The Golden Age of Pin-Up Art - Book One

THE GOLDEN AGE OF

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THE GOLDEN AGE OF

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tnBOOK ONE Text by Alberto Becattini

GLITTERING IMAGES edizio ni

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Above: Gil Elvgren, plate from his 1952 Brown & Bigelow calendar. Gag: «I'm not shy. I'm just retiring." © Brown & Bigelow Half·tltle page: Original cover art by Peter Driben for Whisper magazine. Vol. 5 # 3, November 1951 . Counter-frontispiece: Pin-up by Joyce Ballantyne, ca. 1958. Frontispiece: Sunny Side Up. Pin-up by Gil Eivgren. © Brown & Bigelow

he cos'e lapin-up art? Prendendo il tennine alta lettera, dovrebbe far parte a buon diritto di questo ambitoartistico ogni immagine femminile dipinra (con tecniche c he vanno dal pastello alia te mpera, dall'acqucrcllo all'olio) concepita peressereappesa al muro- come un poster, dunque, o come un calendario. Una pin-up, per dirsi tale, deve avcre caraueristic he ben precise: tra queste, Ia particolare postura della ragazza ritratta, che dovra necessariamente esscrc scnsuale; o gli indumcnti indossati dalla ragazza, c he do vranno conUibuire (lasciando sapicmemcnte scoperte, o facendo trasparire, parti "calde" de l s uo corpo) a "erotizzare" ulterionnente l'immagine. Secondo a lc uni, Ia pin-up "ortodossa" e quc lla chc csclude Ia presenza dell'elemento maschilc come pure di ogni altro elemento "estraneo", pred iI igendo uno sfondo bianco c he fa della ragazza l'unica protagonista dell'immagine. Piccole concessioni al "contesto" possono essere rappresentate, sc mai, da e lemcnti "funzionali" quali marione tte dalla foggia maschile (che simboleggino il controllo, da parte della pin-up, sull'uomo-osscrvatore), cagnolini (che, con illoro agitarsi, possano provocare il sollcvamento delle gonne de lle Ioro padroncine),

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oppure oggetti di vario generc (i quali abbiano, se possibile, connotazioni falliche). Noi non c i sentiamo di csserc cos! categorici, e ritcniamo o u im i esempi di pin-up art anche le immag ini "contestualizzate" (accompag nate, cioe, da un background e/o dalla prescnza di un personaggio maschile), purche l'ele me nto fc mminile ne resti indiscusso protagonista e conservi il carisma e Ia sensualita di c ui s i diceva sopra. Rien-

trano dunque- a nostro parere - nell'ortodossla de lle pin-ups anc he queUe immagini chc-una volta estrapola te dal medium c ui era no state in originedcstinate (lacopertina di un libro, per cscmpio, oppure di un alboa fumetti)- possanocsscrc tranquillame nte appuntate ad una parctc, magari all'inremo di un'elcgante cornice. In q ues to volume c i propon iamo di tracciare un'agi le storia della pin-up art negli Stati U niti, con un accento particolarc sui suoi "anni d'oro", idcntificabili con il periodo c hc va dal 1940 ai primi anni '60. Parlere mo di riviste, calcndari, paperbacks, c soprattullo ricorde re mo i princ ipali autori che rive rsaro no gran parte del !oro tale nto in questo particolarissimo ambito artistico. In questo nostro viaggio ci accompagneranno que lle stcsse, bcllissime immagini che hanno fa tto sognare intcrc generazioni, ncl cui policromo marc - per citare uno dc i nostri massimi pocti - ci sara sempre dolce il

naufragare. hat is pin-up art? Literally, a pinup should beagirl painting(done in such techniques as pastels, gouache, watercolours , or oils) conceived to be hung on a wall - like a poster, or a calendar. Yet a pin-up, to deserve this name, must have precise c haracteristics: these inc lude the painted girl's posture, which has necessarily to be sensual; or the clothes the girl is wearing, which will contribute (by deliberate!y uncovering o r revealing, thanks to their transparency, the "ho tter" parts of her body) to make the image more erotic.

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Pin-ups by Enoch Bolles (top) and Earl Moran (above;© Brown & Bigelow).

PIN UP ART 5

BAKE UP AND

LIVE

George Quintana, September 1937.

Cover featuring Betty Grable from Movie Story Magazine, December 1942.

Model Joan Stevens from the Beauty Parade centerfold, July 1951.

6 ESTHET I QCE

According to some experts, the "orthodox" pin-up painting has 10 exclude the presence of a male partner, as well as any other "alien" elemenL The background has to be white, thus making the girl the sole protagonist of the picture. Some "functional" props may be accepted , such as male-shaped puppets (which symbolize the pin-up's control over the male observer), puppies (which often cause their mistresses' skirts -as well as our blood pressure- to rise), or certain kinds of objects (which have evident phallic implications). We would not be that strict, and think that "contextualized" images (that is, including a background, and/or the presence ofa male figure) may be excellent examples of pin-up art, provided that the girl remains the protagonist of the picture, keeping her charisma and sensuality intact. Thus, in our opinion, the pin-up "orthodoxy" may also include those images which -after being isolated from the medium they had originally been painted for (a book, or a comic book cover, for instance) - can easily be hung on a wall, whether framed or not. The purpose of this book is to give readers an overview of pin-up art in the United States, with a focus on its "Golden Years" (circa 1940 - Early 1960's). We will discuss magazines, calendars, paperbacks, and most of all - we will remember many of those talented artists who made this peculiar genre great. It will be, we hope, a fascinating dream-journey through an ocean of multi-coloured images. And if our ship should sink, we will be more than happy 10 drown.

Above left: Pin-up by Ted Withers for an Artist's Sketchbook Calendar.© Brown & Bigelow Above rig ht: Pin-up girl by Harry Ekman, ca.1958. Gag:« They tell me l"m a stand-out ... Left: Peter Driben, cover from Wink, Vol. 8 # 2, October 1952.

u'est- Brown & Bigelow

Pages 60-68: Pin-ups for Brown & Bigelow reproduced from original posters and girlie calendars. e Brown & Bigelow

PIN UP ART 69

Earl MacPherson Pictures from «Artist's Sketch Pad Calendars», «Pin-up Art: How to Draw and Paint Beautiful Girls», and pin-up photos

70 E S T II E T I Q t.; E

THE

PASTELS

are a pplied with my finger tips, to give a flesh-l ike qua lity and ,,-a te r color is used with small brushes

fo r detail in the eyes and teeth. Note a lso the use o f p rops, such as hats, aprons, etc.. which are an im portant part of the pose. The o ri ginals of these illust rations are 21"' x 28"' overall , which is large enoug h for all reproduction purposes a nd also a convenient painting size.

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1->AINTINa -the 1i1N-U1'

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THE ADO\'!::

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illust rations arc from th e l\ lacPhcrson Sketchbook. an annual advettising ralendar, produced by the

Shaw-Barton Co. of Coshocton. Ohio, with a distribution of over a million ropics.

Thc~e

illustrations arc for your

study, particularly in the use o f color and al~o to aid in thf' training o f vour mod e l~. The medium used is pastel and water color.

Pages 70-73 : Drawings and pages from Pin-up Art: How to Draw and Paint Beautiful Girls art book, Walter T. Foster, 1954.

72 ES THETJ QUE

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