Lecture: Wearing Propaganda: Textiles in Wartime Japan

Textiles are not normally thought of as tools for propaganda, but they have long served as a means of expressing patriotic feelings or support for military and political goals. One group of textiles from Japan, Britain, and the United States played just such a role during the Asia-Pacific War / World War II. Patterned with wartime motifs – bombers, battleships, and Home Front slogans such as “V” for Victory – these textiles are evocative records of civilian support for the war. Jacqueline Atkins will discuss these “propaganda” textiles through a slide lecture and some Japanese examples she will bring to share with the audience. She is Guest Curator for the exhibition “Wearing Propaganda: Textiles on the Home Front in Japan, Britain, and the United States, 1931-1945,” which will open at the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture in New York City on November 17, 2005.