Ceramics and Pottery Arts and Resources

 

 

Starburst dingbat

 

 

Birth of Raygun Gothic

In these testing times with the likes of Korean dictators over-compensating with missile threats, humour is the order of the day. Raygun Gothic and Dingbats, as a 50’s and 60’s architectural style, had a connection to missiles, as the ray-guns had a missile shape and some of the Dingbat features looked like atoms.

The term “Raygun Gothic” was coined by science fiction author William Gibson (who also coined the term “cyberspace” and created the cyberpunk genre) in his short story “The Gernsback Continuum” (1981). Techno-noir* aptly described it as ” retro futurism ” As a style, Raygun Gothic is seen in comics such as Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers and old sci-fi movies such as Metropolis and Forbidden Planet. Mad scientists in huge labs, industrial landscapes, advanced weaponry such as rayguns, rockets and robots. A vintage Sci-Fi look born from a merging of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne.

 

 

Tuscon Raygun Gothic

( Woodland Shoppers Paradise Blogspot )

 

 

Mecca Cafe by Alain Lucier

 

 

 

Neon Outdoor Theatre Sign – Jefferson, USA

( waymarking.com-nneuman )

 

 

Most of the architecture styles have been represented in the ceramic arts. Classical, Baroque, Nouveau, Deco, Abstract Expressionism, Modernist all had brilliant interpretations that helped to  popularise the forms. However both Dingbat and Raygun Gothic have been generally ignored.  Granted, they were fairly offbeat styles that didn’t really attract the same mass appeal.

I decided to go and search for some examples of this obscure style in ceramics, and I must admit it was a challenge. Even Google search was at sea.  Dingbats and Raygun Gothic are  connected to Googie Architecture, which had a tendency to be flashy and audacious. The original coffee shop known as Googie’s, which gave the movement its name, was designed by John Lautner and opened on LA’s Sunset Strip in 1949.

I only managed to find a few ceramic pieces that faithfully reflected the style , but earlier temple forms of the style came up which widened the scope. I also took the licence to include ray like decorative styles as a representation. I will include more examples  when they turn up.

 

 

Raygun Gothic Prophetic

 

 

3 ceramic jars – Neil Patterson

 

 

 

 

Grundtvig’s Church – Copenhagen, Denmark

Expressionist architecture with a touch of the Raygun Gothic

 

 

 

 

Loetz vase

( Treadway Toomeys )

 

 

 

 

Pair of tall Spanish pottery vases

( 1stdibs )

 

 

Amphora peace missile vase

 

 

 

 

‘Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía’ in Valencia, Spain

 

 

Austrian artist Franz West sculpture

 

 

 

Susan Anderson spiral vase

 

 

 

 

Dale Chihuly – Cadmium Red Venetian with Blue Rings

 

 

 Dingbat architecture – Los Angeles

 

 

 

 

Durand vase

 

 

 

 

Archimedes burning raygun

The Reunification Monument

Yaounde, Cameroon , Africa

 

 

Typical Dingbat starburst wall feature

 

 

Rectangular ceramic vase

Australian Aboriginal  ceramic plate

( Raygun Gothic sea turtle ? )

 

 

 

Lingaraj temple complex

 

L.C-Tiffany humidor

 

 

 

Raygun coffee cup

 

 

 

 

 Righteous Bison Indivisible Particle Smasher Ray Gun

 

 

 

 

 

A porcelain raygun by Clay Engineer Jeanette Harris.

 

 

 

 

Art Deco ceramic head – Robj

 

 

 

Jazz musician Sun Ra

 

 

 

Coffee pot roundabout – Doha

 

 

 

The Singing Ringing Tree in Yorkshire, UK

 

 

 

 

Iceland church

 

 

 

 

The funnel vase – Innes Olshansky

 Modernist blunderbuss raygun.

( http://fineartamerica.com )

 

 

 

Shewadon Pagoda – Yangon

 

 

 

 

Scheurich vase 1960’s

 

 

 

 

Phoenix observation tower – Arizona

Planned for 2015 ( Raygun Gothic resurrection )

 

 

 

 

‘You Blew Me Away’ by Penny Hardy

 

 

 

Abstract wall plate – Rucni Rad 1970

Michael M Glancy – Golden Ascension

Red rocket lamp

( custommade.com)

Dale Chihuly, glass sculpture. Lobby of The Atlantis, Dubai.

Kring Kumho Culture Complex

( with attachable lenses )

Eileen Gray floor lamp  – 1923

Collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Large Flamenco Vase  – Thomas Kelly

A Theory Of Everything  – Walter McConnell

Vipoo Srivilasa

 

 

 

‘Minium Maximus’ by Rik Allen

Habatat Galleries

A  life-size replica of Tetsujin 28-gō. It measures 18 meters high and weighs over 50 tons.

Wakamatsu Park

Kobe, Japan

Otto Keramik UFO

Midtown Manhattan, Rockefeller Center

Photo – Rick Stasel

Dan DeCarlo’s Jetta

Graham Shaw –  Rocket Riding Robo

Large star burst wall sculpture

Spring Uprising Tunisia… when all else fails use a baguette.

Andy Titcomb ‘Take Me To Your Leader’  Teapot.

Ryugyong Hotel

Buick LeSabre Concept Car

1951

Josef Hoffman—Art Deco Rocket Vase

The Dymaxion house by Buckminster Fuller – Conceived and designed in the late 1920’s for mass production but not actually built until 1945.

Tail Fin – -Photo – Wayne Young

Art Deco galss vase – Loetz

Modernist German Polished Brass Vases

1950’s

Gouda twin handled, six sided art deco vase

 

 

 

Monumental mosaic ewer – San Polo, Italy

 

 

 

Résonances Terrestre-bronze- Pascale Proffit, France

height 65cm

 

 

 

Soviet rocket mosaic mural,- Ulan Ude Airport

 

 

 

Atomic retro rocket lamp. Metallic peridot and metal leaf.

1950s.

 

 

Art Nouveau metal vase by J. Verschneider depicting Jellyfishes using the Dinanderie technique 1915

Valerio Art Deco

 

 

 

Telstar Predicta Meteor television – reproduction of the 50’s TV

 

 

 

 

Retro Space Age art by El Gato Gomez

 

 

 

Academy Theatre – Julius Shulman

LA, 1940

 

UFO sighting

…

 *Sources cited : http://techno-noir.jedi-hobbit.net/scifi/raygun.php