Device, Vol. 1: Fantastic Contraption [Paperback]

Gareth Branwyn (Author), Gregory Brotherton (Author, Artist), Ashley Wood (Author), Stephanie Halleux (Author), Viktor Koen (Author), Christopher Conte (Author), Mike Libby (Author), Nemo Gould (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 2008

An international group of contemporary artists whose work embodies the genius of invention and creativity have been bought together by Device Gallery to exhibit their most Fantastic Contraptions, creating a remarkable collection of curious things.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Idea & Design Works Llc (July 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 160010326X
• ISBN-13: 978-1600103261
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,350,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gareth Branwyn (born January 21, 1958) is a writer, editor, and media critic.

He has covered technology, media, DIY and cyberculture for Wired, Esquire, the Baltimore Sun, Details, and numerous other publications. He has also been an editor at Mondo 2000 and Boing Boing (when it was a print zine), founded the personal tech site, StreetTech.com, and is the Editor-in-Chief of Make: Online and an editor at Make: Books.

Gareth co-edited The Happy Mutant Handbook and is the author of Jargon Watch: A Pocket Dictionary for the Jitterati, Jamming the Media, The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Building Robots, and Mosaic Quick Tour: Accessing and Navigating the World Wide Web (the first book written about the Web).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You should get this book and then if you are in San Diego, see this steampunk of a gallery..., August 22, 2009

By 

Ulalume Jones "Creative Gal" (Between Nothing and Nowhere) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Device, Vol. 1: Fantastic Contraption (Paperback)

I knew when I saw one of the guys in the Device Gallery wearing a Dr. Steel shirt, it was my kind of place. If you like anything steampunk, fantastic, morbidly apocalyptic, horrible yet delightful, robots inspired by Metropolis, mechanical bugs under glass, strange TV radios and characters out of some mismatch of Giger vs the Quay Brothers, you will love this place. This is the gallery of my dreams. It's lovely and if you visit San Diego, you need to see it. You can even watch the people in the studios work on their pieces as you look at the other art inside.

But for those not close, buy this book and the second volume, the photos are well done and all the gadgets and statues are amazing. They even had the huge death ray in the books too.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, January 16, 2010

By 

Parka (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Device, Vol. 1: Fantastic Contraption (Paperback)

Length:: 0:20 Mins

This is one weird and interesting book put together by The Device Gallery. Device Volume 1 is a collection of handmade devices ranging from mechanical steel insects to painted illustrations of robots.

The artists included are John U. Abrahamson, Eduard Anikonov, Wayne Martin Belger, Gregory Brotherton, Christopher Conte, H.R. Giger, Nemo Gould, Stephane Halleux, William B. Hand, D. Hwang, Eric Joyner, Theo Kamecke, Viktor Koen, Mike Libby, Kazukiho Nakamura, Ashley Wood.

Some of the gadgets are really fascinating and some creepy. Wayne Martin Belger likes designing cameras. The parts he used other than metal, includes skulls, antler, gemstones and even HIV-positive blood. On the one that uses HIV-positive blood, he said it's "designed to shoot a geographic comparison of people suffering from HIV". The camera looks nothing like a camera but a piece of machinery, an exquisite piece of machinery.

Gregory Brotherton uses steel primary and his design has a clean industrial feel to it. Christophe Conte and Mike Libby have mechanical insects that almost look alive. H.R.Giger has some Alien sculptures. D. Hwang has a serpentine-looking bike that is wickedly cool. And there's Kazuhiko Nakamura's haunting and surreal hybrid of man and machine. Towards the back of the book there are artists who paint their inventions, among them is Ashley Wood with his world war robots.

This is a fascinating book recommended for those who like devices and DIY gadgets.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful little catalog of steampunk contraptions, August 2, 2009

By 

Michael A. Duvernois (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Device, Vol. 1: Fantastic Contraption (Paperback)

This is a fun book collecting Steampunk and alternative Victorian artifacts, contraptions, and exquisitely weird devices. The artwork is mostly excellent, with a few weaker entries, but the idea content is quite high. Oh heck, if you appreciate the steampunk sensibility you might as well just order the book.