Talk about a painting with staying power. This image has had the depth and power to remain in active circulation for almost a century. This lithograph, created by James Montgomery Flagg in 1917 for the United States effort to recruit troops for the war effort. This image would be used for both World Wars and would continue to be used for US recruitment, I think I have seen this poster on display at army recruitment offices within the last few years. I think this goes along with the other kinds of prowar proamerica propaganda produced by the US during this period. Like the Buy War bonds posters and the posters painting the germans like monstrous villains like in the works below:
It can be said that all the countries involved with a war are smart to put out propaganda of some type. For those people that lack knowledge of why they should hate and fear the enemy it gives them a reason and for those that need reminding it shoves the ideas into their faces whenever they open a magazine or walk past a government office.
Uncle Sam is old and white haired but his resolve and strength are never in question in this image. The artist used himself as a model for the face and used war vet for the body pose(a living vet, I realize that sentence sounds morbid).
The image was most likely inspired by a poster for the British Government created by Alfred Leete titled “Lord Kitchener Wants You” painted in 1914 for the British War effort:
as well as by another World War I recruiting poster depicting the British persononification John Bull:
In fact, there are an entire series of contemporary works in the same vein as Flaggs work. I say series because they all have the same basic idea, an easily recognizable figure is demanding/imploring the populace to support the war effort. The paintings, which can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Kitchener_Wants_You show how a single idea, the artist and painting directly addressing the viewer, can have massive impact on the success of a work. I think there was a great deal of reluctance involved with getting into the first war between Germany and Britain and these posters, this one in particular, made the war feel much more personal. It was directed at “You”, even now looking at the poster I feel a but remiss about never joining the military, but then I shake off the cold, steely eyed stare of Americas personification and realize how propaganda works.
information can be found here: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm015.html
and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Sam – just some info on possible origins of the faux American
November 6, 2009 at 8:09 pm |
Its funny how we see that first poster all over the place now. And it is interesting how different countries have similar paintings. Do you know if they all came out about the same time?
And talk about being eye-catching. Like you said, by directing the figure to address “us” the viewer, not only are the paintings personal but they’ve succeeded in making the war more personal. And that’s probably the strength of this painting.
Great job.
November 6, 2009 at 8:43 pm |
Great post! I was excited to see someone take on the war propaganda. I’m glad that you like the posters from the era. They are rather iconic even now aren’t they? You couldn’t have done a better job connecting them to the influence of the World Wars, in fact I doubt that anyone could’ve managed to leave out WWI in a blog about them. I linked a wiki article for us to look up the info ourselves.
Thanks for a great post. I liked the posters from that era as well. I always laugh when I see Uncle Sam in an advertisement for something. Do you know where the name Uncle Sam comes from?
November 9, 2009 at 3:55 pm |
Great blog! i like that you picked war propaganda. It played a huge part in the efforts to recruit people for all types of jobs. I like seeing the different posters from different countries, they are all very similar. I’ve seen a couple of these posters and its nice to know a bit more on the background of them.
November 12, 2009 at 3:01 pm |
I like how you really stuck to your theme. I give you and A++++ for that aspect of the blog. I like how you stated the truth, the way you wrote it made me laugh, this quote for exmple, “for those people that lack knowledge of why they should hate and fear the enemy it gives them a reason and for those that need reminding it shoves the ideas into their faces whenever they open a magazine or walk past a government office.”
Loved the blog, great job
November 13, 2009 at 4:18 pm |
I think this blog is excellent. I served in the USAF for eleven years and have seen many of these posters throughout my life. I like how you stated propaganda is a smart idea for countries involved in war. I seen it first hand when dropping propaganda leaflets on foreign countries. It can inspire people to join but it also can save lives by deterring the enemy that it is aimed at. I think its funny how we can ralley around a poster or scoff at the idea. You had a lot of good information on these posters. I really enjoyed reading about it.
November 16, 2009 at 8:11 pm |
Excellent Blog. You really did a good job explaining your theme, as well as, providing great details and examples. There is a lot to be said about propaganda and the effects it has on individuals, this is something I have learned throughout many of my classes at UAF. I have found that propaganda is everywhere, TV, radio, magazines, and even books. I however, have never really thought of it as a work of art, but after reading your blog it made me realize that just about everything can be art. However, I noticed that your works were not from post 1975, but you connected it all to a common theme very well.