Showing posts with label battleships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label battleships. Show all posts

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Stan Mott

Mind-bending images and ideas from a fabulous cartoonist and a superb illustrator If you ever wondered what a steam locomotive racing might look like, or fantasized about driving the biggest baddest vehicle across the desert with its own supply of sharks and waterplanes, look no further - the eccentric imagination of Stan Mott might prove simply unmatched. We'll start with the (probably) the most outrageous picture we've seen this month: "The Supertanker Chopper"! - It's hard to summarize Stan Mott's interests in a few words. The man is brilliant and has done some really amazing things ... like ride a go-cart around the world!! Here is an info that appeared in the "Road & Track" Magazine, June 1979: "It's impossible to type the zany, crazy Mott (who lives on a yacht - sometimes), one of our readers' favorite cartoonists / writers and co-founder of Automobili Cyclops, the firm that rocketed to fame in its first appearance in R&T in 1957. When we asked Stan to tell us about his life, he said, "Well, I escaped Flint, Michigan at an early age, owned 50-percent interest in a Cragar flathead A-bone roadster at 12, ran at El Mirage at 15, had first automotive cartoons published in Rosetta Timing Association's program in 1948. Went to Art Center College, developed sense of humor working in World's Greatest Rolling Clown Show (GM Styling Section). Then worked as fry cook, mercenary, airline pilot, art director of R&T, farmer, Wall Street broker, poet. Drove go kart around the world, became an Alpine guide, did freelance art work and smuggled. Helped found Automobili Cyclops SpA and hold position of propaganda minister in perpetuity. Now working philantropically to solve moral situations in Southern Mediterranian waters for the U.N." Stan refuses to talk about his CIA work, arctic exploration or his stint as a human cannon ball." From "The History of Tanks" (Racing Tanks, that is) When asked by our DRB team for an update on his life, Stan adds: "Since '79 I learned to fly gliders in Cyprus, did a "Captain Stan Show" in 1983-4 for Radio 103.2 in Mallorca, Spain, sailed the first Turkish caique across the Atlantic, roamed the Caribbean for seven years, settled here in Neuss, Germany. Also, I'm working on a 76-page graphic novel.". According to the Top Gear Magazine (Dec 2001): "The Captain Stan Show was a Pythonesque consciousness weird-out which must have left baffled tourists wondering if their Watney Red Barrel had been spiked." All images and artwork are copyright Stan Mott, used by permission. You can see more at S. Berliner's wonderful archive site of Stan's artwork - click here. Fantasy Steam Racing Locomotives "Les 24 Heures de Choo-Choo" ("The 24 Hours of Choo-Choo" - as in Le Mans): Other Wicked Fantasy Vehicles Here is the personal aircraft carrier for the impossibly wealthy Oil Sheik. The Sheik is sea-sick, so the carrier rolls on the dry ground, while the seaplanes land on its deck filled with water. Some sharks were provided to keep the waters free of Russian scuba diving spies. Of course, some may remember Stan Mott as the creator of "Cyclops" series of cartoons (a few "Cyclops" mini-cars were even manufactured by Automobili Cyclops SpA), which blessed the John Bond's great Road & Track Magazine with much fun and colour in the 60s. S. Berliner, III again provides an extensive coverage of this series - click here. Don't miss Stan's tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Soviet aircraft designer Igor Sokerov. It's brimming with radical aircraft technology ideas and is a lot of fun. And here is the man himself, surveying the terrain outside Quarzazate, Morrocco:

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Dazzle Camouflage WWI Battleships





Dazzle camouflage, also known as Razzle Dazzle or Dazzle painting, was a camouflageships, extensively during World War I and to a lesser extent in World War II. Credited to artist Norman Wilkinson, it consisted of a complex pattern of geometric shapes in contrasting colors, interrupting and intersecting each other.Dazzle is a disruptive type of camouflage used in World War I to camouflage ships against German U-boats. The disruptive design resembled Cubist paintings and confused German U-boats on the speed and direction of a ship. paint scheme used on

During 1917 and 1918 Maurice L. Freedman was the District Camoufleur for the U.S. Shipping Board in Jacksonville, Florida. He was in charge of dazzling merchant ships. After the War, he came to RISD to study drawing and painting and decorative design. While at RISD he donated over 400 plans and 20 photos of the dazzled ships.

The top-secret nature of camouflage during World War I has made Dazzle one of history's hidden gems, and a collection of Dazzle Camouflage drawings and photographs have recently been rediscovered at RISD. It is believed the RISD collection is one of only two in the United States (the other is at National Archives in College Park, Maryland). Identifying the collection has inspired the RISD library to host an exhibit and symposium.

For many years RISD was not aware of its treasure trove. Identifying this collection has inspired the Library to have this exhibit and symposium. The "Artists at War: Exploring the Connections Between Art and Camouflage" Symposium will examine the questions surrounding the relationship of art and camouflage.

The symposium will be in the Michael P. Metcalf Auditorium in RISD's Chace Center and is free and open to the public on February 14, 2009 from 2-4 pm.