Lacy steampunk earth-moving machines
Artist Wim Delvoye's "Gothic" series features a collection of beautiful earth-moving equipment that's been painstakingly laser-cut with ornate, lacy designs. Yummy contrast between delicacy and brute power here. Gothic Work (Thanks, Mathew!)
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That looks like Central Park. I wonder if it is still there. Amazing. It would be something if they were still functional.
Not for sand or gravel.
rth t BngBng....Cm n BngBng......pls b dvsd tht "stmpnk" s vr. fns. D--N-. kpt. cpch?
Someone is always saying something is "over" or "dead" and I'm always wondering why they are still here.
This thing is effin gorgeous.
S nw nythng tht lks lk t hs sm rst n t ls qlfs s stmpnk? f s hv vry stmpnk cr fr sl.
@ Mojave ##.
( static noise... a faint voice crackles over the speaker)
"So Sorry, Signiore. Steampunk is just beginning."
Evidence of this fact is pictured above in the magnificent sculpture.
@#5. LOL
Thanks for the post.
Not a very practical earth mover...
Nothing's more steampunk than an earth-mover.
It's called a "steam shovel", don't you know.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Meccano_model_Steam_shovel_excavator.jpg
from Yamara's post!
Is this backhoe steam-powered? Was it rendered full of holes with a steam-powered laser? More seriously, is it designed following some fin-de-siecle blueprint or idea or idea of a blueprint? No, it's a contemporary design full of holes.
While I do not agree that the whole faux-Victorian/Edwardian "steampunk" thang as a design trend is dead (far from it, it appears quite robust), obviously it is in some danger of becoming completely non-specific. The maker even calls this series "Gothic". Sure, let's call it "steampunk" if it'll draw more eyeballs, but that's like calling breakfast cereal "green". It's meaningless. If another catch-phrase was hot right now, the backhoe would be called "Neoclassical", "Pre-Raphaëlite", "Medio-Modern", or whatsoëver Cory pleases.
N mr stmpnk... Pls!
#6: I think you're right about steampunk "just beginning"... As in it's becoming more mainstream...
I don't think this picture is evidence of it though. What's steampunk about it? I don't know how they managed it, but it seems to me that they've taken all of the "steam" and the "punk" out of a steamshovel and made a silly, frilly pile of rust shaped like a steamshovel. It neither is, nor is made to appear to be technology of modern capabilities, but powered by (or made to appear to be powered by) steam. It does exhibit a good deal of attention to "form", but none to "function".
I like it. Most large-scale metal sculpture intended for public spaces leaves me cold. This is a steam shovel -- an inherently likeable form -- transformed into a decorative object.
My maternal grandfather would have liked it a lot.
...
Mojave, that's a silly thing to say. No one can tell how long Steampunk is going to last, but it's clear that it's nowhere near over.
People have been doing art like this long before "steampunk" and I suspect anyone that is doing their own thing (as opposed to chasing a trend) will continue to do so long after. Plenty of "steampunk" artists don't like the term and refuse to label themselves this way.
Is it rusty or just coloured red?
Relax, for Crissakes! Steampunk is a goof. And a good one. If it doesn't make you laugh, I wonder what does?
Bunch of sober-sided pickle-pusses.
reminds me of the only good things in that horrendous Wild West film.
Steampunk is one label out of many, the problem here is that the poster looks at things within the context of his own point of view, rather than the context in which the thing exists. It is not steampunk, some qualities are similar, sure, but the label disservices the meaning and impact of the artwork. Shame.
It would be more valid to argue why things like this constantly get the "steampunk" moniker than whether it actually is steampunk (it's not).
Neat, but it's more gothic ironwork than Victorian-era leather, wood and rivits.
I've never been too fond of the term 'steampunk'. The 'steam' makes sense, but 'punk' is a word with too much baggage and evolution to be definitive. What's 'punk' about it? Does it imply incompetence? Rebellion? Pettiness? What does 'punk' mean in the first place?
I prefer 'neo-nouveau'. Most of the steampunk objects we see remind me of the art nouveau movement of a century ago.
Whatever you call it, I like it. A lot of it, anyway. Not this example, however.
Bunch of sober-sided pickle-pusses.
This series of pieces is briefly mentioned in the episode of BBC's excellent "Art Safari" series featuring Wim Delvoye:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX1QZXNakE4
The show mostly revolves around his more-famous "Cloaca" pieces. , though.
the problem here is that the poster looks at things within the context of his own point of view
Um.
Painstaking and laser-cut don't really go together, intricate works.
I don't see calling this steampunk, actually. But I like it (and steampunk). I love the way the harsh clunky brute-force nature of the steamshovel, which is even a metaphor for overdone heavy-handedness, contrasts with the delicate laciness of the cutting patterns.
I like the Gothic cathedral-cum-bulldozer (click the "D 11" on the linked page) even more though. Damn that's pretty.
Wow, this is absolutely fantastic art. Thanks for pointing this out, boingboing!
Steam?
Punk?
The label makes no sense to me. But the artwork is beautiful.
you know, people, there is such a think as IGNORING the steampunk posts. no need to spam it with "no more steampunk" if you dont like it, dont click the link.
pi think some have a point though, ive noticed that steampunk is usually something that is old or clockwork like that still works like a modern object. less steampunk, more interesting modern art. still a very cool sculpture though.
This stuff is influenced by Gothic architecture. You know, flying buttresses and what not. Much older than the early 1900's.
Unfortunately, the term "Gothic Punk" is already in use.
Oh.
I just read all the comments that already ID'd the stuff as gothic architecture.
It's a starling?
This is great and all, and I can appreciate the intricacy and art in laser-cutting, but I would love to see the same idea applied using cast wrought iron pieces instead. That would be far more Victorian.
I remember one time I was making a Mississippi River boat in computer graphics for a project I realized as I was positioning lathe-turned decorative posts under the deck rail that I was making a veranda for a typical Southern mansion of the day.
Riverboats use the language of the houses of their day.
So using that logic you could infer a Medieval riverboat. Or a spacey 60's apartment complex riverboat.
Later I was working on a project involving paisley and I began to wonder if paisley had a decorative language with rules that could be translated from India to, say, Bavaria.
And what would be the Harajuku Girls of other cultures?
On the Belgian coast, there is also a Caterpillar from Wim Delvoye (he is a Belgian artist).
This is located near Middelkerke.
Here is a photo of it :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debuck/2790244309
This is a beautifully made work, and even more, a very astute comment. Delvoye is parodying religion and development, all in on great gesture. The laser cut work is more than decoration, it serves a purpose in addition to, and beyond, visual aesthetics.
For other great laser cut steel works see: Cal Lane
http://www.callane.com/
I like "neo-nouveau"! It's so post-pomo :)