James Montgomery Flagg
(1877 - 1960) was incredibly relevant to 'Vietnam era' youth (with a past wartime
appeal) in his "I WANT YOU" posters, ironically remembered, in the late
60's--- when I questioned my Aunt
Olga about it, she wrote the Akron
Beacon Journal and they sent her the poster. She forwarded it to me and it
hung on my wall for years. During the 'Nam years it's message and irony wasn't lost.
It had a more complex significance. The poster first caught America's imagination
when it appeared on a Leslie's magazine cover, July 1916. Prior
characterizations of Uncle Sam had been folksy-- but this rendition of a stern, pointing
and muscular "Uncle" is still haunting (there's a 32 cent stamp, and I have the
mousepad that commemorates it). After the 1916 cover, the government printed 350,000
posters for recruitment and over one million more for patriotic appeal.
Flagg (appropriate name, eh?) also changed many perceptions on the Marine Corps.
*Back then, the phrase "Tell it to the Marines"
held the connotation that Marines were so gullible, you could tell 'em anything and
they'd believe it.
Flagg depicted an angry man removing his coat for a fight, having read of
german atrocities. The phrase since, denoted that if you told the Marines, they'd be
outraged and do something about it. Some email regarding this article, has come in
regarding the above comment (in bold). for some of the more interesting email on
the connotation of the famous phrase, go to Flagg email.
While studying in England, Flagg saw works by John
Singer Sargent and went through a period of wanting to be a portrait artist. He
soon realized he wanted more choice in subject matter and returned to illustrations.
Early in his career Flagg's "girls" (ever hear of Gibson girls? Flagg was strongly influenced
by Sargent & Gibson, apparently) were popular-- as personifications of the US, France
and Britain. At left is his "Wake up, America!"
However, his "men" in uniform were even more effective: encouraging Americans
to enlist 
in the military. When the US entered the war in April 1917, he worked
with the government's Division of Pictorial Publicity. When the war was over, he
turned his attention to Hollywood--- primarily comedies. In Perfectly Fiendish
Flanagan, he poked fun at the predictability of silent cowboy filmstar, William S.
Hart.
He did sketches of Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich
and became great friends with John
Barrymore (yep kids, Drew's
grandad) but became baffled by it all, and the appeal of modern art as well. He hated
Picasso and had a
straight-forward opinion of the artistic process:
First you have a
hell of a lot of talent, then... experience [...knowlege and taste] then you have
understanding, intuition, imagination, craftsmanship, red blood, philosophy, a fine
canvas, the best paints and some one or something that demands your entire concentration.
--(from Roses and Buckshot, Flagg's autobiography). See Flagg
email.
©2003 R K Puma rk@rkpuma.com
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