Cartaz de Propaganda da Primeira Guerra, "I Want You for U.S. Army", 1917, Estados Unidos - James Montgomery Flagg
Propaganda de guerra - Estados Unidos
Cartaz / Poster
The top hat,
the goatee, the burning eyes and that long accusing finger – the "I
Want YOU!" poster has become one of the most iconic images in
American history. Used by the U.S. Army to recruit troops during the First World War, this image transformed the character of Uncle
Sam into a stern and powerful figure. His persuasive pose and marked demeanour
proved to be a hugely effective tool during the war, and a staggering four
million copies of it were printed between 1917 and 1918.
While the poster continues to be recognised the world over, its creator's name has not fared quite as well. Born in New York in 1877, James Montgomery Flagg was a hugely prolific illustrator, who – at the peak of his career – was said to have been the highest paid magazine illustrator in all of America. Talented from a young age, Flagg had sold his first illustration at the age of twelve. By fourteen he had become a regular illustrator for Life, and two years after that he joined the staff of its rival publication Judge.
While the poster continues to be recognised the world over, its creator's name has not fared quite as well. Born in New York in 1877, James Montgomery Flagg was a hugely prolific illustrator, who – at the peak of his career – was said to have been the highest paid magazine illustrator in all of America. Talented from a young age, Flagg had sold his first illustration at the age of twelve. By fourteen he had become a regular illustrator for Life, and two years after that he joined the staff of its rival publication Judge.
Flagg was an
outspoken man who didn't suffer fools gladly. An unapologetic fan of fast cars
and beautiful women, he took great pleasure in his work and in return it
brought him fame and fortune. He lived the life of a bohemian, mixing with
celebrities and sycophants and earning a reputation for being one of the most
colourful and cantankerous characters of his day.
When the war
broke, Flagg was thirty-nine years of age and so was too old to enlist.
Instead, he volunteered his skills to the Division of Pictorial Publicity (DPP)
– a group initially established by the illustrator Charles Dana Gibson. The DPP had grown out of an effort to use
illustration as a means to promote the war effort and it was quickly absorbed
into Woodrow Wilson's Committee on Public Information. At its
peak, it held over three-hundred illustrators in its ranks, including the likes
of Howard Chandler Christy, N.C. Wyeth and even a young Norman Rockwell.
Flagg, who had
already created the "I Want YOU!" image for a July 1916 issue of Leslie’s Weekly,
produced forty-six posters for the DPP's war effort – many of them featuring
the character of Uncle Sam. For Flagg, the use of this national personification was the ideal tool for
propaganda, and while images of Uncle Sam had existed since as early as the
1800s, it was Flagg's version that cemented the identity that we think of
today.
Flagg saw
little issue in borrowing images and ideas from other artists and he did this
frequently. “How well the idea was handled was far more interesting to him than
its origin” noted Susan E. Meyer in her 1974 biography of the illustrator. His fondness for
appropriation is particularly clear when comparing his Uncle Sam poster to
Alfred Leete's poster Lord Kitchener Wants You from 1914. Here, Flagg has
simply replaced the British War Secretary with Uncle Sam, and while the
illustrator never denied or admitted the similarity between the two works, the
resemblance is clearly evident.
At the time,
Flagg's Uncle Sam felt like a dynamic and exciting re-imagining of the
character. Uncle Sam had always been portrayed as a folksy and friendly type,
but under Flagg's expressive brush, America was to be shown as a handsome and
robust figure. Whether it was through patriotism, thriftiness or vanity, the
story goes that Flagg decided to use himself as the model for this new
rendition of Sam. According to Meyer, the illustrator was
acutely aware of his own good looks and was particularly proud of his shapely
eyebrows. Ageing himself with makeup, a fake goatee and wearing the now iconic
hat, Flagg composed the image in front of a mirror and thus Uncle Sam was made
in Flagg's own image.
As the years
passed, the illustrator began to look more-and-more like his original creation
and he continued to use himself as the model for several more posters
– even occasionally posing for press photos in full Uncle Sam garb. It was a decision that won him the admiration of Franklin D.
Roosevelt, who praised his resourcefulness and noted that his methods suggested
that he had "Yankee forebears".
After the First World War, Flagg returned to working with a number of advertising and publishing clients. Despite the fading lustre of illustration's “Golden Age”, he continued to have success – particularly in magazines where nearly every major publisher wanted to work with him. He drew caricatures of movie stars, illustrated a handful of books and even wrote an autobiography. When America returned to war in 1941, his posters were suddenly back in demand. Millions more of his iconic Uncle Sam poster were printed and the image continued to be just as effective.
After the First World War, Flagg returned to working with a number of advertising and publishing clients. Despite the fading lustre of illustration's “Golden Age”, he continued to have success – particularly in magazines where nearly every major publisher wanted to work with him. He drew caricatures of movie stars, illustrated a handful of books and even wrote an autobiography. When America returned to war in 1941, his posters were suddenly back in demand. Millions more of his iconic Uncle Sam poster were printed and the image continued to be just as effective.
Unfortunately,
as the post-war era dawned, the world had changed too much for Flagg.
Illustrators needed to work fast to adapt to the changing world of mass markets
and colour photography and Flagg found that his style of illustration was
quickly falling out of fashion. Drifting into obscurity, he found himself
trapped in a world that he deplored. His vision was failing and his health had
left him incapable of enjoying the playboy lifestyle that he had once so much
adored. “I really died twenty years ago” he noted, “but nobody had the nerve to bury me”.
James
Montgomery Flagg died on May 27, 1960, and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in
The Bronx. Despite once being one of the most celebrated figures in American
culture, only twenty people came to pay their respects. It was a sad end for a
once much-loved figure. Yet today, his poster remains one of the most iconic
images of the twentieth-century; a lasting icon that symbolises the power of
patriotism. This, I feel, is an achievement that even Flagg himself could not
bemoan.
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