Fantasy Retro: Steampunk as art

[altivo]

Some of you may well be aware of this. I'm probably late to discover it. I knew about "steampunk" as a writing genre, but was unaware of it as a genre in art until just the last few weeks. It consists of recasting functional and contemporary tools into the forms and stylistics we would expect from the Victorian and Edwardian eras (roughly 1835-1915) and there are a few practitioners who have carried it to magnificent extremes. The photo below shows a "telegraph sounder" that taps out news headlines derived from RSS feeds. Click on the image to reach a gallery and article from Wired magazine that describes the movement and some of its leading artists.



Really now, I don't have time for another hobby. I don't.! But the idea of turning an early microcomputer, such as a TRS80, into one of these things is just irresistible. Or perhaps a cell phone that looks like a pocket watch? An MP3 player with headphones that came right out of the Titanic? The possibilities...

Comments

[tinbender.livejournal.com]

I've been checking out steampunk work lately. Lots of neat stuff and a lot of it ties in well with my metalworking interests. Here's a particularly interesting site: http://steampunkworkshop.com/

I especially like the keyboard and monitor. I saw the keyboard a couple of years ago. If you do one of "teletype" setup, then you have to do the keyboard and monitor.

BTW, they show how to convert old headphones for I-pods and the like. : )

[aerofox.livejournal.com]

I've read where it is possible to connect an old teletype machine to a modem and dial into an ISP shell account and MUCK from it. The TTY machine needs to be the ASCII type instead of the older Baudot used during WWII.

Whee, all the paper you would use up in a TS session *giggle*

[jmaynard.livejournal.com]

It's possible to run one of the Baudot machines if you use a simple translation program somewhere. It could probably be put in a small dedicated microcontroller. The real fun is in doing a conversion from the current loop interface used by the old teletypes to RS-232.

<oldfart>Kids these days...don't even know that Teletypes used to be the normal way of talking to computers...</oldfart>

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*snicker*

Yup, I remember doing that when I was in grad school. The TSO line editor actually made sense then.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yep. When we moved from Chicago we had two old ASCII TTYs in the basement. One was a basket case, the other was a model complete with the original 20 pound modem (300 baud!) and pedestal stand. That one still worked mostly. We gave them away rather than move them, and they probably are scrap now. I could imagine mucking at 9600 baud, but 300? Talk about lag...

I used to BBS at 300 baud with one of those Texas Instruments Silent 700 terminals. That's the ASCII keyboard in a plastic case like a portable typewriter, uses thermal paper in rolls. I used to be on call for one weekend a month and had to haul one of those home for that occasion. My regular telephone didn't fit the acoustic couplers, but fortunately I had an old "Princess" phone that did work.

Come to think of it, I could use my Model 100 computer. I'd have to connect it to a Linux box using a serial cable, and let the Linux handle the network stuff. You could muck, slowly, that way.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I have a set of those old headphones sitting here. One of the magnet coils is bad or something, and they don't work. I've never gotten around to figuring out what the problem is. Perfect candidates...

[schnee.livejournal.com]

That's very nice. ^^ I don't really know much about steampunk stuff myself, but I came across the steampunk laptop and the steampunk keyboard earlier - those are really nifty, too. :) OK, I should've actually clicked the link instead of just looking at the pretty picture. :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The laptop doesn't work as well for me as the keyboard and monitor version. I think the calculators by Andy Aaron are magnificent, though. (Click photo for complete gallery.)

[schnee.livejournal.com]

*noddles* Those are interesting, but I've got to admit I don't find them aesthetically pleasing.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

No, they aren't as ornamental but they all do work and to me they look like something that might actually have been used by some character out of Jules Verne or H. G. Wells.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

True, true.. :)

[saythename.livejournal.com]

Back in the Ancient 80s I lived in Lexington Kentucky
for awhile. There where a number of video game rooms
about (of course!) but the one I loved the best was
ensconced in this old Victorian era building, with dark
warm woods, actual gas lamps inside and a perpetual
semi-darkness. The others where strobe lights and
neon and guys at the counter in dayglo shoes with
skinny ties. The wonderful /contrast/ between the
standups like Robotron or Mad Planets or Sinistar,
with their bright screens and science fiction designs
and loud, deep, 8 bit chip music bumping...and the
understated 19th century brass and would and gaslamps
has always stayed with me as the best of all worlds.

Steampunk as Art?

I agree so totally I'm vibrating.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

You got it all right.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

I love this sort of stuff :) nothing like Retro modern :)
My other favourite is cobbled together equipment to what we'd call "Fallout" tech.