I interviewed Patrick Stuart about art in support of his upcoming book, Speak, False Machine, which is active on Kickstarter. Each funding tier will enable new art to be commissioned for the book, so even though it's already been funded, it's important that the project continues to grow.
The Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gawain/speak-false-machine
The artists for Speak, False Machine are listed in the Kickstarter, and here are the three artists mentioned at the end:
https://www.patreon.com/evlynmoreau/
https://www.ericbelisle.com/
https://baconstrap.carbonmade.com/
Ooooo ooooo ooooo! I bet this will be awesome. I will set aside some time to watch it!
ReplyDeleteGreat interview - thanks for getting this done.
ReplyDeleteMr. False Machine himself is a compelling personality for interviews, able to switch from sophisticated discussion of art and space and shit I can only fumble at to "reeeeeeing" and all that internet stuff without missing a beat, and your shared passion and knowledge brings out the best in him.
Personally, I hope Games Workshop doesn't lean too much into the twink shit! Give us the blocky twunks you British bastards!
Re. Ruskin: https://worldbuildingandwoolgathering.blogspot.com/2017/03/john-ruskin-rolls-up-character.html
ReplyDeleteThe Roses of Heliogabalus was by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Harlan Ellison rhapsodises about it a bit in an introduction to a volume of Astro City, so you're in good company.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roses_of_Heliogabalus
As for 40k and Catholicism, it's worth mentioning Nemesis the Warlock, where the evil expansionist human empire has some explicit references to Catholicism - among other things, a ruler called Torquemada. This is at least in part the result of Pat Mills's upbringing. With 40k, it's not worth leaning on literary influences too hard, of course, but it bears repeating.
The foremost illustrator for Nemesis, Kevin O'Neill died about a fortnight ago. This link has some of his art for it - https://2000ad.com/news/kevin-oneill-1953-2022/. There's less images of the vast Gothic structures here, but the vast pipe organs and humanoid war machines will at least be familiar.
Thank you both so much for doing this. It was a fascinating conversation and I came away with a lot of stuff to explore.
ReplyDeleteOne other artist I want to point out from the original Rogue Trader days is Wil Rees. His space marines are bizarre, almost alien, but I love the way they look. He’s the one who did the full page mechanics conclave in B&W where the tech priests have massive bits of inhuman skull exposed and the priest at standing over the rest looks like two bodies grafted together. In addition to Blanche and Miller, I consider him a key part of the early 40k aesthetic.
I’d really like to see some of Blanche’s work in person. I’ve heard (I think this might have been Alan Merrett being quoted or one of the other early-ish folks like Andy Chambers or someone) that Blanche has a glaze layering technique that makes his paintings just glow in person but is impossible to capture when reproduced.
The bit about touching beauty and ugliness at the same time was a fascinating observation and I think it is spot on. Nothing I have ever been conscious of, but I
Astartes was incredible. Great short watch – it would be high quality even for a major studio and it is absolutely mind-blowing for an amateur production. It's only like 14 minutes long and worth a watch. Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7hgjuFfn3A
I didn’t quite catch the last artist that Patrick talked about – Killian End? Nend? I ran a few searches but came up empty – if there’s any chance you can give us a link to some of his stuff I would really appreciate it!
Quote of the interview: “I like a good ruin.”
Thanks again to both of you for everything you do – you two have both been major inspirations to me!
P.S. Regarding the Tanazaki shitting experience, you might get the aged tree branch scents at a super high class izakaya but I have not seen one. Regardless, the Japanese get things right when it comes to shitting. They do not combine the place you shit with the shower / tub (another thing which they do incredibly well is baths) and if the toilet in question is a western style toilet, it will usually have a nice clean bidet and a heated seat.
My Japanese is getting rusty. I mixed up izakaya and ryokan. I felt it crucial to make the correction. Shitting is very important.
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