Picturing Extraterrestrials : Prometheus : 9781573929905 : 1573929905 : 01 Jun 2003 : In this witty, erudite, and thoroughly researched book, art historian John Moffitt discusses the popular iconography depicting alleged extraterrestrial (ET) visitors and the widespread appeal of this New Age craze as a mass cultural phenomenon. A thorough skeptic, Moffitt is interested in kitschy ET portraiture, not as evidence of aliens among us, but for what this imagery reveals about contemporary culture. By brilliantly placing the present cultural moment in historical context, he demonstrates how typical portrayals of aliens reflect long-running (even ancient) cultural motifs. Whether we realize it or not, among ET's precursors are the ecstatic maenads of ancient Greek art, early depictions of Christ in Byzantine icons, the religious visions shown in 15th-century Spanish paintings, and the popular images of witches and incubi from the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, in our postmodern space age,