“If Vietnam Were Now” A political piece by artist Claude Moller

Mattie Bruton

History

-This piece, created by political artist Claude Moller, uses a famous photo taken by Pulitzer winning photojournalist Eddie Adams.

-It depicts South Vietnamese general and American ally Nguyen Ngoc Loan preparing to execute a North Vietnamese prisoner.

History The Adam’s photograph

sparked great controversy over the American involvement in Vietnam.

In 2004, Moller’s piece was used by the activist group Street Art Workers. It was made into posters, which were displayed throughout the city of Chicago.

Where are your eyes led first in this image?

This piece is designed to

guide the viewer’s eye to focus on General Loan’s profile by making it the most definite and clear part of the picture, and by framing it with the TV screen. The more disturbing aspects of the photo are blurred. Why is this?

Photo Editing for Rhetorical Effect

By choosing to have only General Loan’s face within the TV screen clear and unaltered in his artwork, Moller enforces his point that reliance on media over exposes Americans to one-sided stories, portraying negative or morally conflicting details with ambiguity.

What does the television screen symbolize?

The TV Screen Symbolism

The TV screen broadly symbolizes the entirety of American media, and more narrowly the wealthy corporations like CNN and Fox who supply most Americans with their news.

Moller uses this symbol to make a point about bias in the media.

Why, in 2004, might Moller choose an image from the Vietnam War? What was its relevance?

Political Parallels In 2004, the US was heavily involved in

Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

One of the purposes of both the war in Afghanistan and the Vietnam war was to aid and liberate oppressed people. (Bernard Weiner, Ph.D, anitwar.com)

I believe Moller chose this image because it shows one of the “good guys” of the Vietnam war demonstrating spine-chilling brutality. His intent seems to be to provoke Americans to consider whether current conflicts might be similarly multi-dimensional, instead of made one-sided by media coverage.

This is Adams’ original photograph. How does it differ in impact and message from Moller’s edited art piece?

Here, without the alterations, the focus is shifted from General Loan to the anguished expression on the victim’s face. The detail is heightened, and the “whole story” can be seen clearly. Without the words and the symbolic TV screen, the message of the photograph is a statement on human cruelty rather than a statement on misleading media coverage.

Who would the audience of this picture be?

Audience As a political piece, this

image is directed at the American public in general, and more specifically towards the citizens of Chicago, where the poster was displayed by the Street Art Workers. The artist probably hoped to reach socially conscious American adults with this work encouraging them to have greater skepticism of mainstream media.

What rhetorical purpose does the caption of the picture serve?

Caption and Title The words “If Vietnam were

now, what would you see?” (as well as the piece’s provocative title “If Vietnam Were Now” make the image’s purpose and meaning explicit. Claude Moller’s phrasing of a rhetorical question with a blunt, brazen, almost confrontational tone encourages viewers to question issues that they may have never considered, or may have uncomfortable considering.

What is this image’s logical appeal?

Logos

The viewer feels that, logically, citizens should be entitled to unbiased media coverage in order to be fully informed voters and Americans. Having comprehensive awareness of the actions of one’s own country makes logical sense.

What is this image’s ethical appeal?

Ethos Claude Moller chose to

work with a very famous photo from an acclaimed expert photographer, thereby making the image more credible. Viewers feel they can trust the message of the artwork, because they know for certain that the original photograph is depicting an actual moment of American history from the Vietnam war.

What is this picture’s emotional appeal?

Pathos This artwork appeals to

the sense of guilt, and the human (and perhaps particularly American) frustration with injustice. Viewers become guilty that they may be letting political atrocities pass under their noses, and angry at the media for disguising the truth. This emotional appeal is intended to rouse viewers to action.

Works Cited

Lucas, Dean. “ Vietnam Execution.” famouspictures.org. Famous Pictures magazine, n.p. 10 2 Feb 2007. web. 28 sept. 2011.

Moller, Claude. If Vietnam Were Now.2004.Yo! What Happened to Peace? Exhibition, Los Angeles

Tsuri, Alexander. “Laying Bricks to Build Social Change: An Interview with Favianna Rodriguez and Josh MacPhee” identitytheory.com. Matt Borondy, 3 Jul. 2008. web. 28 sept. 2011.

Weiner, Bernard. “ The Vietnam-Afghanistan Mirror.”antiwar.com. n.p. 10 Nov 2001. web. 28 sept. 2011.