Germany's strategy for a war on two fronts against France and Russia was to rapidly concentrate the bulk of its army in the West to defeat France within 6 weeks, then shift forces to the East before Russia could fully mobilise; this was later known as the Schlieffen Plan. On 2 August, Germany demanded free passage through Belgium, an essential element in achieving a quick victory over France. When this was refused, German forces invaded Belgium on 3 August and declared war on France the same day; the Belgian government invoked the 1839 Treaty of London and Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August. (Wikipedia)
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Uncle Sam arrives with goods for the suffering Belgians. Notice the tag that says "from the plain people" on his backpack. The relationship feels domineering. Even if Uncle Sam is a positive figure here, the work progresses to describe an uneven relationship. Perhaps true to the spirit of the historical drawings. Notice the German soldier with a bayonet dripping blood. For these pieces, I have taken the original work and re-interpreted it to reflect my point of view.
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Belgian Relief: Uncle Sam Arrives and Belgian Relief: On the Ground are GIFs conceptualized and created by Hulki Okan Tabak in December 2020.
Limited edition of 1. Minted exclusively on KnownOrigin.
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The historical reference of this series comes from original World War I posters. While only a century old, it is remarkable to see how mass mobilization of resources was sought at the time. In order to support the war effort, the media in general was used, perhaps for the first time, as a mass propaganda apparatus. The posters from the era reflect this mindset and shed light on similarities with today.
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For this piece, the inspiration was the drawing by W.A. Rogers titled Invasion of Belgium by the "uncultured" published in 1914 (Library of Congress archives). This work and others in this series published over 95 years ago are part of the public domain.
