Ron Cobb, American/Australian illustrator designer and concept artist died on the September 21, in his 80s.
Ron was know most for his work on the ships and logos and iconography in Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien. He also worked on Back the the Future, Total Recall, The Abyss, Dark Star, Star Wars…
More information on his life and history here at We Are The Mutants.
The Semiotic Standard
Alien is one of the best lived-in-future worlds in all of cinema. It is dingy and rough, old and broken down. Tactile and utilitarian. In addition to the objects and interiors, there is also a very plausible graphic system for the ship indicating various safety warning. These types of symbols exist in a lot of hazardous workplaces and this version looks clean and futuristic, but also looks like it could have been in use at any point from the 40’s onward. They are completely usable and believable.
Political Comics
Cobb served in the Vietnam war and when he returned he got back to work as an artist, creating many gorgeous and brutal political cartoons for the Los Angeles Free Press. They are critical of the government handling poverty, race, the draft, nukes, environmentalism and police brutality. These comics are an amazing time capsule of the anti-war and politically conscious era and are incredibly relevant today. Sadly we haven’t solved really any of these problems.
