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To All Things Steampunk
June 10th, 2015 |
By now you’ve probably heard Steampunk has arrived at Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts. You may have seen interesting photos posted on our website or read some of our Facebook posts about the exhibit. But I’m guessing you may also be wondering “What the Heck is Steampunk?”
Well, who better to answer that question than Guest Curator for the Steampunk exhibit, Daniella Romano. According to Daniella, Steampunk is “where Victorian history meets science fiction.” Come again?
Daniella goes on to explain Steampunk, which grew out of science fiction literature, has been a movement since the mid-1980s, but has rarely been displayed in a traditional museum environment. Explains Daniella, “It’s an off-grid lifestyle ingenuity based on an understanding of history and archaic technologies,” and resides more in fringe communities who gather at festivals, fairs, conventions and through social media. Hmmm…
At its core, Steampunk is really about sustainability, salvaging existing materials and repurposing them into other objects, often centering on the utilization of different energies and natural resources (like steam for example). It’s the coffee table I found at an antique show crafted with an old manual sewing machine base. It’s having your tea leaves read or taking on the lost art of haberdashery. It’s the rebirth of the speakeasy and the distillery. Steampunk is finding something old, tinkering with it and making it relevant, incorporating romance and fantasy, science fiction and whimsy.
Steampunk encompasses a wide variety of elements – military and weaponry, fashion, literature, film, music and skilled craftsmanship. At the exhibit you will see local artist Ed Kidera’s Unicorn Warship that utilizes a bomb casing for an air ship embellished with beautiful antique hardware, representing a potential alternate future reality. The combination of technical expertise with the repurposing of materials, results in a beautiful piece of art and a perfect representation of Steampunk. Also on display is the aviator ensemble skillfully crafted by regional artist Karen Von Oppen whose impeccable leather work is the highlight of this costume. It’s vintage with an edgy vibe and could just as easily be on display in a funky boutique in Lower Manhattan.
Photographer David Sokosh has never embraced the digital age. In fact, he doesn’t even utilize traditional film. Sokosh creates photographic images on metal and glass called tintypes practicing the mid-19th century process of wet-plate collodion. “This authentic process lets me explore the mindset of the early photographer/scientist/collector,” says Sokosh, whose pieces are part of the exhibit. Now it’s starting to make sense…
An archivist and librarian, Daniella spent the last 10 years building an archive and a museum at the Brooklyn Navy Yard (Building 92). Her focus has been the preservation of historic buildings and skilled trades and exploring the relationship between them and modern manufacturing and contemporary industry. Daniella recently relocated to Bethlehem to start a family and describes Bethlehem itself as a Steampunk site. “Thriving at the height of the industrial revolution with the growth of the steel industry and introduction of steam locomotives, Bethlehem flourished and then declined in sync with that large scale industry. Today the city has re-purposed itself – literally and culturally – to once again be a viable community,” explains Daniella. That’s the essence of Steampunk – repurposing what no longer serves its original purpose using creativity, imagination and technical expertise.
The Steampunk exhibit is running at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts now through November 1. To learn more visit historicbethlehem.org
