Readercon's Steampunk panel - the podcast
Readercon is an annual, literary science fiction convention in Burlington, Massachusetts. This year, it included a panel on steampunk, recorded for podcast here.Podcast: Steampunk Panel at ReaderCon (Thanks, Jake!)The four panelists were:
Mary Robinette Kowal - a professional puppeteer who moonlights as a writer
Holly Black -- a bestselling author of contemporary fantasy novels for teens and children,
Liz Gorinsky - an editor at Tor Books
Sarah Micklem - a graphic designer and writer.The description of their panel read:
Steampunk and Beyond: What Would a "Gibson Chair" Look Like? Steampunk, originally just an SF subgenre, is now also a burgeoning underground design movement. There's precedent for this: modernism was not only a literary movement, but had artistic, musical, architectural, and design wings as well.
Is the steampunk design movement an essentially fluky outgrowth of our fascination with all things retro? Or could other F&SF subgenres sprout their own design branches as well? Could the creation of actual, useful, physical objects lead to better-imagined literary art? How close is the relationship between the visually striking artifacts of steampunk and the literature that spawned them, anyway?)
However, in the usual way at Readercon, their fascinating discussion ranged far beyond the specific questions asked, touching on steampunk's predecessors and many aspects of its own past, present, and future. The audience asked many informed questions.
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You take modern devices and design them within the aesthetic of a past period - kind of like The Flintstones.
:D
It's a "underground" movement is it? I see nothing underground about it at all. What a silly thing to say. If it were anymore above ground on BoingBoing we would have to put wanrning lights on it to keep birds from crashing into it. And BoingBoing is not Underground either. It's the ground itself, albeit quicksand.
Steampunk, originally just an SF subgenre, is now also a burgeoning underground design movement. There's precedent for this: modernism was not only a literary movement, but had artistic, musical, architectural, and design wings as well.
Oy vey.
"Modernism" was a constellation of linked but distinct avant-garde intellectual and aesthetic movements. It was heavily driven by ideas: the manifestos often came before the art. It was also very focused on the issues of truth and integrity in artistic expression: form should follow function, unnecessary frippery should be cast off.
"Steampunk" is almost the exact opposite: a crafts trend that seems to be mostly about sticking a jumble of nonfunctional, vaguely Victorian bric-a-brac on to one's consumer electronics. It's apolitical, bourgeois, and stylistically seeking to undo everything that modernism did.
I would find this "movement" more interesting if it was focused on functional but antique technologies and processes -- say, restoring or recreating real gear- and steam-driven machinery from past eras, or building new stuff that actually worked on the same principles.
Even then, I'm not sure it would have much intellectual content... but it could at least plausibly have something coherent to say about the values underlying the Industrial Revolution, the contrasts between that era and our post-industrial age, the meaning of technological nostalgia, etc. Or at the very least, it would involve some real engineering.
Hey, having a love for retro mechanical frou-frou is fine. Go ahead and stuff yourself into that frock-coat and put on those tricked-out goggles. Fire up the hot glue gun and grab some gear wheels -- that beige Dell tower needs steampunkin'!
But leave the grandiose self-regard at home. I don't begrudge anyone the enjoyment of their hobby -- or lifestyle, if that's what it's turned into -- but they ain't revolutionary geniuses.
Steampunk, originally just an SF subgenre, is now also a burgeoning underground design movement. There's precedent for this: modernism was not only a literary movement, but had artistic, musical, architectural, and design wings as well.
Oy vey.
"Modernism" was a constellation of linked but distinct avant-garde intellectual and aesthetic movements. It was heavily driven by ideas: the manifestos often came before the art. It was also very focused on the issues of truth and integrity in artistic expression: form should follow function, unnecessary frippery should be cast off.
"Steampunk" is almost the exact opposite: a crafts trend that seems to be mostly about sticking a jumble of nonfunctional, vaguely Victorian bric-a-brac on to one's consumer electronics. It's apolitical, bourgeois, and stylistically seeking to undo everything that modernism did.
I would find this "movement" more interesting if it was focused on functional but antique technologies and processes -- say, restoring or recreating real gear- and steam-driven machinery from past eras, or building new stuff that actually worked on the same principles.
Even then, I'm not sure it would have much intellectual content... but it could at least plausibly have something coherent to say about the values underlying the Industrial Revolution, the contrasts between that era and our post-industrial age, the meaning of technological nostalgia, etc. Or at the very least, it would involve some real engineering.
Hey, having a love for quasi-Victorian mechanical frou-frou is fine. Go ahead and stuff yourself into that frock-coat and put on those funky goggles. Fire up the hot glue gun and grab some gear wheels -- that beige Dell tower needs steampunkin'!
But leave the grandiose self-regard at home. I don't begrudge anyone the enjoyment of their hobby -- or lifestyle, if they insist -- I just don't think they are revolutionary geniuses.
you're sniping at the bottom end Maxi, there are people doing exactly what you describe.There is just less of them because it's obviously harder and more expensive to build real functionality. That doesn't invalidate those just doing art. Respect the range, acknowledge the good, let the less-good find its own level un-abused. Just people trying to have some fun!
To see the old steam stuff run, summer in most rural or semi-rural communities around America (and I would guess many other countries) brings 'steam shows' and like-titled events. It's mostly old guys who are about as far from punk as you can get, but they love their machines and are a wealth of knowledge. I highly recommend seeking out one of these shows, about as good cheap entertainment as you can find. Form following function indeed-the equipment almost explains itself with all the visible moving parts. And nearly as much visceral machine excitement as an SRL show!
I did take a ride on a train pulled by a working steam locomotive, in the mountains of Colorado some years back. Fantastic experience. I'm glad people are in fact continuing the working life of this old gear.
I genuinely admire the intense know-how that goes into lovingly restoring and maintaining obsolete technologies.
I just see a total disconnect between people who do that -- who have been around for a long time -- and the new crop of fans of retro decor, clothing, computer mods, video games, etc.
Describing all of the above with the term "steampunk" just seems to cloud the issue... er, fog the issue... I mean, generate more heat than li-- never mind.
It would be kind of nice if people listened to the podcast and then commented on it's content.
an excellent suggestion Jake.I will honour it before speaking again here.
My iPod is sheathed in shiny metal. Got it right out of the box that way. That's so steampunk.
When I pried it apart with a plastic tool molded to that, and only that, I felt like a fucking pioneer.
I thought, "man, what if grandpa could see me now, just a-pickin' and a-grinnin' away with my 20GB iPod, sorta the same way he must've tinkered with his 64K bPod way back in antiquity, only 'course back then he'd be able to separate the wood face from the brass sheath with a a pair of 9-inch lineman's pliers. Sheoot howdy shucks, I'm a steampunk!"
Don't hate me because I'm a visionary.
@4
re: "I would find this "movement" more interesting if it was focused on functional but antique technologies and processes -- say, restoring or recreating real gear- and steam-driven machinery from past eras, or building new stuff that actually worked on the same principles."
You mean something like these totally handmade clocks that aren't just modern clocks with pretty decorations? Of course, Eric would say that his clocks AREN'T steampunk even if people lump them there. (Note to makers out there: Eric's blog has nice pictures showing the details of gear cutting).