Friedrich, Daniel Proulx, Eric Freitas, Haruo Suekichi, Herr Doktor, Thomas D Willeford, Amanda Scrivener, James Richardson Brown, Jesse Newhouse, Jos De Vink, Kris Kuksi, Mad Uncle Cliff, Vianney Halter and the exhibition's organiser, Art Donovan himself. There was some truly wonderful work on display and my few photos taken here don't do the exhibition any justice at all.
But it was a good show and I enjoyed it. And it was nice to stumble into the photoshoot yesterday. The two models - renowned make-up artist Charley O'Flanagan and retired BBC producer Andy Aliffe - are old friends of mine and they love cosplaying. Andy also made the props for the shoot - he's really good at that sort of thing. Here are a few photos from the night taken by me and Mark Page, Jonathan Hilder and Neil Marshment.
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