My friend Karen from NY reposted this youtube video on Facebook – Henri – le chat noir – the french existential cat. It is hilarious.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q34z5dCmC4M&w=510&h=289]
This video is getting viral now – at least according to Forbes’ “mon-dieux-save-us-from-the-existential-cat-video“.
Notice the graphic at the beginning of the video. It is inspired by this 1896 poster from Paris for a cabaret started by Rodolphe Salis. This poster also appears during the video.
The creator of the Tournée du Chat Noir poster – Theophile Steinlen – happened to be born in my neighborhood in Lausanne, Switzerland.
This is the original Henri video.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M7ibPk37_U&w=510&h=376]
There is a restaurant that is named Au Chat Noir at the location where presumably Steinlen was born or lived.
Henri has a facebook page – Henri, le Chat Noir. I look forward eagerly for more of Henri’s ennui.
There was a little behind-the-scene video about Henri but it seems to have been taken down, presumably to preserve the mystique.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EHSQSF_QWI&w=510&h=376]