Vikings
The Vikings or Norse were notorious around medieval Europe for their brutal raids and conquests, skilled seafarers and their pagan gods and still capture the imaginations of many. Their dragon-headed longboats took warriors across oceans and up rivers, taking many by surprise as there were no other known boats capable of both and few that could navigate so far that they discovered the Americas (imaginatively named 'Newfoundland'!). They conquered much of the kingdoms of the un-united British Isles, famously attaching ropes from their Dragonships to London bridge and rowed away, killing many of the defenders stood on it as it fell down. The event lasted in the song, 'London Bridge Is Falling Down' -which is suitable tribute to a people known for their epic battle stories told in song.
On my visit to the Museum of Liverpool I saw an original stone carving by Vikings and would like to use this sort of patterning in my work.
World War II (1939-1945)
The Second World War was the bloodiest conflict in the history of the human race, taking around 75 million lives from across over 30 countries. Entire nations were geared towards 'total war', with public conscription (citizens legally forced into the army) and rationing of every-day food were widely used. The public were targets as much as the soldiers, with bombing runs and artillery targeting factories and cities in general, trying to beat the country into submission by any means possible. New technologies were invented and stolen by spies to gain advantages over the enemy and many strange and terrifying new weapons were made, culminating in the mass-destruction of the nuclear bombs that annihilated the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, 1945.
World War 2 (ww2) was a grim time to be alive as -amongst the conflicts- autocratic leaders used widespread ethnic cleansing and genocide to impose their own ideals. Most famously, Hitler's Nazi regime killed approximately 6 million jews, 2.7 million ethnic poles and 4 million others deemed 'unworthy of life'.
World War 2 (ww2) was a grim time to be alive as -amongst the conflicts- autocratic leaders used widespread ethnic cleansing and genocide to impose their own ideals. Most famously, Hitler's Nazi regime killed approximately 6 million jews, 2.7 million ethnic poles and 4 million others deemed 'unworthy of life'.
Robots and Cyborgs
Robotics have revolutionised modern industry and technology by creating tools that work without direct, constant input and appear to have opened a door to the possibility of humanity creating a new sentience. These robotic machines have been merged with human bodies in the form of cybernetics, initially as an attempt to replace lost limbs and organs. As technology advances, the prospect of artificially enhancing the human body beyond it's natural capabilities is more than feasible and will probably continue to advance.
The very mention of robots is synonymous with science-fiction and the future so a fair bit of conjecture is required, but a basic grasp of physics and engineering can go a long way too! Many robot designs are inspired by nature and are in many ways, a manufactured creature so animals can also provide plenty of inspiration for non-humanoid robots.
The very mention of robots is synonymous with science-fiction and the future so a fair bit of conjecture is required, but a basic grasp of physics and engineering can go a long way too! Many robot designs are inspired by nature and are in many ways, a manufactured creature so animals can also provide plenty of inspiration for non-humanoid robots.
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