Thursday, April 17, 2014

Retro Future

I've been working on another neat illustration project "Life Science".
If all goes according to planned I hope to be releasing it at the FPAC spring open studios.
  • This project is another series of illustrations focused on frogs and robots, but a little more retro-modern in theme. I had an awesome time researching retro-futurism.
    • Retro-futurism depicts the influence of the future produced in an earlier era. This aesthetic is characterized by a blend of old-fashioned "retro" styles with futuristic technology. Retro-futurism explores the themes of tension between past and future, and between the alienating and empowering effects of technology. Sort of steampunkish but in this case rather than being based in Victorian times my aesthetic was based in the retro 40's and 50's. (Diesel punk and Atomic Age) The "Atomic Age" is a descriptor typically used to name the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear  bomb.
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 focuses on Utopias and the pasts vision of the future and time capsules
http://www.paleofuture.com/blog/category/1940s 

Why frogs?
With this vision of the future I wanted to counterpoint by depicting the effects of  a consumerist robot-centric society on the environment. Most frogs require suitable habitat in both the land and water environments, they have permeable skin that can easily absorb toxic chemicals. These traits make frogs especially susceptible to environmental disturbances, because of this frogs are considered  indicators of environmental stress.


The Life Science wordless story game is now for sale on Etsy.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/215333621/frogs-and-robots-wordless-story-game?ref=sr_gallery_4&ga_search_query=jennifer+lewis&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery