And babies
Encyclopedia
And babies is an iconic anti-Vietnam War poster. It is a famous example of "propaganda art" from the Vietnam conflict that uses the now infamous color photograph of the My Lai Massacre
taken by U.S. combat photographer Ronald L. Haeberle
in March 1968. It shows about a dozen dead and partly naked South Vietnamese women and children in contorted positions stacked together on a dirt road, killed by US forces. The picture is overlaid in semi-transparent blood-red lettering that asks along the top "Q. And babies?", and at the bottom answers "A. And babies." The quote is from a Mike Wallace
CBS News television interview with U.S. soldier Paul Meadlo who participated in the massacre.
According to cultural historian M. Paul Holsinger, And babies was "easily the most successful poster to vent the outrage that so many felt about the conflict in Southeast Asia."
In 1969 the Art Workers Coalition (AWC), a group of New York City artists who opposed the war, used Haeberle's shocking photograph of the My Lai Massacre, along with a disturbing quote from the Wallace/Meadlo television interview, to create a poster titled And babies. It was produced by AWC members Irving Petlin
, Jon Hendricks and Fraser Dougherty along with Museum of Modern Art
members Arthur Drexler and Elizabeth Shaw. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) had promised to fund and circulate the poster, but after seeing the 2 by 3 foot poster, pulled financing for the project at the last minute. MoMA's Board of Trustees included Nelson Rockefeller
and William S. Paley
(head of CBS), who reportedly "hit the ceiling" on seeing the proofs of the poster. Both were "firm supporters" of the war effort and backed the Nixon administration. It is unclear if they pulled out for political reasons (as pro-war supporters), or simply to avoid a scandal (personally and/or for MoMA), but the official reason, stated in a press release, was that the poster was outside the "function" of the museum. Nevertheless, under the sole sponsorship of the AWC, 50,000 posters were printed by New York City's lithographers union. On December 26, 1969, a grassroots network of volunteer artists, students and peace activists began circulating it worldwide. Many newspapers and television shows re-printed images of the poster, consumer poster versions soon followed, and it was carried in protest marches around the world, all further increasing its viewership. In a further protest of MoMA's decision to pull out of the project, copies of the poster were carried by members of the AWC into the MoMA and unfurled in front of Picasso's painting Guernica
— on loan to MoMA at the time, the painting depicts the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon innocent civilians. One member of the group was Tony Shafrazi
who returned in 1974 to spray paint the Guernica with the words "KILL LIES ALL" in blood red paint, protesting Richard Nixon
's pardon of William Calley
for the latter's actions during the My Lai massacre
.
Although the photograph was shot almost two years prior to the production of the poster, Haeberle had not released it until late 1969. It was a color photograph taken on his personal camera which he did not turn over to the military, unlike the black and white photographs he took on a military camera. Haeberle sold the color photographs to Life
magazine where they were first seen nationally in the December 5, 1969, issue. When the poster came out a few weeks later, in late December 1969, the image was still quite shocking and new to most viewers.
The implied message of the poster was that in Vietnam, babies were enemy combatants i.e., the war was immoral. The derision "baby killers" was often used by anti-war activists against U.S. soldiers, largely as a result of the My Lai Massacre. Although Vietnam soldiers had been called "baby killers" since at least 1966, My Lai and the Haeberle photographs further solidified the stereotype of drug-addled soldiers who killed babies, according to cultural historian M. Paul Holsinger, And babies was "easily the most successful poster to vent the outrage that so many felt about the conflict in Southeast Asia. Copies are still frequently seen in retrospectives dealing with the popular culture of the Vietnam War era or in collections of art from the period."
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass murder of 347–504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968, by United States Army soldiers of "Charlie" Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the Americal Division. Most of the victims were women, children , and...
taken by U.S. combat photographer Ronald L. Haeberle
Ronald L. Haeberle
Ronald L. Haeberle is a manufacturing supervisor and former United States Army photographer who is most widely known for the photographs he took of the aftermath following the My Lai Massacre in March 1968...
in March 1968. It shows about a dozen dead and partly naked South Vietnamese women and children in contorted positions stacked together on a dirt road, killed by US forces. The picture is overlaid in semi-transparent blood-red lettering that asks along the top "Q. And babies?", and at the bottom answers "A. And babies." The quote is from a Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
CBS News television interview with U.S. soldier Paul Meadlo who participated in the massacre.
According to cultural historian M. Paul Holsinger, And babies was "easily the most successful poster to vent the outrage that so many felt about the conflict in Southeast Asia."
History
In 1969 the Art Workers Coalition (AWC), a group of New York City artists who opposed the war, used Haeberle's shocking photograph of the My Lai Massacre, along with a disturbing quote from the Wallace/Meadlo television interview, to create a poster titled And babies. It was produced by AWC members Irving Petlin
Irving Petlin
Irving Petlin is an American artist and painter renowned for his mastery of the pastel medium and collaborations with other artists and for his work in the "series form" in which he uses the raw material of pastel, oil paint and unprimed linen, and finds inspiration in the work of writers and...
, Jon Hendricks and Fraser Dougherty along with Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
members Arthur Drexler and Elizabeth Shaw. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) had promised to fund and circulate the poster, but after seeing the 2 by 3 foot poster, pulled financing for the project at the last minute. MoMA's Board of Trustees included Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
and William S. Paley
William S. Paley
William S. Paley was the chief executive who built Columbia Broadcasting System from a small radio network into one of the foremost radio and television network operations in the United States.-Early life:...
(head of CBS), who reportedly "hit the ceiling" on seeing the proofs of the poster. Both were "firm supporters" of the war effort and backed the Nixon administration. It is unclear if they pulled out for political reasons (as pro-war supporters), or simply to avoid a scandal (personally and/or for MoMA), but the official reason, stated in a press release, was that the poster was outside the "function" of the museum. Nevertheless, under the sole sponsorship of the AWC, 50,000 posters were printed by New York City's lithographers union. On December 26, 1969, a grassroots network of volunteer artists, students and peace activists began circulating it worldwide. Many newspapers and television shows re-printed images of the poster, consumer poster versions soon followed, and it was carried in protest marches around the world, all further increasing its viewership. In a further protest of MoMA's decision to pull out of the project, copies of the poster were carried by members of the AWC into the MoMA and unfurled in front of Picasso's painting Guernica
Guernica (painting)
Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso. It was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, Basque Country, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War...
— on loan to MoMA at the time, the painting depicts the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon innocent civilians. One member of the group was Tony Shafrazi
Tony Shafrazi
Tony Shafrazi is the owner of the Shafrazi Art Gallery in New York, who deals artwork by artists such as Francis Bacon, Keith Haring, and David LaChapelle....
who returned in 1974 to spray paint the Guernica with the words "KILL LIES ALL" in blood red paint, protesting Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's pardon of William Calley
William Calley
William Laws Calley is a convicted American war criminal and a former U.S. Army officer found guilty of murder for his role in the My Lai Massacre on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War.-Early life:...
for the latter's actions during the My Lai massacre
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass murder of 347–504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968, by United States Army soldiers of "Charlie" Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the Americal Division. Most of the victims were women, children , and...
.
Although the photograph was shot almost two years prior to the production of the poster, Haeberle had not released it until late 1969. It was a color photograph taken on his personal camera which he did not turn over to the military, unlike the black and white photographs he took on a military camera. Haeberle sold the color photographs to Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine where they were first seen nationally in the December 5, 1969, issue. When the poster came out a few weeks later, in late December 1969, the image was still quite shocking and new to most viewers.
The implied message of the poster was that in Vietnam, babies were enemy combatants i.e., the war was immoral. The derision "baby killers" was often used by anti-war activists against U.S. soldiers, largely as a result of the My Lai Massacre. Although Vietnam soldiers had been called "baby killers" since at least 1966, My Lai and the Haeberle photographs further solidified the stereotype of drug-addled soldiers who killed babies, according to cultural historian M. Paul Holsinger, And babies was "easily the most successful poster to vent the outrage that so many felt about the conflict in Southeast Asia. Copies are still frequently seen in retrospectives dealing with the popular culture of the Vietnam War era or in collections of art from the period."