More “Fighting Gentlemen” from the pencil of Christoph Roos

Another series of Bartitsu-flavoured action sketches by the German artist Christoph Roos. You can see more at his website.

Bartitsu art

Thanks to the talented German graphic artist Christoph Roos, who has created these dynamic renditions of a Bartitsu street fight, circa 1900:

Bartitsu fashion

ViolentlyBeautiful.com has recently posted a gallery of Bartitsu-inspired subversive fashion photography images. To quote from the blog:

The images contained within this site are artistic photography and all models are over the age of 18 at the time of shooting. Due to the nature of the subject matter of some of the photographs, they are not suitable for younger audiences or those of a sensitive disposition (consider yourself warned!).

and:

Bartitsu is a ‘gentlemen’s martial art’ from the the early part of the 20th century. If you would like more information about it, check out www.bartitsu.org

Thanks for the shout-out, and for surprising us with a novel artistic twist on our own theme.

Congratulations to Daniel Pope …

… who has won the Bartitsu documentary DVD artwork contest. Mr. Pope’s entry clearly demonstrates the unusual and eclectic nature of Bartitsu as an “Edwardian mixed martial art” and links to the Sherlock Holmes mythos, also communicating a sense of historical mystery within a pleasing overall design.

Thanks again to all our entrants; your creative talents are much appreciated.

We look forward to unveiling Mr. Pope’s design as the release date for the documentary DVD draws near.

Bartitsu documentary DVD art contest!

Announcing an open contest to create DVD cover and label art for the forthcoming documentary “Bartitsu: the Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes”, as featured in this preview trailer:

Theme and design brief

“Bartitsu: the Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes” is a feature-length documentary exploring the history, sudden downfall (circa 1902) and contemporary revival of Bartitsu, as described here. The documentary features a combination of interviews, animatics, re-enactments and archival footage/images.

We’re looking for DVD cover and label art that communicates the eclectic and unusual nature of Bartitsu as an “Edwardian mixed martial art” as well as its connection to the Sherlock Holmes mythos.

Resources and design elements

Designers and artists are invited to make use of any of the Bartitsu-related images available in the Art Contest Image Gallery, either as inspiration for original artwork or verbatim as design elements. Entirely original artwork is also welcome.

Rules

* Only digital submissions can be accepted (see also “Submission deadline” below).
* Submissions must include designs for both the DVD cover and DVD label.
* All artwork must be at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi in jpg, gif or psd format, exactly matching these dimensions:
DVD cover template
DVD label template
* Designs for the front cover must include the title

Bartitsu
The Lost Martial Art of Sherlock Holmes

and the tag-line

“I have introduced a new art of self defence …” – E.W. Barton-Wright, 1899.

The spine must include the title text and the back cover must include 100 words of “Lorem Ipsum” placeholder text.
* The submitted artwork must be exclusive to the Bartitsu documentary DVD art competition.
* Individuals may enter as many submissions as they wish and are welcome to include a short textual description of their work(s).
* The producers are not obliged to make use of any artwork submitted as part of this contest.
* The winner will be awarded a copy of the packaged documentary DVD and also a US$50.00 prize. Their artwork will be used in promoting and packaging the documentary DVDs.

Works submitted

The producers retain all rights to the photographic representation of works submitted, including the irrevocable and unrestricted right to use, reproduce, and publish said photographs for editorial, trade, advertising, or any other purpose and in any manner or medium; to alter the same without restriction; and to copyright the same.

Judges

Confirmed judges include:

Tony Wolf (Bartitsu Society)
Ran A. Braun (Bartitsu Society)
Greg Mele (Chicago Swordplay Guild and Freelance Academy Press)

Submission deadline

Submissions must be received via email to tonywolf(at)gmail.com before Thursday, September 30th, 2010.

The Art Of Stephanie Vegh

The image at the top of the page, our banner, is courtesy of Stephanie Vegh, a Canada-based author and painter. It’s part of a wider set that she discusses here. Like many of us, Stephanie has been fascinated by Bartitsu and has brought images of it into her art.

She’s posted a wealth of other images and sections of her writing. Well worth checking out.