More than a hint of Babarella here with this kitsch Photo/Montage, taken from a feature than ran in “Harper’s Bazaar Magazine” - some time ago by the looks of it!
Image originally featured here via Flickr User: Lady Detektive plenty of other interesting vintage illustrations & photography in her Paper Fetish Set.
Vintage Space Art from it’s founder; master-painter Chesley Bonestell (1888-1986). This explosive depiction of Sun and Planets gives a striking impression of not just the Star’s giant mass but also it’s immense solar energy…
Chesley’s official site is at http://www.bonestell.org/
Another sample from Tim White used for the cover of the 1983 novel “Welcome Chaos” by Kate Wilhem. Though not strictly a Sci-Fi image in the most obvious sense (that really doesn’t matter here) I’ve decided to feature this because it’s simultaneously naff & cheesy but also dramatically striking in that psuedo-realistic neon style that’s so quintessentially 1980’s - think Athena Posters….
Uk artist Tim White has his own site, with extensive gallery and shop: http://www.tim-white.co.uk/
A selection of images taken from the excellent Ufopop.org a mammoth resource/archive which seeks to document all visual references to that most elusive of enigma’s - “The Flying Saucer”. The site includes scans and Photos of magazines, books, comics, merchandising and toys, samples start from as far back as 1915! that’s well before the term “Flying Saucer” was first coined - June 1947 - when American pilot Keneth Arnold spotted several unidentified flying object’s above Mt Rainer, Washington State.
Ufopop.org is run by dedicted Ufologists Jim Klotz and Les Trecce-Sinclair, and whether your a believer, sceptic or just looking for some Retro Sci-fi nonsense do check it out - highly recommended !!
A note on the images selected (top to bottom)
1. The Film Journal - Magazine cover 1974
2. Dwarf Rapes Nun; Flees in UFO - Book Cover - Arnold Sawislak - 1985… A Daily/Sunday Sport Headline if ever there was one!
3. The Flying Saucer Bernard Newman 1950 - Book Cover
4. Flying Saucers C.G. Jung 1959 - Book Cover - Extremely ominous, very cool… deceptively simple.
5. Discover 1984 - Magazine Cover - Like this too, very 80’s
6. TV Guide June 1978 - Magazine Cover - Very Close Encounter’s… anyone bored on Illustrator? this looks ripe for a 21st Century style revamp…
7. The 1980 Annual World’s Best SF Donald A. Wollheim, ed. 1980 - Book Cover… pretty weird!
8. Interplanetary News Service Report No.4 1964 - Magazine Cover
9. Pursuit Spring 1977 - Magazine Cover
10. Flying Saucer News No.4 April 1974 - Magazine Cover… a typical example of a fanzine like cover, crude perhaps, but striking and fun looking.
All images abducted (sorry!) via http://www.ufopop.org
One final note on the subject of all things hovering & unexplained I’d also recommend Nick Cook’s investigative novel ‘The Hunt for Zero Point’ which treads the line between science and science fiction - loads of speculative goodies such as how the US Army plundered secret Nazi weapons, future proplusions systems, time distortion, disappearing battleships etc etc… an intersting well researched read that stops short of absurd sensationalism.
Another example of early CGI, this time taken from Star Trek 2 “The Wrath of Khan” (Directed: Nicholas Meyer, 1982).
“Wrath of Khan’s” opening chapter starts with the infamous “Kobayashi Maru” simulation, from which this mechanical (and slightly trippy) Bridge-Screen visual is taken… Wicked film, with plenty of great quotes and the usual over acting, It’s generally regarded as best in the series, and it’s also probably the most accesable to non-trekkies.
Read more about it here: www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/ and here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrath_of_Khan check the trailer here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UJTi7KJPx_E
Screenshots and Animated Gif’s taken from the pioneering Sci-Fi Adventure Film “The Last Star Fighter” released in 1984. Following in the footsteps of Tron (1982) this was the second film to make extensive use of Computer Graphics; Physical Models replaced by 3d digital renderings - absolutely cutting edge for the time. Interesting to note that the protagonist Gunstar Model was designed by Ron Cobb of Starwars/Alien fame. All animation and graphics were rendered on a Cray X-MP Supercomputer, and in total 27 minutes of footage was created, a mammoth task in the early 80’s.
Read more about the film here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Starfighter
and at imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087597/
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