Damsleth's Photography Essay

Harald Damsleth became a household name during the German occupation during WWII. His posters were printed in large quantities and were hung anywhere that was possible. This propaganda had a such a large impact at a national level, that Damsleth’s style became associated with the war. From April 1940, Damsleth was assigned to produce illustrations for newspapers, magazines, postcards, commercials, medals and more. In 1944, he created the famous poster Liberators, which is a black and white reproduction of the original poster Kultur-Terror, in the Netherlands by Leest Storm SS magazine.
In my opinion, this Anti-American poster was the piece that seemed the most effective Damsleth’s work is usually full of bright, contrasting colours in order
Taking this into consideration, the atmosphere of emptiness then turns into a feeling of being watched, or an invasion of privacy. Tung is very good at recreating the emotions of the civilians in the audience, there is no censorship when it comes to revealing the reality of living in a war torn country and I think that the use of the mirror is very good at doing this. In photos, people often picture what is aesthetically pleasing in front of them, but by having that sense of what is in front and behind you creates a more vivid image, it encompasses the audience better – it also gives them nowhere to escape. The expanse that is pictured in the mirror compared to what is behind it could have been Tung’s way of distancing herself from other photographers, who simply photo what the lens is able to capture in front of them, but could also show to an audience that is personally disconnected to the war that civilians on the ground have nowhere to hide. The mirror reflects what an audience would not usually see, there are snipers in the buildings, and there is no solid shelter left to hide in and the streets are extremely bare – this combination creates a sense of vulnerability and