Imaginary Futurism is a place dedicated to all kinds of paintings and drawings that feature everything futuristic. From retro and advanced technology to utopian cityscapes and ruined warscapes, if you want to glimpse a possible sci-fi future, that is the right place to be.
This subreddit has over 51,000 members, ranking among the top 5% of biggest Reddit communities, and is dedicated to the admiration of quality futuristic art, at the same time giving the artists of this genre a chance to show off their original work, as well as letting people share other artists' creations that they admire.
The human mind is a fascinating thing. It can see what’s not there and imagine what could be. Whether it’s the gigantic space stations, futuristic cities, revolutionary inventions, or anything else - with the current technology at hand, we can materialize the fruits of our imagination in the form of art better than ever before. However, even those said current technologies were once regarded as fiction.
As famous French writer Jules Verne once said, “Anything you can imagine, you can make real.” Looking at these futuristic artworks, you may think that this is not entirely true, but it is evident that his words become more and more accurate as we venture further into this modern age, and there are good examples of it right in front of us.
Nowadays, nearly every person in the modern world owns a smartphone device, which essentially is a portable pocket computer that can carry out the most complicated tasks, enhancing our abilities far beyond what we’re given. Yet, while, according to Gadget Lab, the predecessor of this technology was invented in 1973, it was already a thing in the science fiction genre since Robert Heinlein’s novel Space Cadet, written in 1948.
The credit and debit card is another such invention created in a piece of fiction long before it became real. According to StratoStar, this payment method first reached us in 1950. However, this kind of technology was already written about in Edward Bellamy’s novel Looking Backward, released in 1888 and preceding the actual invention by 62 years!
First aired in 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation is known to have predicted tons of technologies that we now use. According to Quartz, the show came up with a 3D printer, GPS, tablet, real-time universal translator, bionic eyes, cloaking device, teleconferencing, focused ultrasound technology, voice interface computer, automatic doors, tractor beam, hypospray, and many more, making it seem as if the writers really did have a chance to take a peek at how things would look like half a century later.
As Space.com tells us, even things like teleportation are becoming more and more real. Using quantum entanglement, a quantum mechanics condition where 2 entangled particles can remain connected no matter how far apart they are, and actions performed on one affect the other, scientists can now teleport photons that remain connected over a very long distance and share information 10,000 times faster than the speed of light.
The article expands even further and tells us of other technologies we already have that were once nothing more than a part of some iconic science fiction movies: Hoverboards (Back to the Future Part II, 1989), widely available driverless cars (Total Recall, 1990), space station (2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968), bionic limbs (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, 1980), and artificial intelligence (Blade Runner, 1982). And the best part is that most of these were already thought of long before they appeared on the big screen.
To name every sci-fi invention that is no longer fiction would take more than one article. This list goes on and on, and it keeps expanding by the day. We live in a wonderful age, where technology advances at a speed that this world has never seen before. So when we sit and look at these fantastic pieces of art showcasing imaginary futuristic cities and landscapes that seem as if they stood a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, we can never be too sure. Maybe, in a hundred years, this type of view will not be so imaginary after all.
But for now, let's enjoy this art as it is. Which of these imaginary futurism artworks did you like the most? Would you like to visit any of these fantastic places or try out any of the technologies? Come and share your thoughts in the comments!
