futurism as an evolving art

fil · 09-30-2008, 10:55 AM

*

One artist/designer in particular who has shaped our visions of the future is Syd Mead.

http://www.sydmead.com/v/01/splash/

His official website is not necessarily the best place to view his work. Try this:
Image results for syd mead

(Google image search)

Video interview series:
http://tv.boingboing.net/2008/07/09/...n-intervi.html

It is difficult to grasp how much the work of this one man, whom some call a 'visual futurist', has influenced how we have looked to the future over the last few decades. It may not even be quantifiable, as there is no telling how many other artists and designers have been inspired by his work -- and as yet others have been and are being inspired by the works of those who were inspired, in an ongoing chain reaction.

...and that's just in the realm of 'visual futurism'.

As an artist and designer myself (with only a few exceptions, on a non-professional basis) the visual is very important. However... Like many of you out there I've felt out-of-place in this world, in discord not only with the way things look but the way things ARE.

At one point I decided to try to figure out how we, as Earth Humans, could get from where we ARE (where we were at the time) to where we SHOULD BE (what I now recognize as the rapidly approaching Golden Age). Exploring many avenues, I founded something called the Unified Settlement -- which I came to describe as a nation of Earth often enough that it became known as The Nation of Earth. I had a Unified Settlement Yahoo group going, with members from 11 different countries (including Belarus!)...

...but finding Yahoo unreliable (understatement), switched to a Nation of Earth Google group -- and lost some members. I don't regret my departure from the realm of Yahoo, but the new group continued the theme of being not much more than my monologue peppered with a few kudos and various inanities -- where in the beginning of the Unified Settlement group there was serious discussion.

I had felt my members were like-minded people (and still do -- the Nation of Earth group still exists, if dormant) but we didn't, haven't been, eXchanging like I thought we would.

Along the way of course I found other visions and yearnings parallel to my own and came to realize that the movement would happen with or without me (where at first I thought I was more or less alone, wondering why no one else saw it). THE MOVEMENT being, people everywhere on Earth coming together and wresting control away from the few over the many. Oligarchy, cryptocracy, whatever you may call it, it can't last.

Then I found Project Camelot. Huzzah!

So I came to understand that things were slowly changing, in the proper direction, and the world I longed for as a pre-teen riding around on my bicycle on my paper route singing "time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping, slipping, into the future" was actually going to come to pass.

MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES -- ancient Chinese blessing/curse. These times are not only interesting, they're pivotal. What happens depends upon US, and as has been repeated endlessly in one way or another on this forum, it is all about what we relative few, as the aware and able, are willing and able to do.

I personally expect that the Earth Changes are nearly unavoidable -- emphasis on 'nearly'. With enough INTENT, even those can be minimized.

Be advised that my vision, for the transformation of sites left behind by coal companies that practice mountaintop removal mining (in Appalachia), into beautifully designed intentional communities, is not merely a plan for survival. They are to become examples of how we Humans will prosper while honoring our Mother Earth as our provider, and as how we are stewards, not users, of the land.

Yeah, and I'd like to get away from this bustling burg...

With our technology we can thrive anywhere, even in the Sahara, or in open Space, or on Mars. SEEDS are indispensable. We can cultivate them using aeroponics if need be...

Doom? Gloom? Forget them. Live in hope. Live, as I do, in secure knowledge of the Golden Age. Don't fight it. You know why you're here.

- fil

*

09-30-2008, 10:55 AM	#1
fil Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: western Appalachia Posts: 48	futurism as an evolving art * One artist/designer in particular who has shaped our visions of the future is Syd Mead. http://www.sydmead.com/v/01/splash/ His official website is not necessarily the best place to view his work. Try this: Image results for syd mead (Google image search) Video interview series: http://tv.boingboing.net/2008/07/09/...n-intervi.html It is difficult to grasp how much the work of this one man, whom some call a 'visual futurist', has influenced how we have looked to the future over the last few decades. It may not even be quantifiable, as there is no telling how many other artists and designers have been inspired by his work -- and as yet others have been and are being inspired by the works of those who were inspired, in an ongoing chain reaction. ...and that's just in the realm of 'visual futurism'. As an artist and designer myself (with only a few exceptions, on a non-professional basis) the visual is very important. However... Like many of you out there I've felt out-of-place in this world, in discord not only with the way things look but the way things ARE. At one point I decided to try to figure out how we, as Earth Humans, could get from where we ARE (where we were at the time) to where we SHOULD BE (what I now recognize as the rapidly approaching Golden Age). Exploring many avenues, I founded something called the Unified Settlement -- which I came to describe as a nation of Earth often enough that it became known as The Nation of Earth. I had a Unified Settlement Yahoo group going, with members from 11 different countries (including Belarus!)... ...but finding Yahoo unreliable (understatement), switched to a Nation of Earth Google group -- and lost some members. I don't regret my departure from the realm of Yahoo, but the new group continued the theme of being not much more than my monologue peppered with a few kudos and various inanities -- where in the beginning of the Unified Settlement group there was serious discussion. I had felt my members were like-minded people (and still do -- the Nation of Earth group still exists, if dormant) but we didn't, haven't been, eXchanging like I thought we would. Along the way of course I found other visions and yearnings parallel to my own and came to realize that the movement would happen with or without me (where at first I thought I was more or less alone, wondering why no one else saw it). THE MOVEMENT being, people everywhere on Earth coming together and wresting control away from the few over the many. Oligarchy, cryptocracy, whatever you may call it, it can't last. Then I found Project Camelot. Huzzah! So I came to understand that things were slowly changing, in the proper direction, and the world I longed for as a pre-teen riding around on my bicycle on my paper route singing "time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping, slipping, into the future" was actually going to come to pass. MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES -- ancient Chinese blessing/curse. These times are not only interesting, they're pivotal. What happens depends upon US, and as has been repeated endlessly in one way or another on this forum, it is all about what we relative few, as the aware and able, are willing and able to do. I personally expect that the Earth Changes are nearly unavoidable -- emphasis on 'nearly'. With enough INTENT, even those can be minimized. Be advised that my vision, for the transformation of sites left behind by coal companies that practice mountaintop removal mining (in Appalachia), into beautifully designed intentional communities, is not merely a plan for survival. They are to become examples of how we Humans will prosper while honoring our Mother Earth as our provider, and as how we are stewards, not users, of the land. Yeah, and I'd like to get away from this bustling burg... With our technology we can thrive anywhere, even in the Sahara, or in open Space, or on Mars. SEEDS are indispensable. We can cultivate them using aeroponics if need be... Doom? Gloom? Forget them. Live in hope. Live, as I do, in secure knowledge of the Golden Age. Don't fight it. You know why you're here. - fil *