Who are hacktonauts?
A hacktonaut is a person interested in matters of make shifting and reverse engineering, using high and low technology. Hence, hacktonautics is the art of navigating and tinkering through DIY, DIWO, and DITO approaches to the cultures of making and hacking (non-)electronic devices and objects, as well as creating them. It also includes citizen science and innovation through smart and meaningful improvisation techniques.
In 2023 I 'defined', described and 'designed' a hacktonaut, so it is time to share where the illustration was found and what is behind it. In Radiona.org's language, a hacktonaut is primarily used to describe hacker/maker partaking our camp Electric Wonderland, but also a member of our global hacking community.
With imaging and visualising I wanted to combine something retro or vintage with a twist of humour, so in line with Radiona's community. Also it was supposed to be 'hackable' and inspiring for our house designers Klis and Prizma* (who are in charge for the most of our visuals in Radiona).
A hacktonaut of modern times by Damir Prizmić
By combining Don Quixote's comic side, as well as his refined idealism, and as Cervantes book is one of the greatest novels of all times, keeping in mind it's full of complex characters and situations there was a need to give a tribute to the whole DIY and hacking/making community with a humorous character that symbolises continuous persistence and resilience of the scene.
From the beginning I knew I we wanted a combination of vintage or retro combined with something contemporary. Also, in my visual mind there was some connection to Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Seas, diving and delving under the surface in equipment that nowadays might look like a one way ticket to eternal rest. The aesthetics of illustrations from the cover of Jules Verne's books were triggers for the search.
I started by browsing through a lot of online illustration and photo repositories and websites in search for a possible hacktonaut. I wasn't thinking about defining a gender or anything like that, I wanted a universal human being who traveled through time.
Punch magazine
Lost in tempting labyrinths of illustration on the internet, entering tags combinations that might guide the search to something, I stumbled on this lovely illustration that was uploaded on Openclipart - Open Clip Art Library**. The person who digitised it there did some 'cleaning' of the original illustration, but the idea was the one I was searching for.
The original author of the illustration is unknown. The illustration is strange, unusual, clear, original and humorous. It obviously reflects the author's commentary on the times they live in. But on the other hand, it is obvious that the character has the potential to become a time traveler. Still waters run deep.
It never occurred to me that I would find the character for our hacktonaut in the satirical British magazine Punch*** from 1841. Thanks to someone who decided to digitise it ten years ago and offer it as a free clip art. This is also T H A N K Y O U to many volunteers around the globe who are tirelessly over two decades open sourcing and digitizing materials from archives and history.
Hence, a hacktonaut was born, or not. A hacktonaut was all the time here, but just a bit hidden from the main view.
Now, it continues to travel again with us...
Written by Deborah Hustic, Radiona.org
* Ivan Klisurić, Damir Prizmić
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openclipart
*** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_(magazine)
