Barnett Newman asked "After the monstrosity of the war, what do we do? What is there to paint?" after living through the second World War and having to cope with the aftermath. Artists that lived during and directly after World War II had to experience the fallout and violence which it created. This kicked off the beginning of a rapid parting with tradition as many new artistic movements emerged. With the use of Visual arts, militaries and government also learnt how to weaponise art through propaganda, utilize it through things such as camouflage and to help bring motivation to the public. Visual arts and World War II had a complicated relationship in which they mutually held a mirror to each other, and they pushed each other to modernize their techniques.
Military strategies were greatly impacted by Visual Arts. For example, "In the 1940s, cubism surprisingly influenced the camouflage of boats and planes during World War II" (Cook, 2014). This quote is from an article by Allegra Cook who was still a student at the time of publication, which is a limitation as she was not yet a qualified historian. This is noticeable as cubism's impact on military strategies begun in World War I and continued throughout World War II, meaning the influence is not necessarily surprising. Edward Wadsworth explained in the reputable academic magazine The Journal of the American Medical School that this type of camouflage was referred to as "Dazzle" camouflage. The Smithsonian Institution which has 21 museums, 9 research centers and more than 180 affiliates worldwide has a magazine in which they explain that this new division of Britain's naval service started being developed during World War I after 925 ships were blown out of the water within a 10-month period in 1917 (Rodriguez, 2016). The information found in this article shows that since World War 1, the British military would paint their ships with cubist patterns that created a floating optical illusion, and continued doing so during World War II, thus utilizing visual arts in a military environment.
Design and Art were changed and pushed to innovate due to World War II. "New materials and technologies, many of which had been developed during wartime, helped to free design from tradition" (Goss, 2004). The quote made by Jared Goss who is a former associate curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, highlights the immense impact which World War 2 had on the progression and modernization of design. This is a reliable source as it was written by a reputable art historian who is qualified by the Parsons School of Design as well as the University of Virginia. Furthermore, the source seems to be focused on the general impact of World War 2 on design rather than only giving a single nation's I perspective. Many artists were so disillusioned by war that they chose to abandon tradition altogether. For example, Barnett Newman who is seen as one of the major figures in abstract expressionism stated, "After the monstrosity of the war, what do we do? What is there to paint? We have to start all over again." (MOMA, n/a). This is a primary source as he was one of the most prominent artists during World War II. His perspective offers an insight into how artists felt during the aftermath of the war and why it motivated them to revolutionize their art. This can be seen in his artwork 'Vir Heroicus
Sublimis' which was 95 by 213 inches, making it his largest painting at the time of completion. Due to its magnitude, the colors and zips fully surround the audience. His zips create asymmetrical spaces on the perimeter and a perfect square in the center. This seemingly simplistic but actually complex piece of art helped him become a touch stone for Color Field painters and minimalists (The Art Story Foundation, n/a). This shows how the aftermath of World War II was the root of revolutionary artistic movements which are still relevant in current times such as edge painting and Fluxus (Pollock, 2020).
Artists used their art to share their political beliefs which led to a shift of the public's perception on the war. During World War II, "Artists aided local and national campaigns to boost morale, promote conversation, sell war bonds and encourage national unity" (Henkes, 2001). In desperate times where the public was scared and nervous, artists learnt how to turn art into motivation. Artists helped spread hope and used their art as a medium for political messaging. For example, Charles Alston was an artist who created a series of motivational cartoons during World War II for African American newspapers. His cartoons included hopeful slogans such as "Win the War- Plan the Peace" which encouraged morale amongst the American public.
Alston also created a poster which urges African American women to adhere to rationing laws instead of giving in to the temptation of buying black market goods. The limitation of this source is that it occupies racist caricatures of the Japanese and portrays them as evil men who want Americans to give in to temptation. Therefore, this presents a one-sided perspective informed by prejudice and is not an accurate depiction of reality.
Furthermore, "Artists created an extensive pictorial record" of World War II (Encyclopedia, 2022). The second World War was a period of rapid change meaning many things were lost and destroyed. Thus, artists during this time responded to the catastrophe through their work which led to a wide-ranging record of events that occurred in the war that might have otherwise been forgotten. For instance, Leonard Rosoman captured a moment in which two firemen were
crushed by a collapsing wall which he stated continued to haunt him for the rest of his life. Art preserves how it felt to exist in a particular time and place which is something that fact-based historical records often fail to do. The visual depiction artists created that fact-based historical records often fail to do. The visual depiction artists created continues to impact how people and historians view the war in the present date. All this goes to show that the perspective artists show through their work, have a long-lasting impact on how other people feel and think about certain aspects of the war.
Overall, the war and visual arts inspired each other and were both affected by the other. The advancement in artistic movements and techniques continue to affect artists to this day. Not only that, but the pictorial records created still help historians pinpoint certain events in World War II, which shows how the visual arts impact how people perceive the war even in current times. Furthermore, the war was able to utilize art in creative ways which allowed them to protect themselves and to share political messages. Even though the negatives of the war are much larger than the positives, without the war, many adored and admired artworks and movements would have never seen the light of day.
Works Cited
Blakemore, E. (2017). This African American Artist's Cartoons Helped Win World War II.
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Goss, J (2022). Design, 1950-75 | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. [online] The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Available at: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dsgn3/hd_dsgn3.htm [Accessed 22 Apr. 2022].
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Rodriguez, L (2016). When the British Wanted to Camouflage Their Warships, They Made
Them Dazzle. [online] Smithsonian Magazine. Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-british-wanted-camouflage-their-warships- they-made-them-dazzle-180958657/[Accessed 22 Apr. 2022].
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https://vb3lk7eb4t.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver-Z39.88- 2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUT8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt-info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal& rft.genre=article&rft.atitle-Dazzle-ships+in+Drydock+at+Liverpool&rft.jtitle=JAMA-