Using the panel
discussions of the most recent World Science Fiction Convention in London this
past August, I will jump off, jump on, rail against, and shamelessly agree with
the BRIEF DESCRIPTION given in the pdf copy of the Program Guide. The link is
provided below…
“Art Panel Chris Foss - Art and Influence
Chris Foss’s battle-weary spacecraft, dramatic alien
landscapes and crumbling brutalist architecture irrevocably changed the
aesthetic of science fiction art and cinema. Hear how our Guest of Honour’s work
affected the field, and the work of a generation of artists.”
Can science fiction ART have any influence on the “real” future?
Duh.
It’s obvious when you look at something like these two
pictures. The first was artistic license that really had no basis in fact but
made plot easier that became profound reality forty years later:
The most profound SF art for me came from reading ANALOG
SCIENCE FICTION AND FACT. The covers from the 1970s when I started reading the magazine
to the present served to inspire me into science.
No – I’m not a “scientist”, I am that breed of scientists
that teaches others on their way to greatness. Truth be told, I did in fact,
have a hand in educating a thirteen-year-old young lady who eventually went to
CalTech and later worked on the Large Hadron Collider. Another several came
through my science classes and went on to med school. Of COURSE I don’t take “credit”
for their success. But I was a brief stopping point on their journey.
I believe art in science fiction serves to inspire people to careers in the
sciences. While I can’t point to Kelly Freas, John Shoenherr, or Janet Aulisio
and say that “I am the person I am today because of their art”, I can say without
hesitation that the following three covers STILL set my heart to pounding:
Why?
The first image made me realize that space travel should be
for anyone, no matter how backward they are perceived.
The second brought home a belief rarely acknowledged in the
SF world – our greatest fear about meeting intelligent alien life is that we
won’t be anything to them, worth as much attention as you pay to the cows of
Montana when you eat at McDonalds. Certainly not a threat, in fact, their
actions are incomprehensible because we believe that aliens are responding to us and their driving factor is something
beyond us.
The third echoed the first – space travel and colonization is
for anyone. China should be as free to conquer space as the US. Lesotho should
have that freedom as well. What do you think the US, Russia, China, Europe, India,
and all the others (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_government_space_agencies)
would do if AfriSpace managed to get itself into space and land on Mars? What
kind of response would there be say, if SpaceX
responded positively to a clandestine offer to relocate to... (http://pages.au.int/sites/default/files/CITMC-4%20Working%20Document-Eng-Final-29082012-MY.pdf)
Science fiction art has inspired me – how about you?
Program Book: http://www.loncon3.org/documents/ReadMe_LR.pdImages: http://ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00IXGU7XI&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=GB&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=chrisfnet-21, http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515vgBBr0KL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg, https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/66/36/27/6636276bdeea67b54e7f594f9d874feb.jpg, http://www.sfcovers.net/Magazines/ASF/ASF_0732.jpg
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