Vaporwave

Seems like this question screams for pictorial examples, otherwise this is all just a bunch of nonsense words to people without Art History degrees. To that end, I present (in no particular order), a series of images which I find aesthetically pleasing. I do not know if they are emblematic of any particular movement, but I just think they look neat, and that’s enough.

Judith I by Gustav Klimt. Probably he is best known for his later work, The Kiss, but this features the beginnings of the opulent detail that he would continue to develop over time.

The Peacock Skirt by August Beardsley. I love how he plays with negative space. Large swaths of his illustrations are intentionally blank, in either pure white or pure black, but these expanses of nothingness exist next to incredibly fine detail work. I find the juxtaposition appealing.

Stephen Gammell’s illustrations for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. It was a close call between this and the illustrations of Edward Gorey, but Gammell wins out for how striking his work is. I reckon some of these images are irrevocably ingrained in the brains of folks of a certain age. I know they are in mine. I especially appreciate his penchant for having streaky, inky bits trailing off of his subjects. In contrast to the controlled precision of Beardsley, the free-flowing sketchiness of parts of Gammell’s illustrations is also impactful.

Since I brought him up, an example of Edward Gorey’s work.

Also, just for funsies, since I’m talking about illustrations which accompany texts, a special mention for the illustrations of Gustave Dore. In particular, his visualizations which accompany Dante’s Inferno may as well be canon.

Paradiso, Canto 34

Recently, I’ve been learning about the history of Tibet and the Himalayan region, ostensibly for DnD purposes, but also because it’s an area of the world that I simply know almost nothing about. In doing so, I’ve come across the work of Nicholas Roerich, who was a Russian painter who traveled Central Asia extensively in the 20’s and 30’s. I find his color choices to be incredibly evocative, even if he is often unconcerned with realism or detail. Here’s a link to a gallery with a collection of his paintings. Some of these remind me of concept art for Tatooine or Jodorowsky’s Dune.

Rocks of Ladakh

Dorje, The Daring One

Speaking of concept art for Star Wars and Dune, I’ll round this out by saying I’ve always loved classic science fiction and fantasy art. John Howe, Frank Frazetta, Ralph McQuarrie, and countless others all deserve a mention, but I’m running late for a volleyball game as I type this so I have to make it snappy. As a stand-in for all of the talented artists who contributed to the aesthetics of genre fiction over the decades, I’ll nominate Jean Giraud (aka Moebius) as my aesthetic champion of choice.

Memphis

… will be laid to waste

Came into the comments section to see how others are answering a question I have no idea what to do with.

1. Cyberpunk

That’s it.

Hummus, dark Gothic maga, “I had this weird dream last night”, hobo chic and Mrs Brenda Simpson

Solarpunk, art-deco and whatever the hell you would call the aesthetic of BLAME!.

Last two I leave blank in protest to this ugly world.

I’d say Goa’uld, Hobbit, Xenomorph, Dwemer and Lunar Base Alpha.

Retro Futurism, Art Deco, Steam Punk, Ray Gun Gothic, Mad Scientist

Dark, cold, damp, pale, and floating is always nice.

Art nouveau, Dark deco, solarpunk, minimalism, Japanese wabi-sabi.

MCM, Jugend, Art Deco, wacko sixties and seventies design experiments including but not limited to Space Age, and hmm… Baroque? Japanese minimalism? JAPANESE MAXIMALISM! Middle Eastern repeating patterns! Oh, idk. There are too many cool directions.

Art deco, atompunk, steampunk, cyberpunk, dieselpunk, in no particular order.

Space, raygun gothic, solarpunk, Edwardian, and classic punk.

Brutalism, Mid-century modern, German Gothic, Cottagecore, Dutch