aeroplane
by Steven McCabe
Experiments at the Hadron Collider
were perhaps on my mind
as I digitally revised
the image of a crowd
observing an early flying machine.
The serendipity of the moment
was surprising.
I realized I wanted
to add text.
The first page I turned to,
in the first book I opened,
a paperback I bought for one dollar
many years ago
titled
Cinema in Revolution,
mentioned the word aeroplane
almost immediately.
‘Generally speaking the character of the local people helped us a lot.
They are very sensible.
Nothing surprises them; they continued about their business
without paying any attention to the camera.
They did all the market scenes themselves,
at our request,
perfectly calmly and amiably
and exactly as we wanted.
They are really excellent people.
When we needed to collect a large number of them
together for the final scenes,
the aeroplane served as bait.
We offered them trips in the plane.
Well, as I say, nothing surprised them!
They saw an aeroplane for the first time in their lives,
and they got into it as calmly as might be –
a man must not show that he is frightened of anything.
As for the monks, the lamas, it was even more simple:
they said that all this had already existed long ago,
only men had not considered it useful,
so had forgotten it…
Pudovkin was very impressed by all this.
We made the film,
with a very strong feeling
for all its living material.’
Interview recorded in Moscow (1965)
with
Anatoli Goloynya – Cinematographer,
Storm Over Asia.
Page 149, Cinema in Revolution,
Hill and Wang, 1973.
Edited by Luda and Jean Schnitzer
and Marcel Martin.
Translated by David Robinson.
As a result of the Khrushchev cultural thaw
Russians were able to see the work
of the Soviet experimental filmmakers
for the first time
since they were suppressed
under Stalin.
Director Vsevolod Pudovkin’s 1928 film
Storm Over Asia
can be found on YouTube.
In 1848,
an archaeological expedition working in Egypt
discovered hieroglyphs of flying machines
at an ancient temple in Abydos,
several hundred miles south of Cairo.
I do not claim copyright to the original image
of spectators & the flying machine
(photographer unknown).
I have revised the image to create a new work
for non-commercial purposes.
poemimage 
A powerful image. I especially liked
“. . .all this had already existed long ago,
only men had not considered it useful,
so had forgotten it…”.
We do pay a high price for our technologies, don’t we? I often think this about the automobile, which we’ve had for only a little over a century. We put up with air pollution, noise pollution and the aggravations of traffic.
Hi and thank you mrsdaffodil. Yes, isn’t that a most interesting quote? Put in context with those hieroglyphics and one certainly ‘wonders.’ I wonder if the ‘ancients’ did to their world what we are doing to ours.
I love the sense of wonder this evokes. And the sweetness of innocent souls.
Hi Jeanie, thank you for this thought. I’m glad it evokes a sense of wonder. It did for me too I think. And isn’t it like some sort of ‘recharging’ to happen upon a sense of innocence. I hadn’t thought of innocence until you said it but yes!
Wonderful, uncanny series of images. And the juxtaposition with the direct report contained in the text, adds to the uncanniness. Greatly enjoyed this.
Thank you Nell. It all came together in a sort of uncanny way now that you mention it. Very glad you enjoyed it. Yes, that 100 year old direct report was something to stumble upon also!
Ah, serendipitous to find this now… lovely
Thank you Sarah.