Mort Künstler's Women | Good Girls? Bad Girls? Would Mom Approve?
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Google the artist and you will meet the foremost Civil War artist of our time. “Of all the artists working in the Civil War field, none captures the human element, the aura of leadership, the sense of being there and sharing in the drama, quite like Mort Künstler. He has that enviable talent of being able to re-create history on canvas and to translate events into art.” James McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of Battle Cry of Freedom.
Seeing these pulp fiction images of Mort Künstler’s early work intrigued the psychoanalyst in me to no end. Before he turned his art to the more serious historical battles of American history, Mort Künstler was a masterful and prolific illustrator for men’s adventure magazines.
Created between the late 50s and late 70s, these images predate Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider. I’m intrigued with them as part of my own evolving ‘dame perspective’ on strong women of the 20th century.( Note: I assure you that Sarah Jessica Parker and SATC are not part of this perspective. We might make room for Samantha.)
Because these pulp fiction images are new to me, I have no evolutionary perspective. Mort Künstler is producing prolific, strong and sexy woman imagery through the second wave of feminism movement. Some of the titles are killer: ‘Night Flight With a Sure-Thing Redhead’; ‘Attack on the Red Army’s Female Barracks’ and ‘One-Man Raid on Hitler’s Number One Bordello’.
I feel as if I just walked into a treasure trove of the male mind — at least the American male mind — and I LOVE it! Sex, violence, guns, saving the day — this is far more psychologically interesting to me than cowboys and war gun battles.
How much is repressed sexual desire? How much is pure entertainment? On the face of what I’ve read, the women seem admirable — even if they are slut girls much of the time. They’re not monogamous for certain.
I’ve written seriously about man’s bloodthirsty desire for war — an impulse I don’t understand completely. This is not heroic to me in all cases. And yet the images are so open and honest, I find them quite stunning.
Look at this one: ‘What Are Your Homosexual Tendencies?’ Too much! The devouring vulture has him pinned to the ground. No homosexuals for America!!!
I will be researching my way through this topic pronto. I assume is runs head-first into the men’s girlie magazines of the period. Were these pulp magazines were very popular or just a niche market. It seems that they’re a lot like romance novels for women. Anyone who wants to help me figure this out, you’re welcome to assist. Anne
