The Art of the X-Files: Based on the X-Files

by Chris Carter (Creator), Carole Kismaric (editor), William Gibson (introduction)

Reflecting our world in a uniquely haunting way, The X-Files has engendered a new look of mystery, conspiracy, phenomenon, and fear. These enigmatic, elusive images have had a profound and compelling impact on our visual reality, both feeding into and drawing from mainstream America's fascination with the subversive, the disowned, and the disillusioned. This innovative volume, a visual response to Chris Carter's dark, uneasy creation, collects the works of more than sixty cutting-edge artists. Representing a cross section of contemporary visual arts, these photographers, painters, scultptors, graphic designers, and digital media artists have produced works that reflect their personal interpretation of The X-Files : as a cultural phenomenon, as a new chapter in television history, as an engrossing cosmic conspiracy. Many pieces are accompanied by a statement from the artist, explaining the inspiration behind his or her contribution--ranging from an episode to a line of dialouge, form a particular incident to a theme within the entire series. Illustrated with video stills from the episodes, this volume shows the strong influence of The X-Files imagery on the artistic mind. In this introduction to this powerful collection of images, acclaimed writer William Gibson noted that The X-Files "is a disturbing and viscerally satisfying expression of where we've come from, where we are today, and all those places we simultaneously yearn and dread to go." Starling, beautiful, and thought-provoking, this unusual volume expands the creative vision of The X-Files , and of contemporary art itself.

Genres: Art, Tv, Horror, Nonfiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Christopher Carl Carter (born October 13, 1956) is an American screenwriter, film director and producer, best known as the creator of The X-Files and Millennium.

He was born in Bellflower, California to William and Catherine Carter. In college, he majored in journalism, graduating from California State University Long Beach in 1979. His brother, W. Craig Carter, is a Lord Foundation Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT.

Carter began writing for Surfing magazine out of college. For the next five years, he traveled around the world both as a freelance writer and as the magazine's associate editor.

Reviews

[Love of Hopeless Causes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Text = 4 stars, art = 2 Stars. I haven't followed the new series since it could only take away from my feelings for the old series. Thus, I was a bit distant in approaching this book. That said, this is underwhelming compared to any of the trading card series.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The text of the artist statements is really hard to read given how it is printed, but the art is mostly really good.

[Aaron the Pink Donut · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great glossy small format book of art from and inspired by the TV series. All sorts of neat stuff await you in this book. Lots of prop reproductions, such as DNA/ blood sample props, documents, and even the some Polaroid’s from Ted Serios inspired episode “Unruhe”. There is a lot of inspired art or art that inspired the look and feel of the show contained in the volume as well. A lout of the art is actual pretty good. The illustration of Mulder as a technological saint Sebastian is worth admission price alone.