arts // no. 10

 

theotherpress.ca

Kickstarter in the Community: Science
gets artsy and educational

» Crafty, colourful creations from scientific minds

4 Cheryl Minns
Arts Editor
Marts@theotherpress.ca

Kee: is full of unique
and wonderful projects by
creators who are passionate
about their specialized fields.
This is particularly evident with
science-themed projects that
aim to raise awareness about
specific subjects and attract new
audiences through different
outlets, such as greeting cards,
art books, and card games.

“Big companies often shy
away from niche markets. I think
that crowdfunding supporters
appreciate the science-themed
art projects because they can
be hard to find in stores,” said
Christine Snyder, PhD, founder
of Nerdy Words in Tottenham,
Ontario. Nerdy Words is
currently crowdfunding its third
science-themed greeting cards
project through Kickstarter.

“When we go online and
see projects that speak to our
interests in things like science
and math, by people who seem
to have a genuine interest in
these things, we want to support
them,” said Dane Ault of Monkey
Minion Press in Portland,
Oregon. Ault and his wife, Ashlie
Hammond, recently completed
a Kickstarter campaign for their
art book Eureka!, which features
professionally drawn portraits
of scientists and one-page
biographies about them.

Daniel Dulek, a high school

chemistry teacher in Illinois,

: created his first Kickstarter

: campaign for Molecules, a card
: game he invented for his students !
: that has players assemble

: molecular compounds from

: various atom cards. So far, the

: project has raised more than

: US$2,500 of its $6,000 funding

: goal from over 100 backers. The
: campaign will finish on October

: 29.

“Running my first

: Kickstarter campaign has been

: very challenging. I didn’t realize
: how hard it would be to build

: support for my project,” he said.
: “My biggest obstacle has been

: trying to find a way to let people
: know about my project.”

Snyder knows from

experience that gaining support
: is all a matter of time when it
: comes to crowdfunding.

Nerdy Words’ first campaign

: was for geeky Valentine’s Day

: cards and raised C$2,532 from 135
: backers last December. Its second !
: campaign was for birthday

: cards and raised $2,392 from

: 68 backers. While the second

: campaign had fewer backers than
: the first, the backers’ made more

: expensive pledges on the second

: project.

“All of my campaigns have

: been a blast, but what I’m most
: excited about is the level of

: repeat backers,” commented

: Snyder.

Nerdy Words’ third

: Kickstarter project features

: Halloween, Christmas, Mother’s
: Day, Father’s Day, wedding, :
baby, graduation, and retirement :
: cards. The campaign has already

raised more than 30 per cent of

: its $1,000 funding goal and will
: continue until November 13.

For many Kickstarter

: campaigns, reaching the funding :
: goal is their main focus.

“When we got funded, we

: jumped around the living room
: like crazy, we were so excited,”

: Ault said, referring to his wife

: and himself.

However, some projects

receive far more funding and

: support than they initially

: anticipate. To thank these

: generous backers, many projects
: offer additional rewards called

: stretch goals. Eureka! is one

: such project that surpassed its

: original funding goal of US$8,500
: by raising $40,087 from 998

: backers. The project also met

: all ofits stretch goals—the final

: one occurring at $35,000—which

included adding additional

: scientists’ biographies and

: artwork, fancier book design, a
: custom “Eureka” song, and PDF
: colouring pages.

“We want to inspire

: our readers to take it upon

: themselves to learn all they can

: about these amazing people,”

: Ault said of the book, which

: features 30 famous scientists.

: “Eureka isn’t designed to be a

: tell-all textbook, but a primer

: for people who have a passing

: interest in science and more than

: a passing interest in art.”
Dulek hopes his Molecules

: who enjoy gaming to explore
: the world of science too, more

“ : :
If] can inspire someone to
: look up and learn more about a

: molecule they saw in the game or :

: wonder why carbon has bonding
: areas, then I will be very happy,”
: he said. “I wanted a game with

: achemistry theme that anyone

: could play with the hope that it

: in someone.”
Snyder and Dulek theorize

: art projects on crowdfunding

: websites might stem from today’s :
: on Kickstarter.com or on their

: official websites at NerdyWords.
: ¢a, MonkeyMinionPress.com,

: and PlayEFG.com

: pop culture portrayal of science.
“T think the gap between

: arts and science is definitely

: closing, especially with shows

 

Image via kickstarter

: like The Big Bang Theory making
: science cool. In fact, one of our

: card game will encourage players !
: Scissors Lizard SPOOK’—is

: inspired by the show, and will
: specifically the field of chemistry. :
: : audience,” Snyder said.

Halloween cards—‘Rock Paper

hopefully draw in a broader

“T think when you mix
science with pop culture it

: removes the stigma that often

: comes with science. I think the

: idea of playing a game based

: on chemistry is a better way to

: introduce a topic than just having
: would inspire or ignite a curiosity :

students read about it,” Dulek

: said. “Talso think that geeky
: : and nerdy things are trendy
: that the increase in science-based :

nowadays.”
For more information on
these projects, check them out

 

Animesque: A bit of the old ultra-violence

» ‘Wicked City’ review

: lack of taste. Don’t get me

: wrong—I’m no ban-happy neo-

: puritan. But in a story full of

: disturbing imagery, that imagery
: ought to be purposeful and

: contribute to the plot in some

: Way.

.

Adam Tatelman
a Staff Writer

OOGOS

love the 80s, when the first

wave of neo-noir horror
anime captured the attention
of mainstream western viewers.
I love the animation studio
Madhouse, especially their hits
Ninja Scroll, Trigun: Badlands
Rumble, and Paprika. Sadly, I did
not love Wicked City.

Wicked City is one of

Madhouse’s earliest works, and
I had every reason to think I
would enjoy a film that promised
a pitch-dark atmosphere and
gruesome monster fights.
There were plenty of things
I liked about it both visually
and conceptually, but the main
reason the film doesn’t come
together for me is its absolute

Between the hard-boiled

opening narration and the

: stylized obsidian shadows

: draped over every frame of the

: movie, the film noir influences

: are apparent and spot-on. If this
: had been a straight-up detective
: yarn, the best elements of the

: film would have shone through.

: As it is, we get yet another plot

: about a secret organization that

: protects the ignorant public from
: supernatural threats stalking the
: darkest alleys.

Taki, an agent of the Black

Guard, is sent on a mission with
: Makie, a demon from the Black
: World who can pass for human.
: Their objective is to protect the
: diminutive, sex-obsessed mystic

: known as Giuseppe Mayart,

: who plans to hold a conference

: promoting peace between

: humans and demons. Extremist
: groups pursue Giuseppe, and the
: night becomes a parade of ever

: more freakish horrors trying to

: axe the horny guru.

When the inevitable plot

: twist happens, the entire setup is :
: rendered self-contradictory and:
: nonsensical. If the real mission

: was for Taki and Makie to make

: human-demon hybrid babies to

: promote future coexistence, why
: make a big cover story involving
: Giuseppe? Just buy the two a

: hotel room and some scented

: oils. If Giuseppe was supposed

: to protect them and not vice-

: versa, how come he runs off

: toa brothel? And considering

: the number of times Makie is

: violated over the course of the

: film, how can anyone be sure the
: baby is Taki’s?

That’s the most disturbing

: thing about the film. The amount :

: of rape Madhouse managed

: to fit into go minutes is truly

: astounding. Considering Makie’s
: apparent combat ability, these

: scenes are not just nauseating

: but entirely contrived. Sure,

: this is a horror anime, but this

: content is just the wrong kind of
: horrifying.

: If the subject is handled

: with integrity, a character might
: experience sexual violence as

 

Screenshot from the movie

an integral plot development.

: However, I don’t need gratuitous
: demon rape in my horror anime.
: Sadly, this bizarre violation

: fixation permeates the film,

: only serving to detract from

: the visceral action, chilling

: atmosphere, and creative

: creature design.

There are lots of great horror

: anime out there. This is not one
: of them. Give it a miss.