Norman Rockwell and propaganda

[baleanoptera]

Dear f-list (especially the North-American contingent).

I need some help here.
I'm working on an article about propaganda and art in the 1940's and one of the American pieces is by Norman Rockwell. Am I correct in remembering that there is a saying "it looked like a Norman Rockwell painting" to describe something nostalgic and sentimental - and

Comments

[elspethsheir]

My knowledge is really limited, sorry! I do know that in Canada, we think of a "Norman Rockwell nation" as being sentimental and all white-picket-fenced. I'll ask my flist too!

[baleanoptera]

Oo - thank you! That is very kind. :)

a "Norman Rockwell nation" as being sentimental and all white-picket-fenced.

Actually this is exactly the things I'm interested in. How he has become a part of the vocabulary so to speak.

[baleanoptera]

Perhaps Rockwellesque is the specific word you're looking for?

This is brilliant! Thank you! :D

I think Rockwellesque has the ability to be a positive or negative adjective.

From what I understand of the term, then yes absolutely. Am I right in understanding the word as a description of an emotion as well as a location or image? That the feeling you get when looking or experiencing a Rockwellesque image or setting could also be described as Rockwellesque?
(if that makes any sense).

[semyaza]

This book looks very interesting. I don't know if it talks about his legacy, although it might give you some ideas. Mark Chapman funded his murder of John Lennon with the sale of a Rockwell painting.

I also found these two articles: Norman Rockwell and the Fashioning of American Masculinity and the Time obit. I'm sure there are many other things available online.

A kitschy dream world about sums it up for me, but I suppose whether one sees his paintings as improbable kitsch depends on the extent to which one has bought into that version of the American Dream.

[baleanoptera]

Thank you! This is beyond amazing! The article on Rockwell and the Fashioning of American Masculinity in particular.

One of the most fascinating aspects of propaganda art, at least to me, is how it sets out to define and standardize gender roles. Especially the male roles suffer from this, as the few, if not the only, acceptable male role is that of the soldier. The underlying message being that a man isn't a man unless he is prepared to kill.

Women on the other hand have a slightly larger spectrum to choose from, with Rosie the Riveter on one end and the sacrificing mother on the other.

A kitschy dream world about sums it up for me,

Yes, this is the impression I've had as well. And in that light I find it particularly interesting that he has also painted such savage war posters.
I'm wondering if it would be possible to argue that his reputation as a painter of idyllic images also works for him while painting the darker war posters. That the viewers will look at the painting above and establish a connection between the war

[semyaza]

It makes a lot of sense. If the viewer connected the idyllic images with a way of life (especially a way of life based on what it means to be American and not anything else) he or she might be inclined to trust both the authenticity of those particular images of war--this is just how it is--as well as the ideological drive behind the war.

[nutmeg3]

Just on a personal level, I've always found him sappy and cloying and (no doubt unintentionally) kitschy, but there's a whole other school of thought about him, that (I guess) thinks of him as a documentarian of a certain time and way of life. Iirc Spielberg is on the board of directors of the Rockwell Museum (in Lenox, Massachusetts) or something like that. None of which helps you in the least, does it?

[baleanoptera]

On the contrary it helps quite a bit!

The fact you mention about Spielberg is particularly interesting - since Spielberg is known for basing his movies, like Saving Private Ryan, on visual fragments from the time he is portraying. Like the before mentioned Robert Capa photos, and I would suspect Rockwell paintings now as well.
And Saving Private Ryan's success led to another war flick, namely "Band of Brothers" which I'm writing on, so all this info is very relevant. Hee.

I love my f-list. *hugs nutmeg*