We were in Sarasota recently for a visit with family, when I mentioned to my brother-in-law, Rick, that I hustled my husband out of the hotel bright and early on Sunday morning to snap some photos of the sculpture in Island Park on the waterfront.
Oh, you mean the “Big Kiss,” Rick called it.
Yes. That’s it.
At the front desk of the hotel where we stayed they called it the “Sailor and Nurse” statue.
“Oh yeah, you can’t miss it. Turn right, two blocks from the hotel…” (We had arrived the night before in the driving rain from the opposite direction, so in fact, we did miss it, but anyway.)
Unconditional Surrender. That’s its given title. It’s the work of Johnson & Johnson heir, J. Seward Johnson – part of a series with several versions begun in 2005. If you haven’t seen it in Sarasota, perhaps you’ve viewed it during its stint in Tuna Harbor Park in San Diego in 2007. Or in Hamilton, New Jersey on loan from Johnson’s Sculpture Foundation.
Supposedly, Johnson’s sculpture is based on a photograph in the public-domain Kissing the War Goodbye, taken by Navy photojournalist, Victor Jorgensen.
Jorgensen photo in the National Archives
Well, c’mon! Everyone knows the other photo, the iconic shot – taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt for LIFE Magazine. Acclaimed as the "father of modern photojournalism," Eisenstaedt chronicled the 20th Century with more published photos than any other photographer in history. (source:Michael Hoppen Gallery)
Eisenstaedt photo, forever in the public eye
As anyone can see – you can’t miss it - Johnson captured the spirit, the stance, the energy, even fashioned the skirt-pull of that exuberant full-bodied kiss, modeled from Eisenstaedt’s world famous photo V-J Day in Times Square. The photo was taken on August 14, 1945 and published a week later in a 12-page section called Victory Celebrations. Notably, (or not so notably) the plaque planted next to the sculpture erected in the Sarasota park makes no mention of either photo, but anyway…who’s reading?
Snapping-happy, early that morning in the park, there we stood: shooting pictures at the foot (and at the feet) of the statue on the morning of September 2, 2011 - coincidentally 66 years to the date of the formal signing of the surrender, marking the official U.S. celebration of “Victory Over Japan.” But anyway, who’s counting all those years, the victories and losses, the casualties and memories . . .
The nurse, the sailor, the photographer, the sculptor, are now forever melded. One Big Longing Kiss. Forever alive in a black & white still shot, in bronze, and in painted aluminum – that sailor, that nurse, that time and place, and the millions of viewers forever after are locked in that one embrace, indelibly sealed in collective memory.
But can art imitating art still be art?
Kissed off in Sarasota?
Those giant Navy uniform pant legs. The huge white shoes. Is the kiss stolen or an attack on aesthetics? Some call it kitsch. A monumental mistake. A giant smooch that smacks of plagiarism. A parody. Fabricated in aluminum to “withstand winds from a category 3 hurricane,” on the narrow strip of green between traffic on the street and public parking along the pier, Unconditional Surrender seems, well. . . fitting for Sarasota, Florida. I don’t know why, but seeing that kissing couple in the park at the break of day feels uplifting to me . . . in a campy, Ringling Brothers circus, sunny Disney-world-weary sorta way.
Documenting life for LIFE magazine, Eisenstaedt shot nearly 100 covers and some 10,000 prints. “You learn something from every picture you take,” he observed. Snapping up my own photos, stolen moments from life, I’m inclined to agree.
Well, what do you think?
Photos: VHenoch (or otherwise linked to original sources)
with xoxoxo's and thanks for stopping by.
PHOTOGRAPHER'S NOTES ON THE KISS
To capture what has become perhaps his most reproduced image, the kiss in Times Square on V-J Day, Eisenstaedt had been following the sailor who was "running along the street grabbing any and every girl in sight. Whether she was a grandmother, stout, thin, old, didn't make any difference. None of the pictures that were possible pleased me. Then, suddenly in a flash, I saw something white being grabbed. I turned around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse." In 1991 he told a New York Times reporter, "Although I am 92, my brain is 30 years old." To prove it he recalled that to shoot that victory kiss he used 1/125 second exposure, aperture between 5.6 and 8 on Kodak Super Double X film.
It's more important to click with people, than to click with the shutter." A. Eisenstaedt
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Comments
♥R
Public art tends to be controversial - illiciting strong opinions. One can argue that its function is just that - to provoke, intrude and make us "see" things in new lights - an argument in favor of the legitamacy of Unconditional Surrender. I will say that the piece moved me the first time, just passing it casually in traffic... compelled me to return to photograph it. So take away what you will.
Thanks for adding his other pictures too.r
The sculpture I find too derivative, and a bit Disneyland in its execution.
r
HUGGGGGGGGGGGGG
This post was illuminating for me as well -- flipping through the history of the shot and the controversy over the sculpture. I would weigh in -- in appreciation of all of it. Johnson has a similarly pop scupture of Marilyn Monroe with her skirt flip over the subway air vent (iconic pose from Seven Year Itch) -- also I'm reminded of the Wizard of Oz sculptures in Oz Park in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Love those. (More blog material... maybe in a few weeks.)
Oh, and Margaret - to answer your question -- the last image is actually a link to a video on YouTube. From a series -Masters in Photography.
I'm not surprised though. When I lived in Sarasota there was controversy over the Statue of David (the city's mascot at the time) being on the side of police cars (just in silhouette).
But then again I am surprised because Sarasota is home to the Ringling Art Museum, Sarasota Opera, and so many beautiful galleries and buildings.
If they wanted to honor the original photograph, then a bronze statue (because the photo is not in garish color as the statue is) would have been best. One that blends in with the surroundings, enhancing but not dominating.
Well, just one person's opinion…thank you, Vivian, for the chance to express it!
R
Interesting observation. Turns out there's a lot of lore around this photo-- I believe the sailor and the nurse have reenacted that kiss for the fiftieth anniversary, or something like that. I don't recall exactly the article I read.
As for the hand dropped to her side... the appearance of an unconditional surrender -- as the story goes, the nurse's skirt had hiked up, and she was attempting to pull it back down. If you look at her hand closely, that appears to be what she's doing. :)
I also adored Marilyn. Have and old calendar on our basement wall. It is always turned to November, by birth month. Thanks for a wonderful post.
To begin, I think there is great artistic and sentimental value in the photograph and the meaningful history behind it.
I live in the area and drive south on SR41 several times a week.
The statue is huge, bulky, unrefined, and looks like a rendering of a Macy's parade reject. With all the talented artists and artwork of all varieties in the area, it's inconceivable that this chunky lump should be placed in a high traffic area (left turns to downtown, merging traffic, the marina immediately to the right, a right-turn lane to the bridge to the island, a mirrored office building ahead) to distract drivers (lots of senior citizens with hearing/seeing problems plus tourists who aren't sure of where they are going).
I am a fan of street art, and this is not up my alley!
So tell us what you really think. Your comment made me chuckle. Yeah, you're right... there's an aspect of the statue that's an accident waiting to happen. The only worse placement for it would be in the middle of the street.