Someone Talked!
Poster
1942 (made)
1942 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Koerner won an award with this poster and soon after began working for the Office of War Information. He draws a direct link between the military disaster and the person who talked, fostering the idea of individual responsibility for security. He points the finger (shaped out of cut newspaper), not accusingly towards the viewer, but down on the scurrying figure. The consequences of careless talk are spelt out in the text of the newspaper article (avoiding unpopular depictions of death) while the figure of the guilty man casts an ominously long shadow.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Someone Talked! (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Colour lithograph |
| Brief description | WWII poster promoting individual responsibility for national security, USA, 1942 |
| Physical description | Colour lithograph poster of a large finger made of newspaper pointing accusingly at a small male figure in a suit and hat. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Credit line | Gift of the American Friends of the V&A; Gift to the American Friends by Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko |
| Production | won National War Poster competition |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Koerner won an award with this poster and soon after began working for the Office of War Information. He draws a direct link between the military disaster and the person who talked, fostering the idea of individual responsibility for security. He points the finger (shaped out of cut newspaper), not accusingly towards the viewer, but down on the scurrying figure. The consequences of careless talk are spelt out in the text of the newspaper article (avoiding unpopular depictions of death) while the figure of the guilty man casts an ominously long shadow. |
| Bibliographic reference | The Modern American Poster: From the Graphic Design Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. J. Stewart Johnson. Kyoto: The National Museum of Modern Art. 1983. |
| Other number | LS.494 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.64-2004 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | July 5, 2004 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
