Sexy astronauts, alluring aliens, and
sassy space warriors are a mainstay in pinup
culture. Taking erotic fantasy out of this
world.
Jules Verne's 1865 novel From the
Earth to the Moon captured many people’s
imagination, all around the world. But it
wasn’t until a hundred years later, that the
Apollo 11 would land on the moon and really
fuel pop culture. It’s easy to find fantastic
images of sexy aliens, today. TV and the
cinema have made it popular with movies and
shows such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Total
Recall and many more.
I’d like to take a more
chronological-as-possible look at the pinup
space fantasy, because I think, all you pinup
lovers will be pleasantly surprised.
Bill Randall - Miss Flying Saucer - Date
Unknown
The oldest, most
classic pinup alien and sexy space
cadet, I could find was Bill Randell’s
Miss Flying Saucer and this unknown
title. Unfortunately the images’ date is
marked unknown in all the sites I could
find (if you happen to know, use the
comment section or
email me to let us all know). By
Randell’s Biography, I could only guess that
these pinups were painted between 1946 and
the 1960’s. They look like a part of a
series, but I just couldn’t find anymore.
(Once a gain, if anybody knows something- let
us know!)
As you can see, these two are quite low-tech
and simple. That’s why I love vintage-
there’s a naivety to it all. The pink, the
fact that the women are almost completely
human, and the flying saucer, which is more
kitchenware than hardware. If I’d ask you to
imagine a 1950’s space pinup, I bet it would
have looked something like this.
Frank Frazetta - Space Pinups in
Comics
It would be decades later that the
next pinups would reach space. This time
conjured up by comic book and cover artist,
Frank Frazetta. Though Frazetta’s forte is in
“jungle fantasy art”, such as
Tarazan
and
Conan
the Barbarian, he slipped in some
marvelously detailed space warriors and
Lilith-like aliens around the late
1970’s (Scramble is dated 1978).
Frazett’s pinups are dark, sexy and profound-
worlds away from the 1950’s pop sweetness.
The 1980’s and Beyond
The 1980’s
brought on a surge of erotic space fantasy
art. The richness of quantity makes it hard
to tell what came before what.
Olivia De Berardinis - No Ends to Erotic
Imagination
Olivia really has one of the
most wild imaginations in pinup art. The
fantastic way she blends fashion with
eroticism is incomparable. A deep look into
her portfolio will reveal a few over the top
domineering aliens and fun loving Martians.
Hajime Sorayama - High Tech
Pleasures
Hajime Sorayama’s art is
especially fascinating to me, as he makes a
statement about fetishistic technology (think
Apple
). From retro robots, to
high-tech dominatrix prosthetics, to
elaborate fetish space suits, Sorayama’s
work is as disturbing as it is arousing.
Luis Royo - Fantasy Science
Fiction
Born in Spain Luis Royo is an an
academically trained artist and designer. In
1983 he turned to comics and became very big,
very fast. Royo specializes in erotic sci/fi,
A quick Googleing of his name will find you
scores of galleries. Here are a few of my
favorites:
Hubert De Lartigue - Betty Page in
Space
Hubert De
Lartigue is a french illustrator,
who gives traditional pinups a modern
touch. Soft yet crispy, De Lartigue’s
airbrush is highly precise. Although De
Lartigue doesn’t do sci/fi, I did manage
to find this single Betty Page tribute.
Marcus Gray - Alfons Mucha Meets Hajime
Sorayama
Scottish Marcus Gray used to be
a commercial artist and graphic designer,
until the day he discovered
Alphons Mucha. It was then he started
creating his own brand of girlie art. Not shy
of revealing his sources of inspiration, Gray
creates a fascinating fusion:
Recently I've started using gold leaf
mostly because I adore the breathtaking
work of Gustav Klimt. Other artists I
greatly admire are Olivia De Berardinis and
Hajime Sorayama, Alphonse Mucha, Aubrey
Beardsley, George Petty, Syd Mead, Lebbeus
Woods, Dave Stevens, Hugh Ferriss, Masamune
Shirow and Jean Giraud (Moebius).
Andrew Bawidamann - Cartoon Space
Pinups
Andrew
Bawidamann is the youngest pinup
artist in our space cheesecake odyssey.
A traditionally educated cartoonist,
Bawidamann creates very stylized retro
art, in many classical erotic fantasy
themes (cowgirls bunnies… etc.). The
interesting twist in Bawidamann’s work
are some role reversal themes, such as
soldiers. There’s nothing a Bawidamann
girl can’t do, so why not go to space?
To pinups and beyond,
Update: 6.5.08
A friend over at Clipmarks pointed out to
me an inexcusable faux pas, I totally
forgot about Jone Fonda as Barbarella!
Barbarella was a 1968 flop that became a
huge cult classic. The poster, of course,
is a 60's classic.
Thanks BartendingBear
For more pinups in space check out
Barbarella & Other Ladies in Space.
Tags: Erotic fantasy art, space pinups, Luis Royo, sexy aliens, High tech Fetish, Barbarella, Bill Randall, Andrew Bawidamann, cartoon cheesecake, Marcus Gray, Hubert De Lartigue, erotic sci/fi, Frank Frazetta, 1950's, Hajime Sorayama, 1980's, olivia de Berardinis
