Keoma Calandrini “The Flesh Market”
French Quarter musings – Keoma Calandrini “The Flesh Market” offers me a connection to New Orleans
“The Flesh Market” by Keoma Calandrini
Keoma Calandrini “The Flesh Market”
Occasionally, I encounter artwork online that gives me a mental connection to my city. This image is very much one of these. Keoma Calandini is a Brazilian artist who features his work on ArtStation.
Cyberpunk French Quarter
So much cyberpunk imagery invokes urban feels in Asian settings. At first glance, “The Flesh Market” does this. As I looked beyond some of the obvious components, this started looking more and more like a futuristic version of Bourbon Street. The neon signs and basic architecture of the buildings give me that Bourbon Street feel, particularly on the right side. Those columns on the building in the foreground remind me of the Royal Sonesta hotel, as well as other Quarter buildings. The garish neon is reminiscent of Bourbon. The Coca-Cola sign doesn’t quite fit, since a walk down Bourbon offers you “huge ass beers” and “hand grenades,” but the feel is consistent. Look down the right into the next block, and that’s totally the feel of t-shirt shops, smoke shops, pizza by the slice, and bars with sidewalk service.
The noodle shop
The noodle stand/shop in the center doesn’t quite fit Bourbon. There aren’t any buildings in the middle of the real street. In fact, the Desire streetcar line traveled Bourbon on its outbound leg throughout the French Quarter. While there isn’t a real-life analog to this building, it still has a Quarter feel. It’s as if Clover Grill had outside counter seating. Perhaps in a couple of decades, a burger joint might offer Asian noodles, appealing to changing tastes of locals and tourists alike.
Costumes/Dress
Mr. Calandrini’s vision of future/cyberpunk dress fits the genre. So, i doesn’t fit modern Bourbon Street. Most evenings, Rue Bourbon contains tourists dressed for Walt Disney World. They’re having their nght-in-the-Quarter before heading out on a cruise ship.Go back a couple of decades, when there were more locals and fewer tourists. Drugs and sex shared the street with beer and cheap food. Bourbon served up an exotic, dark, environment.
The Budayeen
Cyberpunk imagery invoking the French Quarter always brings me to George Alec Effinger’s “Budayeen” stories. Now I want to re-read those books and stories and connect them to all this art.
