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Title: Et Alors? |
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Description: This poster advertises a “Satirical and Political Revue in 3 Acts,” by the playwright(s) using the pseudonym Will and Fram, entitled “Et Alors?” or “So What?” A “revue” was a theater piece, often satirical, shorter than a typical play, and sometimes including a musical component. The word itself only came into being in 1872, just a few decades before this poster’s creation. In the poster, the viewer sees a high-flying Blériot-style monoplane, operated by a seemingly carefree pilot, who waves as the plane cruises over the simply-rendered countryside. Below and to the left, a balloon seems to have been punctured, or otherwise damaged, as it sags and sinks, its alarmed passenger and ground crewman gesticulate and struggle to control the deflating bag. Printed on the balloon are the years 1906, 1908, and 1910. Banners, in red and blue, displaying the words “Liberté” (Liberty) and “Progrès” (Progress) unfurl behind the airplane. Birds flock, perhaps observing the human spectacle below them. |
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The poster and its impertinent question, “So What?” suggests that the Revue 1911 roasted aviation’s accomplishments, its military and civil advocates, and its infatuated public admirers. The years 1906, 1908, and 1910 all saw significant developments in aeronautics, such as Alberto Santos-Dumont’s prize-winning flight in the N° 14 bis biplane (197 feet at a skyscraping altitude of 6.5 feet) in 1906, the arrival of Wilbur Wright in France to demonstrate his Flyer (1908), and France’s first cross-country air race and second English Channel crossing, in 1910. Nineteen-eleven, however, also marked an especially momentous time for the development of military aviation in France. Like other European nations at that time, the French government was preparing for war. France was, however, one of the first countries to create an official aviation regiment. While many French politicians and military leaders agreed that aviation was to be the savior of great nations, some questioned the airplane’s utility in pursuing and achieving “Liberté” or “Progrès.” Presumably, the Revue 1911, made comical fodder out of this very serious question and the public’s love affair with technology. |
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