The Art of Steampunk by Art Donovan (August 2011, Fox Chapel Publishing) is a window into a wonderfully creative genre of art today—steampunk. This genre includes clocks and sculpture, costumes, jewelry and artifacts, technology and weaponry, sometimes for use, sometimes to decorate an imaginary landscape or character. Interest in steampunk is growing in the entertainment world and it’s not hard to see why when you view the output of the visionary minds focusing here.

The artist author curated an exhibit at the Museum of the History of Science at Oxford University over 2009-2010 and this book is a documentation of seventeen artists’ pieces.  The first exhibit of steampunk art, it legitimatized this wildly popular fringe style, normally based on fantasy nineteenth-century Britain technology, art and world view, though from an outsider perspective. Popular items such as goggles and airships are on display, but the variety is wide.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the artist photos in each individual section. They framed the point of view of the artists beautifully.

If you are new to steampunk, this book provides a good primer as to what it is. If you are an artist looking for inspiration, the photographs will have your juices flowing.

Even before seeing this upcoming title, I had become interested in this field through the literary endeavors in it, and I’m thrilled to see such high quality, inspirational material to fuel my writer’s imagination.