Steampunk meets Entomology in this Beautiful Art Collection

Steampunk is one of those strangely awesome subcultures that just sprung from obscurity about a decade ago and has been gaining steam (no pun intended) since then. It has an obsessive group of involved parties, of varying degrees of steampunkness. There are those people who just like going to conventions wearing top hats with cogs on them, and then there are those people who live in completely victorian esque houses, with everything surrounding them made of mahogany and brass. It can be a hobby or a lifestyle, but one thing is for sure – steampunk is pretty unique. Click through the tabs above to see examples of this amazing work in the steampunk genre.

For the uninformed, it’s a celebration of what the world would be like if steam power was still the dominating energy source. It is lush with fantasy and scifi overtones, with different “branches” of steampunkiness – post apocalyptic, wild west, Victorian, etc. It is incredibly visually appealing, and thus it has inspired some pretty amazing artwork.

American sculptor Mike Libby has taken this subculture and buzzed away with it – literally. His studio, Insect Lab, makes incredible miniscule steampunk robot insects – real insects lovingly fitted with cogs and gears. Each insect is an amazing and unique piece of art work, selling for ridiculous amounts of money (anywhere from 600-2500 dollars). I really enjoy the duality of nature meets machine: it is beautiful in a pure yet gritty way.