World War One Influences in Early Modern Art

24TH East Surrey Division

 

This is a gorgeous war memorial created by Eric Kennington (1888-1960). This piece comfortably sits in Battersea Park, London.  This was the first publicly commissioned piece of art of Kennington and was created in 1924. This sculpture pays tribute to the men of the 24th Division British Infantry until serving on the front lines of the first World War.  Kennington himself had experienced fighting in two different regiments.  He became a war artist, and he actually purchased the Portland stone (a form of limestone) himself.  It sits 6 feet 6 inches tall and in the shape of a cylinder.  It continues the cylinder pattern by being surrounded by a cylinder hedge.  It is a free-standing sculpture and eloquently depicts three soldiers standing together with a serpent at their feet.  I love memorials.  I am fr

Storm Troopers Advancing Under Gas

This powerful piece was etched on paper with ink by expressionist German war artist, Otto Dix in 1924.  Its German title is “Sturmtruppe Geht Unter Gas Vor”.  It was one of many in a series that Dix named “War”.  This collection included graphic pictures of what Dix witnessed during his time on the ground in WW1.  Dix was very dark and part of a radical expressionist group bringing light to the grotesqueness and the urban decay that was a byproduct of WW1.  Propaganda was huge during this time, and Dix had the power of art to help get out his anti-Nazi message out to the world.  This picture was shocking and scary.  I couldn’t get the image out of my mind.  I actually had no plan to use this piece because it was so evil looking.  But it was impactful.  There is so much movement in this still picture.  I can feel them running right at me.  The contrast and shading make the subjects stand out from the simple, dreary background.  I definitely would not keep this work in my house, but it is an important piece of history and should be shown in museums.

I Want You!

This iconic U.S. propaganda poster was made with a lithograph by American artist, James Montgomery Flagg in 1916.  It was part of a heavy Army recruitment campaign during War World One.  Patriotic colors, with a stern, finger in your face Uncle Sam, really gets the point across that there was a need to fill during the war.  Flagg modeled himself for this picture with a mirror.  He used a similar poster from Britain from two years prior.  Over four million copies were printed and seen all over America.  I chose this piece because of the emotion it evokes in me.  I feel most Americans can appreciate this iconic piece of patriotism.  The placement of the authoritative “Uncle Sam” is centered in the middle of the page, drawing your eyes to his.  Who could say no? The use of line and the stark contrast from the navy and red against the white really adds a simplicity to this piece.  I would definitely own this piece and hang it with pride in my home, school, and I think with the emotion it evokes, should be seen more often than it is now.

Works Cited

“24TH EAST SURREY DIVISION.” War Memorials Online, www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/111249.

“24th East Surrey Division War Memorial.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Aug. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24th_East_Surrey_Division_War_Memorial.

“Stormtroopers Advancing Under Gas.” – Leicester’s German Expressionist Collection, www.germanexpressionismleicester.org/leicesters-collection/artists-and-artworks/otto-dix/stormtroopers-advancing-under-gas/.

Dix, Otto. “Otto Dix Shock Troops Advance under Gas (Sturmtruppe Geht Unter Gas Vor) from The War (Der Krieg) (1924).” Lee Bontecou. Untitled. 1959 | MoMA, www.moma.org/collection/works/63260.

“‘I Want YOU!” – The Story Behind One of the Most Famous Wartime Posters in History.” MilitaryHistoryNow.com, 25 Oct. 2017, militaryhistorynow.com/2016/12/12/i-want-you-the-story-behind-one-of-the-most-famous-wartime-posters-in-history/.

Andrews, Travis M. “The Uncle Sam ‘I Want YOU’ Poster Is 100 Years Old. Almost Everything about It Was Borrowed.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 3 Apr. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/04/03/the-uncle-sam-i-want-you-poster-is-100-years-old-almost-everything-about-it-was-borrowed/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.38467b39753a.