A snapshot from the impossible city that forms the backdrop for the detective story "The Long Tomorrow" by Dan O'Bannon and Jean Giraud a.k.a. "Moebius."
This story, and the artwork that accompanied it, is one of the Ur texts of cyberpunk. Moebius has an incredible imagination and the hand to go with it. I'm not sure what he's done lately, but this is probably his most influential work and it still has an uncanny power to it.
The dominant historicist approach to art and architecture emphasizes the work and legacy of dominant individuals. These "Great Men" stride forth and refashion the world around them. They are black swans, extreme outliers, tortured geniuses, etc... The heroes of Ayn Rand's make-believe novels. I'm holding less and less stock in this approach because it is the lazy way to analyze history. The messier truth is that the work of people like Shakespeare, Mozart and F.L. Wright is a consequence of their times. Their work, no matter how iconographic or powerful, is water poured into an ocean from a teacup. On most occasions, their work is a successful placeholder for the events of their age, and serves as a good way to understand history.
Moebius is still awesome. I wonder what he has done lately?
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