Arthur S. Mole, a commercial photographer, was famous for his “living photographs,” where soldiers would arrange themselves to form one big picture. He would visit US military camps and training bases during and after the war in order to create these photographs. While his photographs are impressive, they also served as a type of war propaganda. His main objective was to create patriotic photographs and he succeeded; his photographs were widespread. Some of his photographs required tens of thousands of soldiers and extensive planning. He and his colleague, John D. Thomas, had to spend over a week planning each photograph and figuring out the position and number of people needed. His photographs relied on a technique where he would photograph from a bird-eye view by standing on top of a very high viewing towers and photographing downwards at an angle. The specific process is called anamorphosis, which involves a distorted perspective in order to view a recognizable image. This process was first used during the Ming dynasty in China, and it takes advantage of mathematical techniques. Mole’s most popular images are of the American Eagle, Uncle Sam, Woodrow Wilson, the Liberty Bell, and the Statue of Liberty. The resemblances to the real things are very accurate and impressive. Some examples are given below.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/aug/24/arthur-mole-living-photographs-military
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Mole
Images:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Thomas-Mole-Living_Emblem-1919-USMC.jpg
http://www.americansuburbx.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/arthur-s-mole-john-d-thomas-human-liberty-bell-25000-officers-and-men-camp-dix-new-jersey-Custom.jpg
https://publicdomainreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/40861v.jpg
https://secure.i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01453/liberty_1453275i.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYttFXx6hZd2rfggBhbKYdtxIzFO7DjPaCZsD8dyYXtNm4B_1v37QoQu6qhW9OYuFiXBm3wZWCUVm3C_DNDy30fRlMNfhcr7sWdbJhIhoBAYVWup-2a92RF_5JprHAfjZpMpiNdEtXUtx9/s1600/01.jpg
I found your blog post very interesting on how Mole created pictures with thousands of soldiers lined up. As you mentioned in your post, many of his photos were being used as war propaganda. After a bit of reading, I found out that the “living photograph” of Woodrow Wilson was actually to increase the support behind sending troops to fight against Germany in World War I. Since America strictly believed in maintaining neutrality, the general population and troops were reluctant to intervene. In order to garner support for the war, Mole decided to use his photography to show thousands of people coming to support the idea of going to war.
ReplyDeleteI also found the method of he got every soldier in position interesting. Mole would etch his design onto a glass plate, which would be placed onto the lens of his camera. Then he would climb a tower (usually 70-80 feet tall) and call his assistants below to help get the soldiers in place. Once everyone was in position, Mole would snap the photo. This process would usually take around a week, and sometimes, soldiers would need to stand for a long period of time in extremely hot temperatures. For Mole’s Statue of Liberty photo, more than 18,000 soldiers had to stand for hours in over 100+ Fahrenheit weather so that they could get a photo for America’s upcoming victory in the war.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/arthur-mole-living-photography
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/aug/24/arthur-mole-living-photographs-military
I found the topic of your blog post very intriguing and unique. Similar to the Pledge of Allegiance, his photographs were used to inspire patriotism in America. Unlike the Pledge, however, it seems that his photographs were fortunately not used to spread nativist sentiments at all.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-living-photographs-of-mole-and-thomas/
I wonder, had the photographs been created for the first time today, if they would have been as popular and unique. As technology is far more advanced now, I assume they wouldn't have been exactly as fascinating, but still would have been very interesting. As well, I assume there would be controversy surrounding the images. Today, American patriotism can be very controversial. For example, supporting a country that may pass controversial laws or supporting a country where a president may act immorally can be very bad in the eyes of specific groups.
Source: https://news.psu.edu/story/578883/2019/07/01/research/though-politically-divided-americans-remain-patriotic
This is a really well written blog, I appreciate how you talked about what his goal was with his photographs. It is interesting to think about how Mole was born in England and that may have impacted his support of the Americans in the war. I tried to look into this further but couldn't find much on his reasoning to come to America.
ReplyDeleteSources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Mole