Trench Art: Materialities and Memories of War

Description

Trench art is the evocative name given to a dazzling array of objects made from the waste of industrialized war. Each object, whether an engraved shell case, cigarette lighter or a pen made from shrapnel, tells a unique and moving story about its maker. For the first time, this book explores in-depth the history and cultural importance behind these ambiguous art forms. Not only do they symbolize... Read more

Trench art is the evocative name given to a dazzling array of objects made from the waste of industrialized war. Each object, whether an engraved shell case, cigarette lighter or a pen made from shrapnel, tells a unique and moving story about its maker. For the first time, this book explores in-depth the history and cultural importance behind these ambiguous art forms. Not only do they symbolize human responses to the atrocities of war, but they also act as mediators between soldiers and civilians, individuals and industrial society, and, most importantly, between the living and the dead. Trench art resonates most obviously with the terror of endless bombardment, night raids, gas attacks and the bestial nature of trench life. It grew in popularity between 1919 and 1939 when the bereaved embarked on battlefield pilgrimages and returned with objects intended to keep alive the memory of loved ones. The term trench art is, however, misleading, as it does not simply refer to materials found in the trenches. It describes a diverse range of objects that have in some way emerged from the experience of war all over the world. Many distinctive objects, for example, were made during conflicts in Bosnia, Vietnam, Northern Ireland and Korea. Surprisingly, trench art predates World War I and it can be made in a number of earlier wars such as the Crimean War, the American Civil War, and the Boer War. Saunders looks at the broader issues of what is meant by trench art, what it was before the trenches and how it fits in with other art movements, as well as the specific materials used in making it. He suggests that it can be seen as a bridge between the nineteenth century certainties and the fragmented industrialized values and ideals of the modern world. This long overdue study offers an original and informative look at one of the most arresting forms of art. Spanning from 1800 to the present day, its analysis of art, human experience, and warfare will pave the way for new research. Read less

Chapter 1 Materiality, Conflict and the Great WarThe Great War of 1914-1918Configurations of Matter and MeaningChapter 2 What is Trench Art?Chapter 3 Trench Art before TrenchesShapes from the PastNineteenth-century Wars in ObjectsChapter 4 Classifying First World War Trench ArtFragments as CategoriesCategory 1 Soldiers, 1914-1930Sub-category 1a Active Service, 1914-1918Sub-category 1b Prisoners of War, 1914-1918Sub-category 1c The Wounded, 1914-1919Sub-category 1d Post-war Service Personnel, 1918-1930CommentsCategory 2 Civilians, 1914-1939Sub-category 2a 1914-1918Sub-category 2b 1919-1939Sub-category 2c 1914-1919 CommentsCategory 3 Commercial Production, c.1918-1939Final CommentsChapter 5 Ironic ShellsThe Life of the ShellIronies of ProductionThe MakersThe TechniquesStyle, Stories and DecorationCommentsChapter 6 A World of MetalsWriting EquipmentPhotograph FramesSmoking EquipmentJewelleryMiniatures, Models and TalismansChapter 7 Wood, Textiles, Stone and BoneWoodworkTextilesAnimal and Human BoneChalk and StoneCommentsChapter 8 Objects and Landscape in Conflict, 1914-1918The Landscape of WarBetween Landscape and ObjectChapter 9 Objects and Landscape in Memory, 1919-2002Landscapes of Contested MemoryObjects, Landscapes and MemoryLandscapes on ObjectsLandscape, Object and HomeObjects and Landscapes, 1940-2002Chapter 10 Art, Museums and RecycliaWar into ArtExhibition, Art and MuseumTrench Art as RecycliaChapter 11 Trading FuturesThe Second World War, 1939-1945Case Study 1: Finland : Trench Art from the Karelian TrenchesCase Study 2: The United Kingdom and the 'Italian Chapel' :The Post-War Era, 1945-2002Case Study 3: Afghanistan and the Carpets of WarCase Study 4: Mozambique and 'Swords in Ploughshares'Case Study 5: Bosnia: Fighting with Style Changing ShapesCommentsChapter 12 ConclusionMaking MemoriesRetailing MemoriesCommentsBibliographyIndex

Author(s)

Biography

Nicholas J. Saunders is Lecturer in Material Culture at University College London, and a Senior Research Fellow at the British Academy.

Trench Art Materialities and Memories of War

Description

Table of Contents

Author(s)

Biography

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