In 1943 Albert Tucker painted 'Victory Girls', a very odd, gruesome reflection of society at that time. It was a feature in a series known as the Images Of Modern Evil painted in the space of 1943 - 1947.
'Victory Girls' is an oil on canvas artwork. The paint is applied thick and in long strokes, and is especially noticeable in the sky and clothes of the figures. Patches of paint has been used to distinguish the light reflections. The painting is of four figures, two of them are young women, half dressed and wearing striped skirts. The girls are painted in such a way that their humanity is barely visible. Their curved, red, distorted mouths soon became a regular 'symbol' for Tucker. This crescent shaped mouth soon became an image that became a symbol for women that he used. These young girls are being held by two pig like men who represented the American soldiers.
Tucker
English: Photograph portrait of Albert Tucker, tak...
English: Photograph Australian artist Joy Hester n...Behind them a small patch of the sky and the ground is visible in very dark, dreary colours.
The four figures take up most of the frame, and no other objects can be really seen. Most of the painting has very curved shapes, apart from the girl's triangular mouths and patchwork on the ground. Apart from that most of the features of the clothes are very simple and curved.
Colour has been used symbolically in this painting, with the blue, red and white of the girls dresses representing the American flag. The girls are the most colourful in the painting, standing out from the rest, which is very drab and dull. The soldiers are dressed in their dark olive green uniforms.
The foreground is made of the figures, and only a small portion of the background is visible. Part of the painting has been...