Peace and War
Peace and War is a polarizing topic with two different ends of the spectrum. And in both examples we see the usage of clothing being for both military utilitarianism and to simply advocate change. For America, the event that really set off anti-war sentiments was the Vietnam War. It has been a polarizing topic for many years, with two very different sides that don’t seem to have a happy medium (i.e. you are either at war or you are not). We see many examples and expressions of these two sides in the clothing produced for both war and anti-war. For the most part, clothing produced for war is either utilitarian based, for soldiers to function well in the field of battle, or propaganda for the war to convince young men to enlist.
On the latter side, we see a lot of examples of custom made T-Shirts and accessories, some satirical and some serious, in favor of peace. The tugging battle of peace and war is something that has always been constant, but definitely flared up in significance in the 70’s and 80’s in conjunction with other progressive movements and the overall ideology of society at the time.
on display
The Seabees are a construction battalion under the US Navy, and they were created in 1942. The fatigue set on display here today is a mid to late 1960’s Vietnam war era stenciled Seabee uniform. The set features multiple Seabee insignia stencils, as well as numerous replaced buttons and repaired tears. The accomplishments of the Seabees in the Vietnam war were essential for the advancement of US troops. They completed jobs such as building roads, airfields, cantonments, hospitals, storage facilities, bunkers, and other structures necessary for the cause. There is a running joke in the military that the US Army does everything and goes everywhere first (in terms of battle), but when they die and are met with heaven's gates, there is an etching in the gate that reads: “Built by the Seabees”. Inferring that the Seabees have to go everywhere the army goes but BEFORE them in order to build the roads and other things necessary to advance.
Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, famously denied the vast majority of his offers from other companies to create merchandise such as T-Shirts. He felt that by allowing other people to take his art and make their own renditions with their products, it would devalue the depth and originality of his characters. There are very few examples of real, official merch for Calvin and Hobbes including one collaboration T Shirt with MoMA, and a textbook meant for children struggling with speech and language. For the most part, any other Calvin and Hobbes themed merch is a bootleg/ technically illegal. This example of illegal Calvin and Hobbes merch dates back to the early 90’s, and is addressing the topic of war/advocating for peace. It shows a small strip from Watterson with a satirical comment about peace and war.
The bottom part of the Vietnam war era Seabees fatigues. This pair features multiple Seabee insignia stencils as well.
additional pieces
Another example of satire and wordplay being used to communicate a message. Many anti-war sentiments were going around during the 1970’s because of what was going on in Vietnam, and plenty of art, merchandise, and other objects were made to advocate for peace. This t-shirt is advocating for peace, and drawing attention through the wordplay of peas (the vegetable), and peace (what they want!).
One of the darker t-shirts in the curation, this satirical anti war t-shirt carries a strong message and a play on the Uncle Sam character as well as an art piece by Charles Rosner (made in 71’). It features Uncle Sam with the classic pointing finger and print:”Join the Army”, but underneath, it reads Charles Rosner’s phrase: “travel to exotic, distant lands; meet exciting, unusual people; and kill them”.
The Royal Canadian Air Force’s station at Dawson Creek was a small, short lived station and place of operation from about 1944 to 1946, and then also from 1957 to 1964. It was a non-flying unit that was meant to assist the Northwest Air Command when they were flying to and from Russia. It is remarkable that such a well crafted jacket was made for somebody that worked at this short lived station, and we may have never learned about this if the jacket’s appearance was not impressive enough to be wanted at face value.
This is another T-shirt in protest of violence, aimed particularly at nuclear warfare. It uses satire in a very similar way to the “Join The Army” t-shirt, and features a woman in distress saying: “NUCLEAR WAR?!... There goes my career!”. The intention of the graphic and phrase is to make the statement that if the world does not agree in not using nuclear weapons, the youth will have no future and the careers they are working for right now won’t matter!
This insect repellant jacket is an example of garments from the military being used for utility and later being adapted into the fashion world. Meant at first for soldiers in hot, insect heavy areas, this piece has since then become the sample and inspiration for a variety is pieces, as well as the original getting bought and sold in the second hand market.
This Foul Weather Deck Smock Jacket was from the United States Navy and started being utilized on the water around WW2. Many countries, as well as the different military branches within those countries, have renditions of a smock jacket because of the wide range of usage and design. “Smocks” in general have been around since the 18th century, and they have evolved and adapted to each era in order to remain relevant and in use.