The proverbial picture may be worth a thousand words, but science fiction artists are talking infinity. Robert McCall, 78, known as the NASA artist, is one such artist who has had plenty to say. He will exhibit his works depicting the vastness of space at the Science Fiction Festival this weekend. A Valley resident, McCall's works are recognized worldwide. His depictions of space give viewers an idea of the vastness and drama of the cosmos. A second artist, Donato Giancola, will show works he has created for various science fiction book covers. Giancola, 31, is a relative newcomer to the field of illustrating science fiction. He says he believes in focusing on individual characters in "a microscopic way." "I try to get very personal with the characters," Giancola says of the entities that populate his oil paintings. Construct of Time, one of Giancola's early book cover illustrations (for Simon R. Green's Shadows Fall) from 1993, will be sold as posters at the Science Fiction Festival for $1 each. The illustration is loaded with the images of time. "The publisher gave me a very simple description: A robot made from watch pieces," Giancola recalls of the assignment. "I purchased a book on watches to study the inner workings of them. I looked at the tissue and bone structures of the human body and had to ‘"ap over" the human anatomy with pieces of the watch. I wanted a figure that was virtually timeless, so I went to art history and chose Michelangelo's David." Giancola's robot echoes that classic pose while holding a sun dial in his hand. The sands of time are reflected in his chrome limbs and background dunes. "The effect of chrome plating was accidental," he said. "As I started on his head, I decided to bounce the light from the ground and sky on his helmet. Once I did that, I decided to continue with the rest of the body." Giancola said he believes that the recent fantasy genre reaches back to author J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. His other personal favorites include Ray Bradbury (The Martian Chronicles) and Ursula K. Le Guin (The Lathe of Heaven). As for visiting a state that is fraught with UFO sightings, Giancola admits to being a skeptic , but only as far as the human aspects are concerned. "It is impossible, I believe, that we are the only life forms that have developed. However, the genre is so filled with people who are oriented toward (believing in UFOs). It wasn't until humanity began to fly that these "sightings" began. Still, I hate to be too hard on those people. I'd probably alienate half my audience!"

-- Anita Mabante Leach The Arizona Republic, 10/17/98

HOME