S'been a while.
"We are uncool. While women will always be a problem with guys like us, most great art in the world is about that very problem. Now, good-looking people, they got no spine. Their art never lasts. ... The only currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."
--Almost Famous
"I don't think anyone knows what they really think--or perhaps even what they really know--until it's written down."
--Stephen King
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Ralph McQuarrie R.I.P.
Ralph McQuarrie died today. He was the concept artist for E.T., RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, "Battlestar Galactica," and the STAR WARS TRILOGY.If you're a Star Wars fan, you know the story, how George Lucas couldn't get any studios interested in his vision, so he hired Ralph to do some art of what the characters, creatures, robots, and worlds would look like. And the rest is history (at least until the Special Editions and Prequels came about, I suppose).It was he who designed the look of the series, probably more so than any other man save Lucas. And it can be amazing to see how close to his vision a lot of the characters and settings ended up, and a couple of the ideas Ralph had that didn't make it on the screen.I went to three Star Wars conventions, in 1999, 2002, and 2005, and there was a booth at each where you could buy a signed print of Ralph's paintings, and it became a tradition for me to buy one from my favorite (and your least-favorite) of the Trilogy each visit.Thanks for your imagination, Ralph, and the talent to share it with kids like me.
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