Whales and other mythical creatures: A gallery of Modern Art

           So long, and thanks for all the fish!                        

Can I just start out by saying I was REALLY surprised by how many page-views there were for the post on piezoelectricity?  I thought piezoelectrics and analog-to-digital converting would be beyond most people's interest, but either it wasn't, or people were suckered in by the naked hippie pictures.  Note to self: whenever possible, relate research to naked people.

This week I am taking some time off of in-depth blogging to work on another project (A guest post for Scientific American).  I didn't want to go a week without a blog post, so I'm going to share something that my friends have been forced to look at for years.  It is much in the same vein of silly pictures of naked hippies playing the cello to whales, except minus the naked hippies and the chello.  I'm talking about my collection of silly, whimsical cetacean art.  While I don't want to promote the idea that whale and dolphin scientists aren't serious, there's always a place for fun.  Some of these are available as prints online (someday, I envision my university office festooned with them), and some were emailed to me by friends.  Please share any information you have about the artists, or any additional artistic masterworks you may find.

A sly reference to the unicorns in the waves from The Last Unicorn.
 My absolute favorite, and I can't figure out who the artist was
or where on earth to buy it.

Artist's commentary: Here, raw sexual aggression is symbolized by the sperm whale, while the squid acts as a thinly-disguised metaphor for the multi-armed oligarchies of Rockefeller, Hearst, and Morgan. Their battle plays against the backdrop of the sea, standing in for—what else?—the vastness of the unconscious mind.

If dolphins were equipped with robotic bodies and guns.

Is anyone else secretly turned
on by guys with blue skin?

Better than sharks with laser beams!

My guess is that this is the only way a
dolphin COULD take on a unicorn.

I think this was originally in a magazine article on the

 "10 worst jobs." Anyone who thinks collecting whale 

feces is gross should try doing a necropsy.

The dolphin looks faintly puzzled.  "I knew swimming up that
stream was the wrong idea."  From Jeremy Scheuch.

Friendship.

Dear god, WHY didn't I buy this?

"Look, baby unicorn/dragon, the mystical 

dolphin is real!" Via Dr. Dewald.

I'm the one on the left.

I have no idea what is going on here.

Hugs! by thedreamygiraffe

Family portrait by littlegreentoaster via Alison.

Dolphicorn, or Unicolphin, by LineDrawTShirts 

Why are their open mouths so hilarious?  By LegendaryTigerHero.
*cough*mybirhdayisinJuly*cough*

Braaaiiins!

 

Yes, that is a tattoo of a dolphin wrapped in Bacon.

This is an actual book that I actually own and have read,
 a dystopia about cyborg whales that people live in under the ocean.

The answer to this math problem is... whale!

My fiend michael spotted this glassy mermaid
booty-groper painting on the Big Island.

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