Randian echoes from deviantART


Greybird

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The largest of all art Websites, in sheer number of distinct works, may very well be deviantART, which is fast approaching its 100-millionth posted "deviation."

Those are not all artworks, by any means. "Deviation" includes both genuinely original visual and verbal creations, and such instrumental items as stock photos, tutorials, and emoticons. Yet the site has gathered a huge community of several million members, and has been remarkably fertile.

I've found it to be endlessly fascinating. I've been a member at "dA" for three years, and a lurker / gatherer of (mostly) winged art for six. A free membership creates a Webpage for hosting your works, allows you to comment on others' works, and gets you past the "Mature Content" filter. (Paid memberships bring more presentation tools and browsing abilities.)

Instead of ranging over the whole Web, as MSK did in another thread in this section, I took a look at what "ayn rand" brought up at dA. Some Rand admirers might not enjoy the results of such a search very much, as many works are harshly critical — and most, frankly, are unpolished and less than skillful.

Still, a few gems are exhibited, and here are some of them, representing much of what one can find. You can click on each of them here to reach the original dA Webpage. Larger versions are available by clicking on those pages' images or "Download" links.

Many works related to Rand, with some Roarkian irony, are second-hand and interpret photos of her. This portrait, made from her Soviet passport photo (used in The Early Ayn Rand), is much more accomplished than nearly every other such work I've seen, and shows considerable skill with color.

Portrait_of_Ayn_Rand_by_hank1.png

A few prose pieces are present. Some are repostings of work used elsewhere, others were entered in ARI essay contests. Yet this one has a distinct flair: Imagine an alternate universe where this woman was a political leader! (Pictured here is the illustration for the "news story.")

Alisia_Rosenbaum__Profile_by_edthomasten.jpg

Some quite accomplished photographs inspired by or evoking Rand deserve both larger viewing and a reading of their posters' comments.

Reaching_For_Heaven_by_TheYoungOutlaw.jpg

Creation_by_evilcheshirecat.jpg

And some genuinely new works either are sparked by elements Rand described in her books, or incorporate her words directly in intriguing ways. (The first is "Mature Content" at dA, and not visible to non-members, thus is shown here via hosting at TinyPic.)

in4hvb.jpg

John_Galts_Final_Testimony.jpg

If you run across other intriguing deviantART works about or relating to Rand, please add them here.

Edited by Greybird
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  • 4 weeks later...

From a more "comedy" angle (and a work I talked about earlier, good for a laugh);

http://scribblecloud.deviantart.com/art/OH-FRANCISCO-132913002

Done by an acquaintance of mine after she read Atlas Shrugged.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

Thread bumpitude after a year ... and you must go to the original posting page and read the artist's sardonic (and sometimes facetious) comments. He brings a caricaturist's sensibilities to much of his professional work, including many book covers.

atlas_shrugged_by_kilsimiv-d32gw6r.jpg

Edit: My 666th post. {cue ominous organ music} No, I'm not evil, nor "laughing at the book," I simply can appreciate his sense of humor, down to that toy train engine.

Edited by Greybird
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A few prose pieces are present. Some are repostings of work used elsewhere, ....

I loved the faux news article on Rand Down Under! Have you read the Yiddish Policeman's Union? In it the Jews got a long lease on Alaska, but at the time of the book it is running out. It is among other things a murder mystery and a chess puzzle, a brilliant book with a Dostoyevskian feel.

Carol

Alternate history fan

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A few prose pieces are present. Some are repostings of work used elsewhere, ....

I loved the faux news article on Rand Down Under! Have you read the Yiddish Policeman's Union? In it the Jews got a long lease on Alaska, but at the time of the book it is running out. It is among other things a murder mystery and a chess puzzle, a brilliant book with a Dostoyevskian feel.

Carol

Alternate history fan

Carol, Yes!

An excellent book, that I read last year, and would re-read now.

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A few prose pieces are present. Some are repostings of work used elsewhere, ....

I loved the faux news article on Rand Down Under! Have you read the Yiddish Policeman's Union? In it the Jews got a long lease on Alaska, but at the time of the book it is running out. It is among other things a murder mystery and a chess puzzle, a brilliant book with a Dostoyevskian feel.

Carol

Alternate history fan

Carol, Yes!

An excellent book, that I read last year, and would re-read now.

So would I, but I can't play chess so I felt a lot of the symbolism was lost on me. Do you play, am I right? The hero's aboriginal partner and his family were very striking to me as a Canadian.

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