Tom Loback | |
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| Born | (1949-02-16)February 16, 1949 Brooklyn, New York |
| Died | March 5, 2015(2015-03-05) (aged 66) |
| Known for | Illustrations ofThe Silmarillion |
Tom Loback (February 16, 1949 – March 5, 2015) was an artist, known for his illustrations of characters fromJ. R. R. Tolkien's 1977 bookThe Silmarillion, his miniature figurines, and his public artworks in New York. He contributed also as aTolkien scholar interested inTolkien's constructed languages.
Tom Loback was born on February 16, 1949, inBrooklyn, New York. As well as hisMiddle-earth work and hisdriftwood sculptures,[1] he also created figurines of characters from theAmerican Civil War and fromfantasy works.[1] Loback died of the after-effects of theSeptember 11 attacks.[2]
His best-known public artworks were sculptures made fromdriftwood and exhibited on theHudson River inManhattan, New York; those works were anonymous and his identity appeared mysterious, though it was never secret.[3] Loback collected the materials from the Hudson River itself; when a woman scolded him for "ruining the city's 'pristine' nature", he replied that the shoreline was composed ofrailroad landfill.[4] He created some thousands of driftwood sculptures, taking around half an hour to create each one.[5]
Loback contributed to the appreciation ofJ. R. R. Tolkien'slegendarium in two ways: through his art, and with scholarly study.[1] The Tolkien scholarBradford Lee Eden commented that Loback's work was "unique" in featuring bothTolkien's scripts (Cirth andTengwar) andElvish languages (bothQuenya andSindarin[6]) in his art, and in his imitation of the style of medievalilluminated manuscripts.[2] His artistic vision ofThe Silmarillion has been celebrated alongside that ofother Tolkien illustrators: in 1990,Mythlore set Loback and three others the task of illustrating the confrontation between the maker of theSilmarils,Fëanor, and his half-brotherFingolfin.[7]
The linguist and computer scientistCarl F. Hostetter wrote that Loback's contribution to Tolkien linguistics was in its nomenclature.[8] Loback wrote on Middle-earth subjects for magazines includingBeyond Bree andLittle Gwaihir, and the linguistic journalsVinyar Tengwar andParma Eldalamberon.[6]
A selection of Loback'sThe Silmarillion artworks, which he uploaded toCommons, is shown here.
