Library Research 2

I looked at two articles from Life Magazine: December 20^th and 27^th 1968. Once again, me being a nerd when it comes to advertising, that is what stood out to me in the December 20^th issue, while the 27^th was a special issue highlighting Picasso’s life and artwork. Also being an art nerd, I found that fascinating. Thus, I took on both issues.

Starting with the December 20^th issue, it being right before Christmas, you would expect the majority of advertising to be geared towards last minute Christmas presents. When I think of Christmas presents (even what I would suspect to be given back then), I think of jewelry, electronics, toys, potentially a car or even house slippers. However, the majority of advertisements were for alcohol.  There were a few for camera flashes, one for televisions, a digital watch, Campbell’s Soup, Crest toothpaste, and Old Spice. Then nineteen for different alcoholic beverages.  Nineteen: Smirnoff, Four Roses, I.W.Harper, Calvert, Jim Beam, and Johnnie Walker Red, just to name a few. Most of the ads included slogans such as “overgive.”, “Christmas Whiskey”, “Gift of the month.” With the exception of “A Christmas Prayer” on page three (which you can only tell is a life insurance ad if you pay attention to the small font at the bottom of the page) the only other sign of Christmas cheer and spirit was in the advertisement, and as I stated above, mostly alcohol advertisement. It just makes me wonder, why? Why was there such a high magnitude of alcoholic advertisement? Because people drank more? Because it was more socially expected? Because that is truly what people wanted in 1968? Then it makes me further wonder, what was the root of their desire for it? And has that root been pulled from our society today? Or is it just more frowned upon? Or there are greater desires now that didn’t exist in the 1960s?

Nixon passed the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1970, and to many that marked a time when this alcohol abuse was being recognized by the nation, and finally helped to bring change to the problem. It is interesting though, because statistics show that in the 1960s, the United States was ranked number ten among countries for amount in liters per capita consumed. However, current day our rank has gone down to number twenty, yet our liters per capita have gone from 7.8 to 8.3. I don’t know what it all means, but it makes you think about what appeals to society, and what is socially acceptable, expected, frowned upon, or even old news.

The other thing that stood out to me in the December 20^th issue was the front cover article; an unpublished manuscript by Mark Twain, Huck Finn & Tom Sawyer: Among the Indians. In the middle of Life were the first and only nine chapters to this Mark Twain book. So, of course, I read them. It opened up with Huck addressing the reader about the previous book, and he briefly goes over what happened in it, and where the characters are now. Then begins the great adventures that children and adults a like love to read about. Twain takes us from Tom’s extraordinary arguing skills to show why they should go find the “Injuns”, to their adventure threw the woods with the Mills, murder, running from the Indians, hiding out, to chasing the Indians and their captives down. Twain has us trekking along with our protagonists, Tom, Huck, Jim, and Brace, on the trail of the Injuns, until he leaves us hanging mid-sentence in Chapter nine. No one really knows why Twain stopped writing, apparently Twain thought it was terrible and he “haven’t a paragraph to show for [his] three months’ working season.” Well Mr. Twain, I don’t know much about writing, but from what I read, you could have made a mighty fine novel and piece of literature from what you started.

Onto a different cover story on December 27^th, the special edition of Picasso. The entire 125 pages of Life were about him and his life. It walks the reader through his time in Spain, his work with cubism, his many women, and so much more. The article allows an insight to what inspired Picasso’s various masterpieces, and variety of styles. I absolutely loved reading and learning about it.

I loved learning about the women in his life, and seeing the different ways he portrayed them. Even though so many of his portraits look the same, and look as if they could be solely a figment of his imagination, it is fascinating to see where the inspiration came from for each piece. I began to notice the differences between each piece of artwork, in style, nose shape, the emotions behind the eyes. His artwork is truly an extravagant autobiography of his struggles, love, and experiences in life.

 “We all know that art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.” That was my favorite line of the whole article. It is something I think I always knew, but that Picasso put into words perfectly. It adds such a new dimension to his artwork, to truly think of it with that on the forefront of your mind. What truth is he trying to portray? It speaks volumes for any piece of art, not to try to find what the artist is attempting to portray, but what truth comes from that portrayal. Every piece of art, and every interpretation of art, is biased. Yet there is a universal truth behind every piece, it is just finding it.

Fun Fact: Once I was done with this assignment I went online and ordered myself an old copy of the Picasso edition Life Magazine.