Arthur Mole
Living Photographs
Published by: RVB Books
128 pages 24 x 33cm Soft cover / Pamphlet binding
£32.00
In 1917, as the United States were entering World War I, the English photographer, Arthur Mole (1889-1983) created a new type of iconography, which proved useful to the promotion of American nationalism. With the help of his colleague, John D. Thomas, he created sprawling photographic composi- tions of American society’s symbols and emblems, by assembling and positioning thou- sands of men into the chosen shapes along the ground. The compositions included the American flag in the shape of a shield, the emblem of the Marines, the Statue of Liberty, and a profile portrait of Woodrow Wilson, among others. The book brings together these avant-garde propaganda photographs, which Mole called «living photographs» even though the individual is rendered invi- sible in favour of the crowd. The book also contains a section which showcases a series of reframings and enlar- gements of images contained within the photographs. By modifying the scale of the photographed bodies, which at times ren- ders the images almost abstract, these reframings invite the reader to reinterpret Mole’s photographs. The book is accompanied by Louis Kaplan’s essay titled «Photographic Patriotism: Arthur Mole’s Living Photographs».
