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DRB Visual Caffeine #5


"VISUAL CAFFEINE" #5
Link - by Avi Abrams



DRB Visual Caffeine: a thrilling blend of art, architecture, myths and fabulous technology - Issue 5

This is the fifth issue of our "visual caffeine concoctions" (read the first one here) - somewhat unpredictable short forays into the history of art and architecture, coupled with mythology, culture and fabulous (often obsolete) technology.

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"Heaven Can Wait" movie poster displays that classic Hollywood (anticipation of a) kiss, complete with creepy guys looking down from a painting. "The film tells the story of a man who has to prove he belongs in Hell by telling his life story". So, a-story-in-a-story, starring heavenly-looking Gene Tierney and (this is not Clark Gable!) Don Ameche:


(images via 1, 2)

Delahaye MS 165 V12 roadster sporting beautiful Art-Deco custom coachwork by Figoni & Falaschi, was chosen to represent France at the 1939 New York World's Fair, where it caused a sensation.

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A full-size Jumbo jet Boeing 747 in Soviet "Aeroflot" livery? Well, this apparently was a thing in 1987: this picture appeared in the official Panam promo brochure as a possible addition to the fleet of planes already servicing Moscow-New York direct flights. However, by the early 1990s the Soviet Union underwent massive political upheavals and Aeroflot did not fare very well, so the project was dropped:


(image via)

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There is something very quaint about antique postcards, especially the ones completely crisscrossed by fine lines of cryptic handwriting:



Here is another "angelic" example of old illustration from 1909 issue of Jugend German magazine (info), well-known for its popularization of Art-Nouveau style (appropriately called "Jugendstil" in Germany, and Art "Modern" in East Europe and Russia):


(images credit: Jugend Magazine (digital version))

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This futuristic concept car is one of the most visually exciting creations of the early 1960s. 1964 GM X Stiletto was truly "a dream car", completele with an aircraft-styled steering controls and a marvellous dashboard, worthy of Japanese classic manga artist Leiji Matsumoto (Space Cruiser Yamato) who would put similar dials and controls in his sleek starships and busy spaceports:


(image via)

The image below shows rare Soviet concept car (similarly streamlined and ready to blast off into space) "GAZ Torpedo" from 1958:

(image via)

One of the more interesting recent concept cars is this Renault DeZir, powered by an electric motor and sporting lovely sleek dashboard (see it in motion in this video):


(image credit: Renault DeZir)

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Prairies in bloom (wild peonies)! Stavropolski Area, Sendileev Lake, Russia - Photo by Fedor Lashkov, National Geographic. Check out more incredible flowerings at photographer's page:


(image credit: National Geographic, Fedor Lashkov)

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Chester City's lovely double-decker (photo taken in the 1980s). See a complete collection of these beautiful buses at Victoryguy's gallery:


(image credit: Victoryguy)

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A sort of a "topographic" 3-D table recreates a lake right in your room. Materials: wood, glass - simple, but stunningly effective! The Abyss Horizon Table by Duffy London. See more here:


(image credit: Duffy London)

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The Nazi Olympics in Berlin in 1936 were the first to be televised: this humongous 6 feet long zoom camera was called "Fernsehkanonen" (television canon). Three of these cameras were used at the Olympics:


(image credit: Early Television)

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Italian architect Renzo Picasso imagined this "American Multiple Highway" in 1929, the stacked system covering the whole of Manhattan! - see more here:


(image credit: CityLab, courtesy of Renzo Picasso Archive)

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Read the previous Visual Caffeine Issues here:
Issue #4
Issue #3
Issue #2
Issue #1





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YOUR COMMENTS::

2 Comments:

Blogger Zoltar Panaflex said...

The movie poster for "Heaven Can Wait" the 'three creepy guys' are actually Don Ameche's character's grandfather, father, and mother, who are assumed to disapprove of his character's falling instantly in love with the mystery beauty (Gene Tierney) who turns out to be the fiancée of his duller cousin. Grandfather is all for the match of course. It's a delightful Ernst Lubitsch film which most people might enjoy if they watched it. It's one of my favorites anyway.

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Anonymous Leo Sigh said...

The Roadsters were absolutely gorgeous cars. One of the most beautiful ever designed. Can only imagine how many these would sell if they were made today.

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