YESTERDAY`S TOMORROW

YESTERDAY’S
TOMORROW
REMEMBERING THE WHIMSICAL YET PRESCIENT
VISIONS OF POP FUTURIST ART RADEBAUGH. By Tim Lapetino
in Coldwater, Michigan, in 1906
Depression, he worked as a sign
IMAGINE THE FUTURE. It’s
to conjure a more optimistic
and demonstrated an affinity for
painter, engraver and magazine
populated by dystopian char-
tomorrow, where the good
art and painting at an early age.
illustrator, eventually working
acters with desolate environ-
of humanity (and the United
He was an early adopter and
his way into the Detroit auto-
ments; oppressive technology
States, no doubt) would be
champion of airbrush painting
motive scene. Radebaugh cre-
and dark, corporate overlords,
preserved by a powerful mar-
long before its widespread
ated beautiful car illustrations
right? Thanks to movies such as
riage of technology, ingenuity
use. Many artists used the tool
for Big Auto for years before
The Terminator, Blade Runner,
and leisure. His name was
merely for touchup work, but
color photography and TV
The Matrix and all of their
Art Radebaugh, and his work
Radebaugh experimented with
advertising pushed hand-drawn
predecessors, that’s often the
remains as bright and power-
the technique as a primary
artwork out of the spotlight.
case today. But there was a
ful today as his visions were
means of creating art while at
His most recognizable work
time when the future wasn’t so
yesterday.
the Art Institute of Chicago in
came in the form of two syndi-
the 1920s. Following the Great
cated newspaper strips, the first
One artist in particular sought
categorically dim.
52
Arthur Radebaugh was born
SEPTEMBER 2013
GEKP-130900-RADEBAUGH.indd 52
6/28/13 3:50 PM
■ MODERN
PROBLEMS:
Radebaugh’s
“Closer Than
We Think”
visions of
high-speed
monorails,
flying cars,
automated
parking
structures,
teleconference
devices and
distance
learning via
networked
computers
have largely
come true.
a draftsman and illustrator of
the first order. His designs are
fluid and sexy, his line work tight
and stylized, conjuring a believable vision of future ease and
luxury for the mass audience of
the late 1950s and early ’60s.
Radebaugh’s creative visions
were also fueled by a post-war
optimism that centered on new
technology and progress, ideas
that were still in vogue when
his work began. There’s very
little trace of cynicism in the
concepts he put to paper, even
though they dealt with topics
like disease, famine and military
conquest. While some might
look back on that perspective
as naive, the reality is that
Radebaugh’s art is a product of
its time. Each piece is a unique
reflection of a more hopeful era
■ MORE
FICTION
THAN
SCIENCE:
Radebaugh’s
early “Can
You Imagine”
strip (below)
was more
fanciful than
factual.
— before the cultural upheaval
of the ’60s when events shifted
the national mood toward the
somber and cynical.
Unfortunately, Radebaugh’s
unique perspective (and the
actual art itself) is in danger
of disappearing completely.
His work on “Closer Than We
Think” and “Can You Imagine”
titled “Can You Imagine” for the
has faded from the public
Detroit News starting in 1947.
consciousness in part because it
The strip featured Radebaugh’s
only exists in newspapers, which
black-and-white airbrushed art-
are also quickly deteriorating
work and highlighted his unique
and being lost to the ravages
and futuristic visions of tomor-
of time.
To avert this possibility,
row in technology, architecture
and transportation. His subjects
we’ve put together a team that
were mostly fanciful cars and
believes it’s important to pre-
vehicles of various stripes,
serve the work of Radebaugh
which makes sense given his
for other artists, historians and
automotive background.
creative people to enjoy for
generations, and we’re planning
Radebaugh’s most popular
series was “Closer Than We
imagination and forward-think-
ideas as well (such as “Space
Think,” a weekly color strip that
ing vision. He predicted “Robot
Monkey Colonies” or “Factories
ran in syndicated newspapers
Driving” (coming soon to you
in Space”), but his success
from 1958-1963. This strip ran
via Google) and 3D television
wasn’t just fueled by these
in the Sunday comics section
(“Pop-Out TV Programs”), as
unique ideas. Radebaugh
and showcased ideas ranging
well as Skype-style video chat-
the artist also shines through
from the practical (“Automatic
ting (“One-World Job Market”).
and makes his work much
Banking”) to the fanciful
Sure, Radebaugh wasn’t
more memorable than other
(“Flapwing Flycar” and “Rocket
limited in his imagination by the
draftsmen who attempted to
Mailmen”). Many of these ideas
practical concerns of zoning
depict tomorrow.
seem incredibly prescient and
permits, construction costs or
even commonplace today,
engineering budgets, and he
medium of cheap newsprint,
which is a credit to Radebaugh’s
had his share of hair-brained
it’s clear that Radebaugh was
Even on the unforgiving
Tim Lapetino
is an author
and graphic
designer,
currently
working on
a book collecting the
work of Art
Radebaugh
to be titled
“Futures
Past: The
Art of Arthur
Radebaugh.”
to do that in the form of a book.
We’ve sought out private collectors, personal friends and the
magic powers of eBay to gather
newspaper strips and other
artwork in order to photograph,
restore and ultimately publish
Radebaugh’s artwork. If our
efforts are successful, a much
larger audience will once again
be able to enjoy and appreciate his vision — yesterday’s
tomorrow.
geekexchange.com
GEKP-130900-RADEBAUGH.indd 53
53
6/28/13 3:50 PM