"A young woman stood before the railing, speaking to the reception clerk. Her slender body seemed out of all scale in relation to a normal human body; its lines were so long, so fragile, so exaggerated that she looked like a stylized drawing of a woman and made the correct proportions of a normal being appear heavy and awkward beside her. She wore a plain gray suit; the contrast between its tailored severity and her appearance was deliberately exorbitant - and strangely elegant. She let the finger tips of one hand rest on the railing, a narrow hand ending the straight imperious line of her arm. She had grey eyes that were not ovals, but two long, rectangular cuts edged by parallel lines of lashes; she had an air of cold serenity and an exquisitely vicious mouth. Her face, her pale gold hair, her suit seemed to have no color, but only a hint, just on the verge of the reality of color, making the full reality seem vulgar. Keating stood still, because he understood for the first time what it was that artists spoke about when they spoke of beauty."

-Who does that sound like?

-- Charlie Princeton (cmmartin@princeton.edu), December 04, 1998

Answers

It sounds like a painting done by that artist (what's-his-name?) whose work inspired Aeon's physique. I read about him in an interview once.

-- Frostbite (SlipperyMermaid@bar.com), December 06, 1998.

When you quote something, you're supposed to provide the source. Don't they teach you that at Princeton?

-- P D (Snazzman@hotmail.com), December 06, 1998.

I didn't attribute the quote because it's by a woman who's universally misunderstood and disliked - I thought seeing her name might color your appreciation of the quote. It's from the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. And the artist in question is Egon Sheile. (I think that's how you spell it...)

-- Charlie Princeton (cmmartin@princeton.edu), December 07, 1998.

Actually, it's Egon Schiele - an amazing, groundbreaking, fascinating artist. His works are some of the most challenging and sexually confronting you're likely to come across.

Another artist who obviously has heavily influenced Peter CHung as far as Aeon is concerned is the French Jean Giraud, or Moebius, as he calls himself. many of the Breen settings for Aeon seem to have been lifted, or almost copied, from his work in the Heavy Metal comic series. I recommend anyone to become familiar with both these artists, irrespective of whether you're an art fan or not.

-- Angus Fotheringham (fothers@wr.com.au), December 07, 1998.

for those Ayn Rand affectionadios, read the Fountainhead before Atlas Shrugged. I read it in the opposite order and couldn't even finish the Fountainhead. (its like Atlas Shrugged lite)

-- divinity (divinity@u.washington.edu), December 07, 1998.

At the risk of going completely off topic, I'd say you're right. I read them in the same order as you. (AS, then Fountainhead) But I find the Fountainhead a little bit better - slightly more succint, slightly more believable. The total world collapse idea in Atlas Shrugged is just a wee bit too absurd for me. But bear in mind the political climate the books came out in - it was the first half of the century, when Communism was looking all too tempting...

-- Charlie Princeton (cmmartin@princeton.edu), December 07, 1998.

at the risk of sounding snobbish, some of us knew it was Ayn Rand without being told...I've only yet read the first 5 or 10 pages of the Fountainhead but the writing style is unmistakeable; that is to say, she writes like an architect. The point about crediting the writer when you quote them is valid, though. Also, i disagree that a person's attitude or impression toward Rand would pollute their appreciation for the writing. Well, on second thought, it might, but shouldn't. A person may well disagree with some of her philosophies, or may find the very concept of Objectivism sickening, but good writing is good writing, nonetheless. Her style and power with language is wonderful, whether you like her as a person or not.

-- alex (meat_machine@hotmail.com), April 23, 1999.

How entertaining and discouraging to meet someone so devoted to Rand! Someone so sure of Ayn (and themselves) that they can identify her work with a microscopic sampling of it! Ayn is good, it cannot be denied, but she is neither an architect nor a great writer. Her irreplaceable place in western thought will be to provide a moral justification of capitalism... Nothing more... but nothing less! The point I wished to make is that her characterizations (especially of Dominique's physical form) coincide rather neatly with Aeon Flux... She has the same view of man (and woman) as a heroic creature as Peter Chung has. Personally I find Rand to be a sexual deviant and a likely sufferer of obsessive compulsive disorder - but she is to be applauded, once again, for her philosophy...

{Drunken Post Alert!}

-- Charlie Princeton (cmmartin@princeton.edu), April 23, 1999.

Stumbbled upon this site, searching for Egon Schiele, only to be drawn in by "Ayn Rand" and its true the description of Dominiqe resembles, Schiele's work. I am a fan of both to be honest. And i enjoyed the insightful and eloqent banter i encountered here, as a side note, most of the architects i know, really dont like Rand, especially in her description of architecture, I however, enjoyed her musings and theory behind building human scale builings. Mostly i enjoyed her depiction of the female hero, they are women with the ability to be powerful in a purely feminine way. I was inspired.

-- kendra bauser (kendrabauser@yahoo.com), March 08, 2001.

I can't tell you how many times I've searched for the Moebius Heavy Metal comic that inspired the Breen settings; can anyone name a place directly to view this?

-- Barb e. (Suesuesbeo@aol.com), March 09, 2001.