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Chris Butler is a regular lecturer at the planetarium on the Queen Mary 2

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

"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.  

 
"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.

 
"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

"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.

 
"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.

 
"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.

 
"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.

 
"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.

"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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