The Movie Art of Syd Mead: Visual Futurist

About the book

Syd Mead is one of the most accomplished and widely respected artists alive today. The Movie Art of Syd Mead: Visual Futurist represents the most extensive collection of Mead's visionary film work ever printed, including ALIENS, Blade Runner, Star Trek The Motion Picture, and Elysium, compiling hundreds of images, sketches and concept arts from a career spanning almost 40 years, many of which have never been seen in print before.

Reviews

"With such a plethora of images from the many genre-defining films Mead has worked on, this is essential reading for film fans, artists and futurologists alike." ComingSoon.net "a handsome (and heavy!) coffee table edition" Birth Movies Death gallery "Excellent art book worthy of any 'Blade Runner' and for that matter science fiction fan's library" - Adventures in Poor Taste "the perfect way to delve further into Mead's particular brand of science fiction" - The Verge "If you love science fiction films and appreciate the concept art that brought them to life, you will more than likely find great joy and nostalgia" - Entertainment Buddha "a great overview" borg.com "256 pages of futuristic design that will knock your socks off" Kirkus Reviews "stunning, otherworldly designs" - The Film Stage

Quotes

-With such a plethora of images from the many genre-defining films Mead has worked on, this is essential reading for film fans, artists and futurologists alike.- ComingSoon.net

Syd Mead Biography

Sydney Jay Mead (July 18, 1933 – December 30, 2019) was an American industrial designer and neo-futurist concept artist, widely known for his designs for science-fiction films such as Blade Runner, Aliens and Tron. Mead has been described as "the artist who illustrates the future" and "one of the most influential concept artists and industrial designers of our time."

Life

Early life

Mead was born on July 18, 1933, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His father was a Baptist minister, who read him pulp magazines, such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, sparking his interest in science fiction. Mead was skilled in drawing at a young age. According to Mead, "by the time I was in high school I could draw the human figure, I could draw animals, and I had a sense of shading to show shape. I was really quite accomplished at that point with brush technique and so-forth." He described himself as being an "insular child." Mead graduated from high school in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1951. After serving a three-year enlistment in the U.S. Army, Mead attended the Art Center School in Los Angeles (now the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena), where he graduated in June 1959.

Career

In 1959, Mead was recruited to Ford Motor Company's Advanced Styling Studio by Elwood Engel. From 1960 to 1961, Mead worked in Ford Motor Company Styling in Detroit, Michigan. Mead left Ford after two years to illustrate books and catalogues for companies including United States Steel, Celanese, Allis-Chalmers and Atlas Cement. In 1970, he launched Syd Mead, Inc. in Detroit with clients including Philips Electronics.With his own company in the 1970s, Mead spent about a third of his time in Europe, primarily to provide designs and illustrations for Philips, and he continued to work for international clients. Through the 1970s and 1980s, Mead and his company provided architectural renderings, both interior and exterior, for clients including Intercontinental Hotels, 3D International, Harwood Taylor & Associates, Don Ghia, Gresham & Smith and Philip Koether Architects.Beginning in 1983, Mead developed working relationships with Sony, Minolta, Dentsu, Dyflex, Tiger Corporation, Seibu, Mitsukoshi, Bandai, NHK and Honda.Mead's one-man shows began in 1973 with an exhibit at documenta 6 in Kassel, West Germany. His work was later exhibited in Japan, Italy, California and Spain. In 1983, Mead was invited by Chrysler Corporation to be a guest speaker to its design staff. He created a series of slides to provide visuals to the lecture, and the resulting presentation was a success. It was later expanded and enhanced with computer-generated images specifically created at the requests of several clients, including Disney, Carnegie Mellon University, Purdue University, Pratt Institute and the Society of Illustrators. In March 2010, Mead completed a four-city tour of Australia.In 1993, a digital gallery consisting of 50 examples of his art with interface screens design ... Read full biography