Our Gallery: The Crazy World of Sam Van Olffen

The Dieselpunk Encyclopedia is proud to present Sam Van Olffen, one of the greatest dieselpunk artists.
For starters, a short quote from his conversation with Tome Wilson (Dieselpunks.org, Aug. 27, 2009):

This will sound strange but I don’t think that anything comes directly from my brain. I’m just a vector, a kind of supra-physical translator. I’m not kidding. I just use information to make pictures, much as a computer makes pictures with binary language. My synapses translate data which comes from I don’t know where. That’s my role.

Another quote, from an interview published on jacksondeep.com (Oct. 8, 2010):

I’m more interested in the past as a way to understand the present and how in less than one century we all became “citizens of the age of the ephemera” as Alvin Toffler said pertinently. The lost civilizations, the great conflicts, men, discoveries, etc., whole those new quantic waves that were shaping the face of humanity. Needless to say it was more impressive than… Facebook!

There’s a lot to argue about but let’s put the argument aside. And proceed to the third interview, for the Gatehouse Gazette (#8, August 2009):

I have always wanted to create universes and characters, tell stories. I have always been attracted by science fiction and fantasy worlds, robots and monsters.I like big cities, pollution, oppressive atmospheres and everything connected with death. I like architecture and above all I like history. I let things happen. With all these elements combined you get dieselpunk. <…> You are right when you think dieselpunk fits my own style more. It is darker. Dieselpunk is the psychopathic son of steampunk.

Mask

You probably know that the art of Sam Van Olffen is often labeled as ‘steampunk’. Well, it’s easy, with all these top hats and balloons, Belle Epoque and Art Nouveau aesthetics. But the artist sees himself as a dieselpunk, expanding the genre’s limitations, crossing the borders, threading new paths. Let’s take a look:

 

Our Gallery: The Art of Alexey Lipatov

Dieselpunk Encyclopedia is proud to present one of our movement’s most famous creators: Alexey Lipatov. His contribution to the genre goes far beyond the images: this Ukrainian artist shows a wonderful ability to catch the spirit of dieselpunk and to present in a most precise and attractive way. No wonder that some of Lipatov’s works were turned into posters, wallpapers and avatars. It’s so easy to fall in love with this brave new world of flying boats and hovercrafts, smiling girls and adventurous pilots, with a light touch of noir and horror – just for fun.
We hope… no, we are sure you’ll enjoy this short selection.

Girl Mechanic by Lipatov

 

Our Gallery: Diesel Era Giants

When we talk dieselpunk, ‘megalomania’ doesn’t sound like an obscenity or a diagnosis. The genre is inspired by the Interbellum aesthetics, and no one can argue that between two world wars size did matter, the bigger the better. In this gallery there are no abandoned projects and paper designs. Only real giants.

Let us begin with an undisputed dieselpunk icon, the airship. Not just a dirigible but a flying aircraft carrier:

Flying aircraft carrier (PopMech, May 1942)

The concept was already obsolete when this picture was published but carrier airships existed a few years before – see USS Macon and Akron.

Another nice try to increase the operating range of piston-engine aircraft: the Mayo project:

Short S20 Mayo 'Mercury' & Short Empire 'Maia' flying boat

The Short Empire Class S.21 Maia was not the largest flying boat of the period – but large and powerful enough to carry a four-engine floatplane.