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Chris Butler is a regular lecturer at the planetarium on the Queen Mary 2
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Internationally renown science and maritime
artist Chris Butler is well known as an
entertaining and informative lecturer. From
astronomy to history, his career as an artist
has given him a unique perspective on a wide
variety of subjects. Several presentations are
now available, and all feature a rich selection
of Chris's famous art and humor.
To schedule a
presentation for your club, class or community,
contact the artist directly at
butlerart@aol.com.
"Chris Butler's speaking performances combine
rich personal knowledge of whatever subject has
engaged his attention with showmanship and
professionalism that satisfies crowds with
substance and style. He leverages his
information with humor, and his personality on
stage persuades his audiences they can't afford
to miss what he has to say."
Dr. Edwin C. Krupp, Ph.D.
Director, Griffith Observatory
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"Imagine: Reality"
The job of the science artist is a strange one:
to use imagination to recreate reality which we
cannot directly experience or photograph.
While art has an amazing power to explain, it
can also mislead - as history has shown. Did
dinosaurs drag their tails on the ground? What
color is the sky on Mars? How did our Earth
look in it's earliest days? Chris Butler's
science art has tackled many challenges, from
portraying the long-extinct dinosaurs to
showing us what astronomers expect we would
find on alien planets. Chris presents the best
of his internationally published art, taking
you behind the scenes to examine the mysteries
and method that take us on the journey from
imagination to reality.
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"Our Little Corner of the Galaxy"
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to
voyage among the stars? Wonder no longer;
internationally published science artist Chris
Butler has created a visually stunning tour
through distant but actual star systems to give
you a sense of what we might find out there,
and also give you a new perspective on Earth
and it's place in the universe. Using the
latest computer technology, Chris even permits
you to watch as the constellations swim into
strange patterns as you put an extra 100 light
years towards your frequent flier miles.
Special tour itineraries will focus on stars
you can see tonight, so you'll have sparkling
mementos of your stellar vacation.
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"Imaginative, creative, a rare genius - all of
these describe Chris Butler. You won't be
disappointed in his presentation - in fact
you'll experience a magical performance unlike
you have ever seen before."
G. Wayne Eggleston,
Executive Director, Newport Harbor Nautical Museum
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"Queen Mary: Monarch of the Sea"
Although the ill-fated Titanic is known to
virtually everyone, she was by no means the
largest, fastest, or most historically
important of the great ocean liners. Dwarfing
the earlier Titanic at 130 feet longer, twice
the tonnage, and four times the horsepower was
the Cunard Line's 1936 Queen Mary. In her long
career, this great ship hosted the famous,
served as a giant troop transport, and
profoundly affected world history.
Internationally published artist Chris Butler
takes you on a tour of the Mary's storied life,
from her uncertain beginnings in the
depression, through her war service (including
the deadly Curacoa incident which is considered
on of World War 2's best kept secrets) and on
to her astounding good fortune in being
preserved today as a floating musuem. A former
tour guide and life long visitor aboard the
Queen, Chris will share his own "sea stories",
giving you a unique glimpse into one of the
greatest ships ever built - the Queen Mary,
monarch of the sea.
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"Titanic: An Artist's Voyage"
The short, tragic life of the RMS Titanic is
the stuff of which legends are made. No lover
of the sea and ships, including internationally
published artist Chris Butler, is beyond
Titanic's eerie spell. Yet legends are not
facts, and the Titanic story is more complex
than many know; the recent movies and
television specials can at times give the wrong
impression of the ship and story that were once
very real indeed. A lifelong Titanic buff,
Chris takes you alongside the infamous liner,
from her launching to her grave; using his
science art background, he presents his own
visions of her life and doom. A must for all
history and nautical officinados, Titanic: An
Artist's Voyage is a fresh look at the most
famous ship and shipwreck ever.
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"Race to the Moon: the Untold Story"
The Apollo expeditions to the moon were an
astounding story, watched around the world and
studied today as a remarkable historic event.
But there is more to the Apollo story than the
headlines. Science artist and son of an Apollo
engineer Chris Butler takes you on a mission
into the unknown in Race to the Moon - the
Untold Story. Learn about the strained
relations between astronomers whose input was
ignored and the massive bureacracy entrusted
with the politcal race to beat the Soviet Union
to the moon. Hear a litany of close calls that
NASA was quick to hush up. Scour the cratered
moonscape as NASA tries to select landing
sites. Follow the political maneuvering of the
US government as president Kennedy tries to
take an idea that seemed insane just years
before - a lunar expedition - and transform it
into reality. Why did the space agency abandon
the planned Apollo 18 mission? Are more lunar
missions in store, as NASA puts the finishing
touches on its space station? Join Chris for a
trip through space and time in Race to the Moon
- the Untold Story.
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"Under the Southern Stars"
On a clear night, far from the city lights, you
can see thousands of stars - but unless you
live far to the south of the United States,
there are thousands more you will never see:
the southern stars, forever doomed to
invisibility for all northern dwellers by the
implacable horizon. This stellar realm happens
to include some of the most famous,
spectacular, and important celestial treats in
the heavens, in addition to a rich collection
of constellations steeped in the culture of the
sea faring explorers who first saw them. Join
science artist Chris Butler for a journey
through a fascinating realm of star clusters,
dark nebulae, and galaxies "down under"; he'll
even give you pointers on how to do some
stargazing if you plan a vacation Under the
Southern Stars.
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"World of the Dinosaurs"
The age of the dinosaurs has been described as
the most spectacular in our planet's long
story. But these magnificent reptiles did not
rule the Earth; in fact, it ruled them. It
laid the groundwork for their appearance, it
altered their appearance, and in the end, it
destroyed them and much of the other life on
our planet. We often think Earth nurtures and
protects the living things that cling to it,
but clearly something went terribly wrong.
More poignantly, we live on that same planet;
are we safe? Science artist Chris Butler will
take you back to those times, sharing his
internationally published dinosaur art, for a
look at what is in some ways an alien planet
full of wonder and danger - the world of the
dinosaurs.
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"A regular highlight of the meetings of the
Orange County Astronomers is the short but
imaginative sky tour by Chris Butler. Chris
uses all of the resources at his disposal as an
astronomer and astronomical artist and master
of multimedia to highlight a particular part of
the sky, and acting as seasoned guide-- taking
us there and making us at home with our alien
surroundings, whether on top of "the face on
Mars" or in the midst of the Great Cluster of
Hercules. His approach is entertaining and
memorable, and serves as a fine example of how
the wonders of the sky should be presented."
Anthony Cook
Astronomical Observer, Griffith Observatory
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