War Art. Murals and Graffiti - Military Life, Power and Subversion (Cba Research Report)

Oxbow says: War, and especially the two World Wars, have left a great mark on the landscape although as the years go by, traces of abandoned military buildings, fortifications, pillboxes and so forth are gradually diminishing. But these are not the only fading signs of a past military life - a broad range of visual imagery is also disappearing. This study examines an arrary of modern military art, with most examples taken from England, including murals, graffiti, paintings on aircraft, carvings, sketches and photographs. A mural depicting an evacuee leaving his parents and para-military murals on walls in Northern Ireland illustrate the opposite ends of the spectrum. These are images of hope, memories of life back home, personal messages, portrayals of desires, of women, and messages of social comment and political propaganda. The accompanying text discusses the historical and military context of the art, its meaning and signifcance and the importance of its conservation.