I have a fondness for Steampunk dolls.
The problem is, that too many people hear a phrase… think they know what it means, and declare themselves part of the movement. And that’s exactly what’s happening on the SteamPunk Doll front.
Sorry, my friends, but SteamPunk is well defined, (it is over twenty years old now), and you can’t just declare your doll ‘SteamPunk’ because you don’t know what other category of Art Doll to put it in!
It’s really pretty simple; to be a Steampunk Doll requires three things. If your doll doesn’t have all three, it ain’t Steampunk!
- Elements of the Industrial Revolution, particularly the Age of Steam as a power source.
- Elements of Victorian Fashion.
- Elements of the Fantastical that reflect the genre’s roots in Science Fiction storylines.
Here’s the litmus test. If your doll could be used as a prop in the movie ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ you got it. If it couldn’t, you may have a beautiful doll, but it’s not SteamPunk!
SteamPunk Doll image courtesy of ‘notpersephone’ at flickr
2 responses so far ↓
1 james // Jun 24, 2009 at 2:19 pm
to be precise STEAMPUNK was first printed as a word on 1994, but Verne, Wells and Lovecraft where SP has it’s origins are a lot older of course.
2 Coffeemonkey // Jun 29, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Very good points! I never really understood the word exactly, myself. It’s nice to have a working definition. Thanks!