Retrofuturism: Yesterday’s Dreams of Tomorrow

Retrofuturism is a fascinating look at the future through the lens of the past. It blends nostalgia with a sense of wonder, inviting us to imagine how earlier generations envisioned the future would look. “Yesterday’s dreams of tomorrow” are filled with flying cars, gleaming robots, space colonies, and technological wonders that were once seen as inevitable steps forward in human progress. What makes retrofuturism so captivating is the way it reflects both the hopes and fears of past eras, creating an aesthetic that is at once optimistic and bittersweet.

Where It All Began

The roots of retrofuturism can be traced back to the early 20th century, a time of rapid technological advancement and societal change. As industrialization, urbanization, and innovations like the automobile and airplane transformed everyday life, people became fascinated by what the future might hold. This fascination gave rise to the Futurism movement in Italy in the 1900s, which celebrated speed, technology, and progress. Artists and writers began to imagine worlds where technology had solved society’s problems and created utopian cities, filled with machines that made life easier and more exciting.

As the 20th century progressed, these optimistic visions of the future became even more pronounced, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. The post-WWII era brought the dawn of the Atomic Age and the Space Race, when the world’s superpowers were racing to explore space and harness the power of the atom. This era gave birth to the sleek, futuristic designs that would come to define retrofuturism: space-age diners with chrome accents, flying cars, and homes powered by nuclear energy. Shows like The Jetsons and movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey encapsulated this idealistic vision of a high-tech future.

But even in the midst of this optimism, there was a darker undercurrent. The same technology that promised progress also raised fears of nuclear war, environmental destruction, and dehumanization. These anxieties began to seep into science fiction, creating a blend of utopian hope and dystopian fear that would come to define retrofuturism. The future, as it was imagined in the past, wasn’t always shiny and perfect—it could be dangerous and unpredictable.

The Birth of Retrofuturism

While the ideas behind retrofuturism had been gestating for decades, the term itself didn’t come into popular use until the 1980s. As the world began to look back on the technological dreams of the past, there was a growing fascination with how earlier generations had imagined the future. In 1983, a New York Times ad described a jewelry line with a “retro-futuristic look,” and from there, the concept began to take hold.

Retrofuturism gained momentum as people revisited the visions of the future that had once seemed so attainable but had never materialized. The flying cars, personal robots, and space colonies never quite arrived, but they remained etched in the collective imagination. This led to a renewed appreciation for the optimistic, and sometimes naïve, way people in the past had viewed the possibilities of tomorrow.

The Power of Nostalgia in Retrofuturism

What makes retrofuturism so resonant today is the way it taps into a sense of nostalgia. In a world that feels increasingly complex and fast-moving, retrofuturism offers a vision of a future that is rooted in something familiar. The aesthetic of giant gears, chrome surfaces, and optimistic space travel reminds us of a time when technology was viewed as a force for good, and progress was something to be celebrated.

Yet, retrofuturism is not just about looking back with rose-colored glasses. It also reflects the fears and limitations of the eras that produced these visions. The looming threat of nuclear war, the environmental impact of industrialization, and the fear of losing one’s humanity to machines all play a part in the retrofuturist aesthetic. In this way, retrofuturism captures the contradictions of the 20th century—an era filled with both boundless optimism and deep anxiety.

A Fusion of Old and New

Retrofuturism thrives on these contradictions. It merges the sleek, shiny designs of the Space Age with the gritty, industrial elements of the past. Whether it’s the steam-powered gadgets of steampunk or the neon-lit cityscapes of cyberpunk, retrofuturism combines the old and the new, creating a world that feels both futuristic and rooted in history.

This genre thrives in its ability to transport us to an imagined future, where we can dream of what might have been while reflecting on the challenges of our present. Retrofuturism allows us to revisit those optimistic visions of tomorrow, where technology promised to solve all problems, and the future seemed limitless.

In a world constantly moving forward, retrofuturism gives us a moment to pause and appreciate yesterday’s dreams of tomorrow. It reminds us of the optimism and idealism that once surrounded technological progress, and how those dreams can inspire us to reimagine the future today.

In the mid-20th century, magazines like Modern Mechanix, Popular Science Monthly, Popular Mechanics, and Amazing Stories captivated readers with their vivid, retrofuturistic illustrations. These publications offered fantastical visions of the future, filled with flying cars, robots, space exploration, and streamlined architecture. The artwork reflected the era’s optimistic belief that science and technology would solve humanity’s problems and elevate everyday life to futuristic heights.

These illustrations often depicted sleek vehicles, automated homes, and adventurous space travel, blending Art Deco, streamline modern, and futuristic design. They were an exciting fusion of imagination and practicality, predicting inventions like personal jetpacks or space stations with meticulous detail. While not all these predictions came true, the imagery left an indelible mark on popular culture, feeding into the ongoing fascination with retrofuturism, a genre that continues to influence modern design, art, and storytelling by reimagining past visions of the future.

The Style of Bohn: A Pioneer of Poster Art and Advertising

Henry George Bohn, a 19th-century British publisher, entrepreneur, and art lover, is credited with revolutionizing the world of art and advertising through his distinctive visual style. Although not an artist himself, Bohn’s impact on design, particularly in the field of posters and advertising art, was profound. He had a visionary approach to how art could be utilized to influence public perception, particularly through his innovative use of visual appeal to promote products and ideas.

Bohn’s “style” wasn’t so much about his personal artistic contributions, but rather about the bold, dynamic ways he encouraged visual culture to be disseminated. His publishing house, Bohn’s Libraries, was renowned for affordable editions of classic works, many of which were adorned with attractive and compelling covers that made them accessible to the growing middle class.

One of the most defining characteristics associated with Bohn is the evolution of advertising posters, which later inspired the golden age of poster art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His use of eye-catching illustrations, bold typography, and innovative layouts set the standard for what became known as the golden era of commercial art. Artists and designers who followed, such as Alphonse Mucha and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, carried forward many of these principles into the fine art of poster design.

Bohn also understood the power of mass production, using new techniques to create vibrant prints that could be produced cheaply and distributed widely. His style helped bridge the gap between fine art and mass media, giving birth to a new visual language that balanced elegance with commercial effectiveness.

While Bohn himself may not be a household name like some of the iconic poster artists of later eras, his influence on the integration of art into commercial and public life was groundbreaking. His legacy can be traced through the vibrant poster art of the Art Nouveau period, the mid-century modern advertising boom, and the continued use of bold, visually appealing art in advertising today.

Several illustrators were instrumental in shaping the look and feel of retrofuturism, blending past ideas of the future with artistic innovation. Here are some of the key artists who helped define the aesthetic!

Chesley Bonestell

Known as the “Father of Modern Space Art,” Bonestell was a prolific artist whose visionary space illustrations graced the covers of magazines like Collier’s and Popular Science. His detailed depictions of distant planets, futuristic cities, and space exploration heavily influenced the public’s perception of space travel and architecture in the future.

Frank R. Paul

A pioneer of science fiction art, Paul’s work was iconic in magazines like Amazing Stories and Science Wonder Stories. His colorful, imaginative illustrations of space colonies, alien worlds, and technological marvels laid the groundwork for retrofuturistic visuals, blending pulp fiction with futuristic dreams.

Virgil Finlay

Known for his highly detailed, fine-line illustrations, Finlay worked extensively for pulp magazines like Weird Tales and Astounding Science Fiction. His mix of surrealism and scientific accuracy made his work a key influence on retrofuturistic art, particularly his depictions of space, technology, and the supernatural.

Albert Robida

Though from an earlier period (late 19th to early 20th century), Robida’s illustrations in books like Le Vingtième Siècle (The Twentieth Century) presented imaginative visions of future cities and technology, foreshadowing retrofuturism long before the term existed. His work included flying machines, electric-powered transportation, and other innovations that would become staples of retrofuturistic design.

Hugo Gernsback

Not just a publisher, but also an illustrator and author, Gernsback was the founder of Amazing Stories and had a hand in creating the early sci-fi aesthetic. His futuristic illustrations, while somewhat rudimentary compared to later artists, laid the groundwork for how technology and space would be visually represented in pulp fiction.

Dean Ellis

A 1960s and ’70s cover artist, Ellis created stunning retrofuturistic images for Popular Mechanics and numerous science fiction books. His futuristic cityscapes and space exploration art maintained a clean, almost architectural style, making them iconic in the realm of retrofuturistic visual language.

These artists, among others, helped to inspire a lasting fascination with the future, creating a visual language that continues to influence modern depictions of retrofuturism in art, design, and pop culture. Their work blended optimism with scientific curiosity, crafting worlds where technology, exploration, and imagination were at the forefront of human advancement.

A lot of retrofuturism was produced between the 1930s-1950s. During the Great Depression it provided an escape to a better world, something to look forward to, and post-World War II, it rode the wave of actual technological advances. We believed anything was possible back then!