RIP Datamancer
I was saddened today to hear of the death of Richard 'Doc' Nagy, aka Datamancer. I'm probably well behind the steampunk community here - not being part of the community, I don't hear news as quickly - but wanted to mention it on my blog because I always found his work inspiring and exciting. If you've ever watched an episode of Warehouse 13, you may have seen some of it without realising.
Steampunk often seems to me to be misunderstood, especially by crafters outside the subculture whose approach to steampunk design seems to be to paint things brown and glue cogs on top. Rather than get into an argument about what was wrong with this notion, it was always easiest just to send them to Datamancer's website. His wonderful computers combined high craftsmanship with full-on Victorian style. Never twee, always functional, his designs to me embodied some of the fundamentals of steampunk: what would the world have been like if the Victorians had had computers? What would have been possible?
Thank you for expanding the realm of the possible, Datamancer.
Steampunk often seems to me to be misunderstood, especially by crafters outside the subculture whose approach to steampunk design seems to be to paint things brown and glue cogs on top. Rather than get into an argument about what was wrong with this notion, it was always easiest just to send them to Datamancer's website. His wonderful computers combined high craftsmanship with full-on Victorian style. Never twee, always functional, his designs to me embodied some of the fundamentals of steampunk: what would the world have been like if the Victorians had had computers? What would have been possible?
Thank you for expanding the realm of the possible, Datamancer.
Very sad news indeed. I've long been in awe of his creations and looked forward to what new designs he would dream up next. They were, as you say, the very epitome of the steampunk æsthetic with incredible attention to detail but never compromising functionality. He truly was a dedicated artist and I wonder if we will ever see his like again. His passing is a great loss not only to the steampunk community but also the wider world in general, where his computers were a welcome antidote to today's beigist designs and never failed to create an admiring thrill whenever one saw them. RIP Datamancer.
ReplyDeleteClockworker and the Traveler's Steampunk Blog have also included a touching tribute to Mr Nagy in their latest posts, I note.