I could use some help here. This is a mural painted on an apartment building in Les Andelys, France, and by American standards it looks a little problematic. But maybe it has a different meaning in France. Are these random characters, or do they represent something well known? Any ideas to share?
I don’t recognize the characters.
Someone will be along with a better answer in a minute, but to my naive eye it’s just got a Jules Verne “Around the World in Eighty Days” steampunky vibe. Wiki says Verne had a surrealist thing too.
I don’t see why it would be problematic?
Maybe because the female looks potentially restrained?
I thought she had attached those balloons to her elbows for a more uniform, hands-free lift. I mean, how long can you grip a little string, if you think you're going to conquer the French Channel?
Problematic? Only if one thinks a picture has to have a deep meaning, as well as a close connection to a body of work with a profound history.
Maybe it's just whimsy. Consider this:
https://newsvirginian.com/news/local/waynesboro-mural-named-no-1-in-world-by-streetart360/article_9d5deb9c-f32a-550a-8c0f-6d35465df5bc.html
Don't know. Seems as if murals in this style are relatively common in France?
les andelys france mural tour
Well, I guess everything is considered 'problematic' to somebody in the United States. Aside from that, I got nuthin'.
Wiki says:
“Les Andelys was the birthplace of Jean-Pierre Blanchard (1753–1809), balloonist, first man to cross the English Channel by air”
I saw a lot of hot-air-balloon imagery in other parts of France so dunno if that has anything to do with it.
My idea is the artist left the cheese out too long before eating.
Don’t get me started…
IDK, you can see his other murals here and judge yourself: https://www.instagram.com/maye_name_is_maye/?hl=en
Peut-être, my blind spot is too big...
Apparently, it’s one of four murals from froze artisits, painted for a 2019 open-air festival. https://actu.fr/normandie/les-andelys_27016/aux-andelys-eure-fresques-murales-hlm-seront-inaugurees-vendredi_27342247.html
This one is described as showing “Jean-Pierre et Sophie Blanchard, premiers aérostiers à avoir traversé la Manche en ballon.”
In English: “Jean-Pierre and Sophie Blanchard, the first balloonists to cross the English Channel in a balloon.”
It’s not quite as redundant sounding in French since “balloonist” and “balloon” have different roots (aérostier and balloon).
“Four artists,” not “froze artists.”
While a professional balloonist like her husband, Sophie apparently was not on that first flight over the Channel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Blanchard
Problematic? Um, yes.
Unless the figure on the left doesn’t actually look as though he’s in blackface.
His face is in the shadow of his hat.
Pull the image into its own window and make it full-screen. Lots of details you'll miss otherwise. In fact, this is often a good idea with Kevin's photos.
Why does the female require three montgolfières and the male only one? Male chauvinisme of course!
Otherwise I can't make out any unawake feature.