Ah! To soak in the ol' cauldron, sipping on a brew. That's the life, ain't it? Well, not for long, at any rate. Mr. H&T here wants nothing more than to let his life ebb away as he cooks from the inside out.
And yet… Is it conceivable that this lobster has already expired? Have we mistaken his languid posture for the rapture of the final moments? And if so—if we are witnessing not the suicidal impulse—perhaps this is not self-destruction at all. Could this, in fact, be murder?
It is here, when conjecture takes a breathless jog to the left, that the unknown illustrator's canny subtext makes itself plain. The supine subject, the bubbling tub, the arm draped over the side... You have seen this image before!
(The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David, 1793.) Our crustacean Marat has been silenced, struck down for the threat he posed to the ruling class. The Heads & Tails Seafood logo takes on far more meaning when observed in this light. Hail, the firebrand lobster, freedom fighter, upholder of justice! Liberté! Egalité! Fraternité!
Or, well, no. He's just some bug offing himself so someone can eat him. Move along.
1 comment:
That's a crawfish my friend. Great blog.
Post a Comment