Modern Paleoartist Examines 1960s Paleoart (Updated)

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Hi all. I am a professional paleoartist who works in close collaboration with paleontologists around the world. Here are my thoughts on some really nice paleoart from the 1960s by an artist named William D. Berry that has been making the rounds in the online paleoart community and receiving a lot of praise for being years ahead of its time. But is that true? How far have we really come since the 60s? And what can this piece and it's recent resurgence in popularity tell us about the broader history of paleoart and it's relationship to pop culture?

My hope is that we can have fun and interesting conversations about these works and paleoart more broadly. In my own career I've sometimes felt like scientists and paleoartists have attempted to repress new ideas, perceiving them as a threat to their reputation or marketability, or just because they really like oldschool dinos even though new evidence contradicts them. Unfortunately this resistance to change has the effect of slowing down the development of paleoart and the scientific research and exploration surrounding it while also discouraging many up and coming artists and scientists.

I propose we embrace the near-certainty that all of our paleoart is far from an absolute truth, but is rather a human expression of our understanding of the current science. As such, we should expect those views - and our paleoart - to shift and grow and develop with the times as new discoveries come to light, both from the fossil record and the study of our modern world. If we embrace this perspective, it becomes easier to let go of beloved images of prehistoric animals based on old science (while continuing to love them as great artistic and scientific accomplishments of their era), which frees our imaginations to explore new ideas, with an emphasis on those based in good observational biology, and depict new hypotheses in scientific paleoart. Emerging scientific ideas about dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals influence and inspire pop culture, and new and exciting paleoart often then inspires and motivates new scientific investigations, which in turn feeds back into the art form.

Huge shoutouts to my collaborators and supporters, and everybody who thinks paleoart should be fun and positive and dynamic. I will continue to do my best to bring the latest science, new discoveries and perspectives and an openness to new ideas.

Here are some links to papers where you can learn more about the historical paleontology presented in this video:
Allosaurus:
https://extinctmonsters.net/2015/05/0...
https://repository.si.edu/handle/1008...
And here's a great article by Riley Black chronicling the story of that 1908 Allosaurus mount (with the weird short/broad skull) in greater historical detail:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scienc...

T. rex, but applicable here: https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...

Here are a few links where you can see more William D. Berry art:
https://biologistcanvas.wordpress.com...
https://foxstudio.biz/2009/11/27/insp...
http://www.geocities.ws/desertcoyote_...
http://dmangus.blogspot.com/2015/10/
https://chasmosaurs.blogspot.com/2016...

ANATOMY STUFF:
I've made a folder on my website where I will upload paleo reference material related to videos & topics discussed as I have time or as my patrons and collaborators request it. Hope you find it useful in your own paleoart-making efforts!
http://dontmesswithdinosaurs.com/Pale...

Here's a great scientific paper related to the topic of reconstructing theropod hind limbs: The evolutionary continuum of limb function from early theropods to birds. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...

You didn't hear it from me, but this website breaks down barriers to paywalled scientific journals. shhhhh! don't tell the publishers who are exploiting the scientists!

You def need to get familiar with the blog "What's in John's Freezer" if you want all the cool/gorey and immensely informative dissection pictures, explanation and food for thought:https://whatsinjohnsfreezer.com/2014/...

Here's a great explanation of some of the broader context of this stuff:https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/museum/even...