Unearthly Visions: Approaches to Science Fiction and Fantasy Art

(Hardback)

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Description

Surveys the entire history of science fiction and fantasy art and provides focused examinations of particular genres and artists. A pioneering scholarly examination of the rich and fascinating fields of science fiction and fantasy art, this book stimulates scholarly interest in these areas by offering both surveys of the entire history of these traditions and focused examinations of particular genres and artists. In contrast to existing studies of science fiction and fantasy art, this volume argues that the subject needs to be explored within different contexts, such as literary history, art history, and cultural history. In addition, it maintains that certain trends should be followed across the field, such as art displaying recurring iconic images and art related to particular subgenres. The volume places special emphasis on studies that connect science fiction and fantasy artists to the authors and works they have illustrated. The contributors include several internationally recognized and award-winning science fiction writers and scholars. In addition to its historical surveys, the book provides detailed examinations of space art, representative artists Richard M. Powers and Frank Frazetta, and the major illustrators of noted children's author Margaret Wise Brown and famed fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien.

Reviews

.,."this book deserves the attention as an important early step toward thinking about fantastic art."-Science Fiction Studies 2002
...this book deserves the attention as an important early step toward thinking about fantastic art.-Science Fiction Studies 2002
..."this book deserves the attention as an important early step toward thinking about fantastic art."-Science Fiction Studies 2002

Author Bio

Gary Westfahl is adjunct professor at the University of La Verne, CA. His previous books include No Cure for the Future (2002), Unearthly Visions (2002), Worlds Enough and Time (2002), Science Fiction, Canonization, Marginalization, and the Academy (2002), Science Fiction, Children's Literature, and Popular Culture (2000), Space and Beyond (2000), and Cosmic Engineers (1996), all available from Greenwood Press. George Slusser is professor of comparative literature at the University of California, Riverside. He has written several books about science fiction authors and coedited numerous scholarly studies. Kathleen Church Plummer is lecturer in design at the University of California, Davis. She teaches courses on the decorative arts and interiors while also working and exhibiting as an artist in watercolor, collage, and printmaking.