Don't know exactly what illustrator J.C. Leyendecker had in mind when he came up with this cover one hundred years ago, but it sums up my fears for our nation in July of 2024: napping away, completely unaware that your ass is about to get blown off.
Mitchell, J. C. Leyendecker was very much a commercial artist and not known for inserting politics in his work (though he may have been subversive in other ways as some have found examples of homoeroticism in his art, though not that particular illustration--not unless the Roman candle is a phallic symbol,) and even if he had been, The Saturday Evening Post wouldn't have stood for it. 1924 was an election year (Republican and eventual winner Calvin Coolidge vs Democrat John Davis, plus Progressive candidate Robert Follette winning his home state of Wisconsin) but that election wasn't particularly nasty. I think Leyendecker was just trying to be funny in an era when the dangers posed by fireworks was thought to be the stuff of comedy.
That said, in 2024 it sure reads like a political statement, doesn't it? I HAD to use it!
In order to keep the hucksters, humbugs, scoundrels, psychos, morons, and last but not least, artificial intelligentsia at bay, I have decided to turn on comment moderation. On the plus side, I've gotten rid of the word verification.
I wonder what the origin story was behind that cover. At a glance, I thought it was new.
ReplyDeleteMitchell, J. C. Leyendecker was very much a commercial artist and not known for inserting politics in his work (though he may have been subversive in other ways as some have found examples of homoeroticism in his art, though not that particular illustration--not unless the Roman candle is a phallic symbol,) and even if he had been, The Saturday Evening Post wouldn't have stood for it. 1924 was an election year (Republican and eventual winner Calvin Coolidge vs Democrat John Davis, plus Progressive candidate Robert Follette winning his home state of Wisconsin) but that election wasn't particularly nasty. I think Leyendecker was just trying to be funny in an era when the dangers posed by fireworks was thought to be the stuff of comedy.
DeleteThat said, in 2024 it sure reads like a political statement, doesn't it? I HAD to use it!
He is feeling so much stress. His body is so tightly wound. His face shows anger and despair.
ReplyDeleteYou're describing me, Andrew.
DeleteMaybe it will wake Uncle Sam up and alert him to the danger he and the nation are in.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're right, Debra, though if a Supreme Court ruling giving presidents dictatorial rights doesn't do it, I don't know that a firecracker will.
Delete