Mechanics  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

The Canard Digérateur, or Digesting Duck, was an automaton in the form of duck, created by Jacques de Vaucanson in 1739. Voltaire wrote that "without [...] the duck of Vaucanson, you have nothing to remind you of the glory of France." ("Sans...le canard de Vaucanson vous n'auriez rien qui fit ressouvenir de la gloire de la France.") This is often misquoted as "Without the shitting duck, we would have nothing to remind us of the glory of France."

Powerhouse mechanic working on steam pump (1920)

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Mechanics (Greek Μηχανική) is the branch of physics concerned with the behaviour of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effect of the bodies on their environment.

From Greek mechanike, from Ancient Greek mehane, "machine, tool", from μήχος, μάχος (mehos, mahos) "device, assistance, way".

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station

Train wreck at Montparnasse

Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway by William Turner

See also

• Mechanical arts
• The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, an essay by Walter Benjamin
• Mechanical drawings by Francis Picabia