Mole & Thomas, Human Statue of Liberty, c. 1918

I came across some conceptual wartime imagery last night, and I thought I’d share it. Seems that from 1915-1920, it was all the rage to assemble your military unit to resemble a patriotic symbol and boost everyone’s spirits. I love it. Reminds me of Camp Fernwood and um, Drumline.

The leaders of this phenomenon were the photo duo Thomas and Mole. Here’s a proper description of their technique, from Chicago’s Hammer Gallery:

“In the early 20^th century Photography became a new and important means of visual language, establishing itself as the most democratic of communication forms. The outbreak of World War I and its inherent violence engendered a new commitment by the world’s photographers to document every aspect of the fighting.

Louis Kaplan, of Southern Illinois University, writes,

‘The so-called living photographs and living insignia of Arthur Mole [and John Thomas] are photo-literal attempts to recover the old image of national identity at the very moment when the United States entered the Great War in 1917. Mole’s [and Thomas’s] photos assert, bolster, and recover the image of American national identity via photographic imaging. Moreover, these military formations serve as rallying points to support U.S. involvement in the war and to ward off any isolationist tendencies. In life during wartime, [their] patriotic images function as “nationalist propaganda” and instantiate photo cultural formations of citizenship for both the participants and the consumers of these group photographs.’

The monumentality of this project somewhat overshadows the philanthropic magnanimity of the artists themselves. Instead of prospering from the sale of the images produced, the artists donated the entire income derived to the families of the returning soldiers and to this country’s efforts to re-build their lives as a part of the re-entry process.

Eventually other photographers appeared on the scene. One of the most notable of those artists was Eugene Omar Goldbeck. He specialized in the large scale group portrait and photographed important people (Albert Einstein), events, and scenes (Babe Ruth’s New York Yankees in his home town, San Antonio) both locally and around the world (Mt. McKinley). Among his military photographs, the Living Insignia projects are of particular significance.”

Nice! Which do you like best? My vote’s for Mr. Wilson.

Mole & Thomas, The Living Uncle Sam, 1919

Mole & Thomas, Living Portrait of Woodrow Wilson, 1918

Mole & Thomas, The Human Liberty Bell, 1918

Mole & Thomas, The Human American Eagle, 1918

Photographer Unknown, 209th Engineers, Camp Sheridan, ALA, 1919

See more, here.