Now that I’ve lost several hours of (what should have been) sleep to my immersion in this engaging, intriguing and compelling . . . ummm… art form? technology? movement? subculture? I suppose it’s all of that, and more – I felt a blog post was in order.

For those unfamiliar, Steampunk is, “a phenomenon where modern gadgets are reimagined as if built using the technology and aesthetic of the Victorian era.” This video from the Wall Street Journal Digital Network is as interesting as it is entertaining…

Retro-futurist technophile Richard Nagy (a.k.a. “The Datamancer” elegantly describes the rationale behind this new art form…

“Due to both the lack of creativity in most of the technically inclined and refinements in plastic forming and mass production, the home computer was denied what I feel to be the proudest time in the life of any technological device. It was robbed of the fleeting, wonderful period right after invention, where it is celebrated and honored by the finest craftsman and creative minds, and given a structure befitting its potential and greatness. It was essentially denied a “novelty period”.

When the steam train roared into history, hissing smoke and howling into the night, it was an awesome beast, adorned in the finest woods, ivory, gold, and intricate inlays, like some Serpent King on a sacred tapestry. The automobiles of the 20’s to 60’s, each was a work of art. The television and radio affected the world in more ways that can be imagined, changing the entire dynamic of human social structure and communication. They were both appropriately gifted with the most lavish of hand tooled, wooden scrolled cabinetry, housings which borrowed architectural details from the grandest schools, churches and banks.

Sadly, the personal computer, which has impacted the world more profoundly than probably all of the previously mentioned inventions put together, never recieved the same kind treatment. It went from a buzzing beige cube, to a buzzing white one, to the garish space-eggs you see nowadays.”

I’m hooked! If I had a workshop and a lot more free time and a lot more discretionary income, I’d be all over this hobby, and my computers would be works of art. But since I have none of that, I think I’ll get some sleep now.