Pirate flags once evoked powerful emotions of fear and dread for people on or near the sea. They were designed to herald acts of unimaginable cruelty and to thereby demoralize their intended prey. The many symbols of mortality and the uneven way in which they're drawn contributes a sense of depravity and an apathy toward the observer. They are marks that were never meant to be marveled at for the quality of their design, yet they seem very successful at leaving an indelible impression.
Here is a sampling of some famous marks:
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Top: Bartholomew Roberts (Black Bart) x2, Jean Thomas Dulaien, Christopher Condent, Christopher Moody
Middle: Edward Low, Edward Teach (Blackbeard), Emanuel Wyne, Henry Avery, Edward England
Bottom: John Rackham (Calico Jack), Richard Worley, Stede Bonnet, Thomas Tew, John Quelch |
As an exercise, I've created several marks for our diving collective, Nauticlub that draw on what I've learned about the symbology. My goal was not to strike mortal terror in the hearts of my enemies, but simply to capture some of the enigmatic appeal of a pirate flag.
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| The popular version of the Nauticlub mermaid. ©Scott Okumura |
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| Slightly more discrete. ©Scott Okumura |
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The first iteration had more discrete hand placement and was found to be less popular among heathen divers.
©Scott Okumura |
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| A dive flag added as a base. ©Scott Okumura |
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| A version of the classic flying hourglass suggesting that life (air) is fleeting. ©Scott Okumura |
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| Another flying hourglass — this one including the shape of a skate for wings. ©Scott Okumura |
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| Based on Thomas Tew's flag featuring a hand wielding a cutlass; a portent of inevitable slaughter. ©Scott Okumura |
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| A Bluntnose Sixgill Shark — elusive resident of the Pacific Northwest. ©Scott Okumura |
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| Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker — part of a series of critters on dive flags. These were designed to be used as event tags to accompany invitations to dive meetings shared via Facebook. I've also printed them as stickers for divers that attend events that I host as a Divemaster. ©Scott Okumura |
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| Grunt Sculpin. ©Scott Okumura |
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| Pacific Red Octopus. ©Scott Okumura |
Somehow ended up here while googling overhead shots of sharks as references. These are dope. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteThanks for having a look and for the complement. Much appreciated!
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