As I see it, there are at least 4 ways
in which SciFaiku Art might be designed:
1) As an illustration of a particular SciFaiku poem.
2) As an aesthetic companion to the poetry.
3) As art inspired by the same principles as SciFaiku:
minimalism, science-fiction, immediacy, and human insight.
4) One that hasn't been tried, to my knowledge, is to lay
out the text of a SciFaiku poem by taking advantage of typographical tricks...bending
letters, varying font and size, and choosing a layout to strengthen a poem.
Illustrated Poems
As an example of the first, Jeffrey
Romano (jromano@tiac.net) writes the following poem, and the image to the
right attempts to illustrate the idea:
Red Giant sets
o'er green chlorine sea
Yellow mist wafts lazily landward.
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This poem by Tom Brinck is also interpreted to some extent
by the image to the right:
We all got suspicious
when we turned out the lights
and Max was still glowing
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Aesthetic Companions
The second concept of SciFaiku Art,
aesthetic companions to SciFaiku, is satisfied with any science-fiction
art which manages to match the mood of its companion poems. Generally the
mood of SciFaiku is quiet and contemplative, so those types of poems work
best. Below are some examples:
the spiral trail of smoke
from the crashing rocket
...dissipates
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on lunar plains
no sound, no movement
but the lens of the probe
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Art in the Spirit of SciFaiku
The third type of art is inspired by
the principles of minimalism, science-fiction, immediacy, and human insight.
These pictures attempt to capture a science-fiction theme with a minimal
representation. Immediacy is the effect of transporting the viewer into
the scene, and those that work best give insight into the human experience.
| While minimalism is in some traditions of art, I believe it bears
revisiting. This picture to the right appears busy, but in fact is random.
In essence, it contains minimal information. Any randomness or texture
conveys minimal information, so that while an image appears rich, it is
still minimal if it can be minimally parameterized. This image nevertheless
inspires multiple interpretations, whether it be about concrete images
of televisions on the fritz or alien landscapes or abstract concepts of
noise or the arbitrariness of modern life. |
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These next two images come from Andrew McCann (Copyright 1996
Andrew G. McCann/Planet Magazine, used by permission), and
appeared first in Planet
Magazine. The first is my favorite. The large
region of orange provides a profound empty background with a strong mood.
By showing only a hand, he omits needless information. The balance of the
small black dot toward the top is enigmatic and breaks the space up in
a thoughtful way. You can click on each of these images for a larger view.
I am very interested to see what other artists achieve in
the way of complementing SciFaiku, and would be happy to hear what others
think of these ideas.
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