Whereas the majority of the subcultures I have previously explored within this learning journal originate from the 20th century, the Steampunk subculture is a contemporary scene birthed in the 21st century. However, although it’s from this era, it is very much influenced by the Victorians: like the Goths were inspired by Victorian mourning attire, the Steampunk style “draws inspiration from the ‘age of steam’ that is, the first Industrial Revolution as it took shape by the mid-nineteenth century (Guffey, 2014:257). The style consists of “an eclectic smattering of goggles, corsets fitted with brass buckles and Vienna brocade waistcoats”(Guffey, 2014:257). The punk aspect “is apt[…]The attitude of improvisation, or modification in the original punk movement has been theorized as the root of our present DIY culture” (Guffey, 2014:259). This sentiment of customisation and modification is at the heart of the Steampunk movement, as the traditional Victorian pieces of clothing are adapted and personalised via the use of industrious materials, such as metal wood or copper; pipes, cogs and other miscellaneous, intricate inner workings that would otherwise be concealed or hidden away inside machines and various technologies, are used very blatantly within the design of Steampunk clothing and accessories.
The obviousness of cogs etc. is a visual display of the Steampunk subculture’s stance and opinions on the 21st Century attitude towards technology. The Steampunk’s believe that it is incredibly important to invent, innovate and create by “tinkering”, deconstructing and reconstructing materials and objects (Forlini, 2010:77) , hence why they have a profound appreciation for older technologies, gadgets and contraptions- like that of the industrial revolution- as their bulky, clunky designs had easily accessible inner working mechanisms which could be tampered and played with. Whereas, the sleekness and “analytical abstractness” (Forlini, 2010:77) of contemporary technology prevents people from connecting with their inner curiosities and, instead-as the Steam punks believe- encourages a culture of throwing things away that may not necessarily be broken, thus deterring our innate creativity (Forlini, 2010:77).
Via this fierce ideology of creating and making, the Steam punk scene teaches us that “learning to unpack all that is built into things involves asking where things came from, how they were made, what kinds of behaviours they elicit/require from us, where they might be leading us and to what purpose. In reading things, we learn to see our fundamentally posthuman condition, our profound embeddedness in what the science and technology studies tradition refers to a sociotechnical networks of humans and non-humans” (Forlini. 2010:912)
What I’ve learnt from the Steampunk subculture…
They have taught me that, within a period where our dependence on technology has somewhat tarnished our thought processes and has generated a reckless and impulsive culture of consumption and, consequently, mass wastage and disposal– creating a general disconnect from the objects and materials we take for granted– it is incredibly important to re-establish an affinity and connection with our materials, with ourselves, and our craft, in order to maintain a level of creativity and innovation, as well as maintaining an interest in the general world around us.
Bibliography
Forlini, S (2010) Technology and Morality: The Stuff of Steampunk. Neo-Victorian Studies 3:1 [Online article] pp72-98
Guffey, E (2014) Crafting Yesterday’s Tomorrows: Retro-Futurism, Steampunk and the Problem of Making in the Twenty-First Century, The Journal of Modern Craft, 7:3, [Online article] pp249-266
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