Please note that the logos used to depict the various 'special interest groups' are not necessarily in use by the groups themselves.
This page is best with a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768.    A description of these logos appears further down the page.

(A) BCRA Special Interest Groups

Cave Radio & Electronics | Cave Surveying | Explosives Users | Hydrology | Speleohistory

(B) Non-BCRA Special Interest Groups

Photography | Cave biology | Archaeology | Librarians' | SpeleoArt | Underground Photographer Magazine

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Logo Information

by David Gibson

With the exception of the Underground Photographer logo, which is nothing to do with me, the logos displayed above were entered in the Hidden Earth 97 art competition. This is what I wrote to accompany the display...

The original work being entered in this Hidden Earth art competition is the concept of a set of caving group logos, and not just the logos themselves. I designed most of them myself, but the credit for some must go to others. Most of the logos are not in use by the Groups concerned - they have been designed merely to illustrate a concept.

Cave Radio & Electronics Group. (BCRA Special Interest Group) Medium: CAD. Artist: Mike Bedford.

Description: The curved lines (generated by a computer program written by me) represent the magnetic field from an induction loop antenna. The Greek omega is the carto-graphic symbol for a cave. It is also the symbol for electrical resistance - and it is the resistance of the rock that gives rise to the unique problems of underground radio. This logo is in use by CREG.

Cave Surveying Group (BCRA Special Interest Group) Medium: CAD. Artist: Wookey, after Doug Dotson

Description: A simple piece of "pin-art", this logo was based (with permission) on the SpeleoTechnologies logo. This logo is in use by the Cave Surveying Group, usually without the text.

Explosives User Group (BCRA Special Interest Group) Medium: CAD. Artist: David Gibson

Description: Cave "digging" is central to the EUG's activities. The pick and shovel show this, with the burning fuse giving the link to explosives without making it too obvious - but caving ...?

Hydrology Group (BCRA Special Interest Group) Medium: Ink on paper. Artist: David Gibson

Description: Rock strata are the key to hydrology, but I have not really shown the link with caving.

Speleo-History Group (BCRA Special Interest Group) Medium: Ink on paper. Artist: David Gibson

Description: Keen speleo-historians will recognise the traced image of Balch, the famous caver, from Peter Johnson's A History of Mendip Caving (David & Charles, 1967).

Librarians' Group (a new group suggested by Alan Jeffreys) Medium: Ink on paper. Artist: Chris Trayner

Description: I lifted this logo (with permission) from the front cover of Chris Trayner & Nick Williams' Bibliography of Underground Communications which is published by the Cave Radio Group. An alternative option, discussed by Chris and I, was rather obscure - an orang-utan brandishing a compact disc.

Archaeology Group (a suggested new BCRA SIG) Medium: Ink on paper. Artist: David Gibson

Description: Cave paintings, camp fires, pottery shards ... I had plenty of ideas but not enough skill to draw them. I wanted an effect like the Natural History Museum logo - just a few wispy brush strokes. The logo is supposed to be a campfire with smoke coming off it.

Cave Biology Group (a suggested new BCRA SIG) Medium: Ink & coloured pencil on paper. Artist: David Gibson

Description: The deep-sea angler fish was traced from a children's book Night Creatures, which I obtained from the Science Museum's shop for £1.50. I have attempted to replace the luminous pendant with a caving lamp. The fish was cross-hatched to look like sharkskin neoprene. The original sketch was shaded with coloured pencils, but the monochrome computer scan was coloured using MS Paint. It is supposed to be very "Terry Gilliam" and was also intended to look like that famous etching of a rhinoceros, the detail of which escapes me - but maybe neither effect quite comes off?

Cave Photography Group (a suggested new BCRA SIG) Medium: CAD. Artist: David Gibson, based on CAD suggestion by Mike Bedford

SpeleoArt (Carolina Brook) Medium: Ink on paper. Artist: David Gibson

Description: SpeleoArt is Carolina Brook's venture - organising art exhibitions at international caving events. Carolina is, herself, part of the International Society for Speleological Art (ISSA). I got the idea for the logo (with permission) from the design produced by Carolina, together with Ceris Jones, for ISSA. I spent a messy afternoon in the kitchen with a tray of endorsing ink and large sheets of paper trying to get imprints of various caving objects, which is more difficult than you might think.

Acknowledgements: apart from the people mentioned in the text, I would like to thank Kym ap Rhys for scanning my sketches and Carolina Brook for encouragement!

David Gibson, September 1997

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