The Pin-up: For goodness or badness

The American pin-up can be described as both a method of empowerment for women and a portrait of a cheeky gaze for men. Buszek argues that the pin-ups power lies in that it empowers the woman to explore her sexuality and demonstrate it but it is in an environment that allows her to do so in a safe zone. This newfound sexuality allowed the women during the WWII era to be sexually expressive and explore these new sexualities in much the same way they were exploring their entry into the work force. The pin-up is many things to many people, some viewed it as a way to liberate women and others felt it was to liberating. Women were exploring new freedoms and were being confronted with new issues as well.

One of the arguments that Buszek makes based on the selections of her book that have been presented in class, is that the concept and justifications for the use of the female in the media format of the pin-up is based on fact that the image of a woman in a sexually expressive pose empowering. This iconography image of the female being used as a sign of sexual expression and that the viewpoint that this is an empowerment enhanced by the format of the pin-up (Buszek: Defining and defending the “Feminist Pin-up”). Buszek also argues that the way that she is positioned in the image and how she is depicted asserts the females pro-sexuality (Buszek: Defining and defending the “Feminist Pin-up”) and her power to select to draw the males gaze. This gaze is not an open invitation into her space but rather an open expression of her as a sexual being. This was described as enticement but not an invitation image of the female stance (Buszek: Defining and defending the “Feminist Pin-up”). This could also be described as a sexual tease; with the male as a voyeuristic gaze. One of the most noted artists that created images of the pin-up were by Alberto Varga during WWII. He created images of beautiful females, in tight or scanty clothes, and positioned in ways that appealed to the masses of all male troops who were engaged in life and death struggles on the battlefields of war. The troops overseas had limited access to female company but everyone had stories of the girl back home, she was beautiful and had few if any flaws. Varga’s girls were in poses that Buszek argues are images of what she describes as monster beauty (Class 9/12 and 9/14/2017). The image of a flawless beauty is rooted in the human experience for eons, one need to look at the Greeks and Romans depictions of their gods and goddesses. It is this “monster beauty” concept that Beszek argues that gives the woman power and control over her body. Varga painted women in poses that allowed a gaze, however, this gaze was not always male (CLASS 9/12/2017). Humans have a voyeuristic trait, we what to see what others are doing and we then mimic what we find appealing. This behavior is still a part of our culture; even more so in today in the age of electronic media and selfies.

The Varga images of the girls “back home” satisfied the need for men to feel connected and gave them the purpose for going off to war. Moral of the troops needed to be controlled; this gave men a taste if home. As seductive as these images were, they were also empowering for the women entering the workforce in the states. For the troops overseas, the image of an iconic American Beauty while far from home allowed for fellowship with the others in the unit (the letters mailed from home might not catch up with some troops for months). This shared experience of a pin-up allowed men to have a diversion from the war- even if it was just a few quick glances. To an artist, a clearly state a point of view creates a static image, Varga understood this. His painting allows the viewer to insert themselves into the place where he was painting. Varga understood that what one person sees is not the only story. In the image below Varga captures the pretty girl sitting. What she is sitting on is not shown to the viewer, you could insert any environment and she could be there. 

The place she is located makes no difference as she is there waiting for the viewer to gaze upon her. She is sitting closed legged (like a proper lady was to sit); she holds her hands next to her cheeksn she appears to be playing with the look of being coy.  She seems to ask if you want to come over and sit with her, but she is not openly asking you to. Yet, her face is where the viewer’s gaze is directed. Your eyes move around the canvas, looking at her but it is the hands on her cheek that keeps the attention moving to her face. She holds her arms and hands in a way that they obscure her breasts, but the viewer is enticed with the curve of her bare shoulders. She commands the image, yet she is very feminine in her being. When you gaze at her longer you finally meet her vivid blue eyes and then drop your gaze to travel down her legs, to her shoe that is slightly ajar. Once at her shoes the viewer then travels back up to her knees and down her thigh to the black dress (did you think you were going to see a bit of cheek?).

Varga captured the essences of the female, caught the views and glances towards her and enticed the onlooker- by preforming the artistic craft of imagery and imagination. This image also agrees with Buszek’s argument that it shows a woman that has the command over the view, she is powerful and she is able to control her environment. This painting is one of the more striking that Varga painted, most were the idealistic movie star types from Hollywood for the times. In this image, the viewer can see an innocence but also a power that is just budding. The amount of the curves we are shown and what we, as the viewer, imply is different for everyone. What a woman sees is different from what a man sees. When I asked my husband to look at the final two images that I had selected to write on, I was testing is idea. He saw different aspects of the painting first; he saw her legs and then went to the face. The legs caught his gaze, because of the tease of the sheer stocking that led him to the vivid blue eyes and a hint of red on her lips. Though Buszek tries to argue that the pin-up was an empowering image for women, she forgets that the image also was had for women to live up too. Not every woman was perfect. The women that were part of the WWII environment were pioneers for others to come, but the pin-up was not just a validation of monster beauty, but al validation to all women that they were able to control their lives rather than be controlled.

Just a note: Just in case you might want to gaze at Varga in his studio painting…

http://m.cdn.blog.hu/ri/ritkanlathatotortenelem/image/pinup/01/alberto-vargas%201896-1982.jpg