Photographer Arthur Mole Faces the Facts

Despite America only being involved in World War One for about a year, a boost of morale was needed to enlist troops and increase patriotism . The orthodox way of doing this was through posters or television, but was there another way? Arthur Mole, a British-born naturalized American commercial photographer, had a different way of promoting the war and encouraging people to enlist. He did through the placement of people to create a larger than life image, usually a symbol or person of the United States.

Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson, 21,000 Officers and Men, Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio , 1918

Between 1915 and 1921, Mole and his assistant, John Thomas, created about 30 ‘living photographs’. These photographs would encompass a large amount of space, some using 10,000-30,000 men in the entire composition. So how did Mole and Thomas pull it off?

YMCA Emblem

formed by Officers, Men, & Camp Activity Workers, at Camp Wheeler, GA , ca. 1918–1919

First they created a wire template of the desired picture and attached it to the camera lens. Raised on a platform above ground level, one person would look through the viewfinder of the camera with a megaphone in hand so they could instruct others on the ground where to create the real outline. People would lay out miles of lace edging to create the outline. After that, all that was left to do was to fill in the outline with people, typically troops who were part of the U.S. military.

Living Emblem of the United states Marines

100 Officers & 9000 Enlisted Men, Marine Barracks, Paris Island, SC , 1919

"Mole thought the use of people to embody patriotic icons and military symbols made the latter come alive, yet in using thousands of faceless individuals to create such images he was in effect suppressing their humanity" (The Guardian).

Sources:

https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-living-photographs-of-mole-and-thomas/

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/aug/24/arthur-mole-living-photographs-military

http://www.artnet.com/artists/mole-thomas/woodrow-wilson-21000-officers-and-men-camp-sAS5UgS8KEyRCKfFzZtXmQ2