June 28, 2011

Un Quartier Embrouillé

If Da Vinci were the norm and artists took to the skies, practicality would not always come first.

The Life Electric
1890, illustrator Albert Robida

8 comments:

Steph(anie) said...

All those power and phone lines seem very dangerous in this context.

That Hank said...

She seems to be about to either get knocked off her craft or sliced.

Ms. Moon said...

Is this like a metaphor for the way electricity traps us? Or something? Whatever, it is delightful.

That Hank said...

I really have no idea, since I am Frenchless, but I think it's an early scifi story. Soooo... your guess is as good as mine.

x-ray iris said...

ooooh pretty.

I googled:
This came up.

"
"A neighborhood confused"


Illustration pour La vie électrique , Paris, G.

Illustration for Life Electric, Paris, G. Decaux, 1890. Decaux, 1890.

Albert Robida

Paris, BNF, département des Imprimés (4°Y2 5065)
Paris, BNF, Department of Prints (4 ° Y2 5065)

Les aéro-taxis manoeuvrent habilement dans le ciel embrouillé de la capitale.

The air-taxis in the sky jockey tangled in the capital."

I think it is just darn swell.
And I am reminded--oh, I am always reminded, it seems--in this case I am reminded of The Fifth Element. Swell flick.

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose"

That Hank said...

Yep, that's what I found, too. I just don't know the plot. You know, I think I'm in the mood to rewatch that flick. Maybe I'll go put it on my netflix.

x-ray iris said...

The air-taxis in the sky jockey tangled in the capital sounds like Douglas Adams or maybe even Stanislaw Lem. & yeah--5th Element is sure a fun one. Gary Oldman's accent is the tops. So much to love.

May said...

The future is soooo disappointing, compared to what it should have been.