[luthien]

I am curious to know your opinion of Fantasy and Sci-fi art. It seems that sometimes this genre is looked at with less merit than other genres of art. It is my personal opinion that Fantasy and Sci-fi make great subjects for creative expression, and that many of the more well-known artists in the field are incredibly talented and produce amazing work. Is it the subject matter that turns people off, or is it that people are losing their imaginations?

Check out http://www.epilogue.net/art for some fine examples of Fantasy / Sci-fi art. Please have a look and post your opinion!

[drakon]

I agree with you luthien. most peole whom I talk to who are not sci-fi/fantasy fans tend to get a small smirk on their faces when they hear I read fantasy it's like they're thinking 'oh, that's not reall art/literature.' I totally disagree with them and if it's someone who I actually care about his/hers opinion I do my best to set them straight.
I think that myabe more so for sc-fi then for fantasy, the really good auhters,Heinlin, Niven, Asimov, are very deep and throw a light on the human environment and sociey, they are just using different formats then other , non-fiction writers.
Fantasy books also have their moments but you need to dig further between the lines to find a "deep" social meaning and pesonally I just read them to get away from it all so I don't always bother.

I think the problem is that people associate sci-fi and fantasy with sci-fi movies which most of them are just westerns in space ( don't get me wrong I love them) or with bad sci-fi and fantasy books which I will have to agree can be very shallow and lacking in artistic performace.

anyone who thinks sci-fi is not artistic or doeasn't have any merit should just read 'Stranger in a Strange Land'!

And yeah, it's sad but true, but I think that people are losing their imagination especially as they "grow up". and maybe that's why they tend to turn away from sci-fi /fantasy, they are afraid it make them seem foolish or childish. What can I say, their loss.



[This message has been edited by drakon (edited December 08, 2000).]

[Maya]

Fantasy art is the best and i am SHOCKED AND HORRIFIED (seriously) that art critics would rather go and see genuine trash in the art galleries(which in most cases are a disgrace and a waste of space) than to see some of the breathtaking, absolutely superb fantasy art that is available. i adore some of the intricate pictures of dragons that are available and the detail is just unbelievable however i can't seem to find some decent websites which display this type of art. Could anybody suggest some pleeese?
people who don't even consider looking at fantasy/sci-fi art are misssing out. the thing is that i really don't know how the art would become more accessible to the public. the art galleries probably won't even consider putting them up for display and i've never seen billboards with this type of art. this is probably because the so-called artists would lose their jobs if people were exposed to the truth that fantasy art is really good and worth spending money on. i don't think people are losing their imaginations at all it's just they've never had the opportunity to appreciate truly imaginative realistic art. To finish off i'm sure that the art critics only PRETEND to enjoy modern art. Can anybody like the lumps of metal passed off as art? Can they......?
i'm sorry if this message is a bit messed up but i was in a rush to get my feelings out. it feels pretty good.

[Maya]

Ooops!
sorry i didn't see your website link, luthien! i visited and the art of david gadza (i think that's the name) particularly caught my eye. thanks for the website and have you got any others?

[drakon]

ah, yeah oops!
I misunderstood your whole post luthien sorry about that, I thought you meant sci-fi/fantasy writting as an art form.

sorry.

[Cadfael]

It is a sad fact that most fantasy art is of some scantily clad femail with a sword... okay maybe not most fantasy art, but I find this is how it is percieved.

As regard fantasy artist... I like the work of Jonathan Earl Bowser...
www.jonathanart.com (http://www.jonathanart.com)

For the record... his goddess art has very little nudity, just amazing imagery

[FitzChivalry]

Heh, what's so sad about that? i'm all for scantily clad females with swords.

[Cadfael]

Nothing bad at all FitzChivalry... I like nude women... in fact... I like women, I must do I married one... although when I look at Sandra Bullock I sometimes wonder...:-)

No really... it just seem that fantasy art should be a bit more than an Amazon, with no knickers weilding a sword.

[FitzChivalry]

Fantasy art doesn't really come to pass a message about the world or about people or whatever art usually do.
It comes to sell fantasy related products like books, comics, games or movies.
And that's what it does, i don't look for deep meanings in it.
And most of the books covers isn't really half naked women anyway.

[Rupert Avery]

Simple if you find a pic that is fantasy and you like it grab it fast theres a good chance you will never see it again.so grab it why you can there is so few good pics around that the good ones go real quick.Well in Australia anyway.