Actually, the ostriches—pulling a cart with passengers—are merely the
beginning of
Autruches. There follow a donkey-cart, children on horses, camels, even
elephants. The fable-like nonchalance of the procession is matched
only by the adults who remain after the parade of beasts, sedate
Parisians unmoved by what may be an everyday event—but which, being
photographed, seems more like something out of
Alice in Wonderland,
even down to the quality of the light, which reminds me of Tenniel's
drawings for Carroll's book. The strollers, both engaging and strange,
are like the figures in Gustave Caillebotte's painting
of a rainy Paris street--perhaps ostriches all, as they step and preen. The
bourgeoisie and the fairy-tale combine to make one eccentric, the other commonplace.
Actually, the ostriches—pulling a cart with passengers—are merely the
beginning of Autruches. There follow a donkey-cart, children on horses, camels, even
elephants. The fable-like nonchalance of the procession is matched
only by the adults who remain after the parade of beasts, sedate
Parisians unmoved by what may be an everyday event—but which, being
photographed, seems more like something out of Alice in Wonderland,
even down to the quality of the light, which reminds me of Tenniel's
drawings for Carroll's book. The strollers, both engaging and strange,
are like the figures in Gustave Caillebotte's painting of a rainy Paris street--perhaps ostriches all, as they step and preen. The bourgeoisie and the fairy-tale combine to make one eccentric, the other commonplace.
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