I have previously highlighted the influence of the Surrealists and Pop Artists upon J.G. Ballard, one of the few modern writers whose name is now an adjective; the word Ballardian conjures up visions of dystopian modernity, denuded man-made landscapes, the all-consuming nature of mass media, entropy, psychological withdrawal and anomie.
This most visual of writers has been a source of inspiration to artists in his turn, either directly referencing his work or by touching upon Ballardian themes.
I have taken liberties with this selection of ‘Ballardian’ imagery. Obviously Rousseau pre-dates The Drowned World and Warhol is directly stated by Ballard as an influence in The Atrocity Exhibition, but in some sense they seem to me Ballardian. The unconscious forms its own connections, there are no accidents and there are no coincidences.
cakeordeathsite 
Interesting selection and interpretation of Ballardian. I love the spiral jetty and the Peter Klasens.
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Thank you Nikita, I hope I am not too far wrong in my view of Ballardian. The Spiral Jetty is very The Voices of Time and Klasen’s work should feature as a cover for Crash.
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Ballardian for sure. A marvelous selection. I believe JG would approve of your liberties. Scenes straight out of Highrise and Crash. Great exhibition!
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Thank you, I wanted to capture something of the essence, though really I can do about ten posts on different aspects of Ballardian. Maybe I will?
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I love that idea. I think you should. I, for one, would enjoy it immensely!
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Well there is the ecological catastrophe side, the visionary side, the dysfunction technological side, the suburban anomie side, visions of boredom and perverse freedom. The material is there.
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We can expect at least 6 more posts then. That will keep you busy for a while. 😉
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Hold your horses… I was just thinking out loud about the possibilities.
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Too late. You’re committed.
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Hmmm my attention wanders though. We will see.
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And I’ve probably put you off by teasing you. Oh dear
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Not at all, I will see, I just have so many projects to complete.
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Yes, yes you do…
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All in good time, hopefully, though time is just a construct.
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You should read Covelli’s book on this!
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I should and I will.
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Or of course Ford Prefect’s wise comment, in the pub, as the world is poised to end, to which Arthur says, “they (Readers Digest) have a page for people like you.” He’s not being complementary.
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Point taken and I will not disagree too much.
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Yes, please do more posts on this subject!
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There is certainly the material out there, after all the world has gone a bit J.G Ballard after all. Thank you for the support!
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Yes, Ballard’s fiction is quickly becoming our new reality.
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Sometimes it seems to me that we are living in a Ballard fiction.
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This way he even influenced language, rather impressive.
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I suppose it is the highest accolade a writer can have…I can only hope.
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The Orange Car Crash somehow brought to mind Mary Jo Kopechne, though in 1963 she had six years left of her life, and she was not crushed, but suffocated, gasping, in the submerged car. A dark fifty year anniversary obscured by the Moon Landings. Life framed by the glass rectangle, the future seen narrowly in twin cones of light, the past glimpsed in the mirrors. The entitled man taking the chauffeur’s keys, the passenger, excited, laughing, or perhaps now frightened, regretting rejecting him that made him so reckless. The tyres scattering dirt. Veering and accelerating, clipping obstacles … running out of road. The slow-motion stupid inevitability of it all. Him walking away. Again and again. And we don’t learn. The entitled man, arrogant, laughing optimism brushing aside objections. Us the willing passengers, sycophantic, excited, and the wise or fearful scattered like dirt. Our failure to reach to grasp the wheel. The slow-motion stupid inevitability of it all. Him walking away. Again and again.
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Ballard would approve on this analysis while highlighting our complicity. We are strange creatures. Thank you for your comment Kestrel, food for thought.
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Thanks as always for your thought provoking posts
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My pleasure Kestrel
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