On Friday, Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA) Gallery will open “Manufacturing Consent: Female Imagery in 20th Century Political Propaganda,” an exhibition culled from Vashon resident Matt Bergman’s private collection of vintage political propaganda posters.
The show will mark the first time VCA has had an “exhibition only” showing of a private collection, and according to gallery director Lynann Politte, it has a powerful relevance as the world bears witness to the war in Ukraine.
The exhibit had originally been scheduled, pre-COVID, to take place in Oct. 2020, but that showing was scuttled by the pandemic.
“We finally got it rescheduled in October 2021, for April 2022, not ever thinking that we would be in the midst of another war that has a leader spreading ‘fake news’ and other means to justify the ends,” said Politte. “Sadly, the exhibition is as timely as it can be.”
The exhibition — which is only a part of Bergman’s larger collection of propaganda — has a special focus, exploring commonality in depictions of women across historical time periods and national boundaries; from the First World War to the Cold War and from the United States, Europe and Russia.
Bergman has explained these works within the context of Noam Chomsky’s and Edward S. Herman’s book, “Manufacturing Consent” which presents the argument that “the mass media of the United States are effective and powerful ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function by reliance on market forces, internalized assumptions and self-censorship, and without significant overt coercion.”
Throughout periods of war and revolution, female imagery was a common image used to manufacture this consensus, said Bergman.
Depending on the desired political or military objective from the intended viewer, women were depicted in various roles they have within society. “They could be nubile warriors, soiled industrial workers, stately matriarchs or ravished victims,” said Bergman. “Yet in every respect, the female image was carefully calibrated to trigger the desired emotional response in the viewer and motivate the desired behavior.”
The compelling and instructive works assembled are just a fraction of Bergman’s holdings. For Bergman, collecting propaganda posters melds three passions: art, politics and history. For the VCA exhibition, the selection of artwork is organized by the way in which female imagery is used, versus chronologically or by nation.
“Our objective is not to promote any political or social position or advocate a particular interpretation of 20th century history,” said Bergman. “Rather, by illustrating the historic power of gender images in 20th Century propaganda we seek to promote a deeper understanding of the importance of cultural imagery in political behavior and robust dialogue on the intersection between culture and politics.”
The exhibit will run until May 1. Bergman will attend the show’s opening reception, from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 1. Regular gallery hours are 12 to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
Bergman will give a talk about the works as part of VCA’s “Talks on the Rock” series, at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14. To purchase tickets to the event, visit vashoncenterforthearts.org.
