Work Text:
The gallery classroom was always chilly when Prof. McKinley was teaching. Nile had spent the first week of sophomore year freezing in his class before she started to remember to bring a jacket. The man seemed impervious to cold. However, he had the advantage of being dressed in a tweed blazer, full sleeve formal shirt and a colourful bowtie. On the other hand, the sudden heatwave had forced her to wear sweats and t-shirts. Her legs remained chilly.
Prof. McKinley was old and, according to rumours around the department of Art History, at least a hundred. His thick and shaggy eyebrows seemed to cover his deep-set beady eyes, further hidden by a pair of thick spectacles. Still, his voice was strong, and his lectures dry. Nile was starting to regret bringing the jacket. At least the cold kept her awake enough to take down her notes. Meanwhile, the cosiness of the jacket was pushing her towards sleep.
An elbow to the rib startled her. “Nile!” Sarah hissed at her, her blond ponytail swaying. “Wake up!”
“I’m awake….”
“Ms Freeman… I’m quite glad that you have joined us in the waking world.” Prof. McKinley dryly commented. “Now, if you will kindly pay attention to the lecture….”
Nile ducked her face, hauling the notebook in front of her face, embarrassed.
A few moments later, she peeked at the PowerPoint slide. Like all old professors, his slides were all white with awkwardly positioned photos of artwork and oversized black text.
“As we have already discussed, artists have always been entwined with politics. Every art can be interpreted and analysed from a political lens.”
The slide switches to a painting of a cathedral with a rainbow. Prof. McKinley waves a hand towards it, “Even a landscape such as this.”
“However, today, we will look at some prints used during wartimes and their historical context.” The slide switches again to an Uncle Sam poster.
“Everyone knows this one, James Montgomery Flagg’s "I Want You For The U.S. Army Enlist Now” created in 1917 and used throughout both the World Wars.”
Nile looks at the slide containing the photo of the poster for a few brief seconds before she starts taking notes as Prof. McKinley’s lecture continues on.
It's a copy of the poster that Nile looks at as she joins the US Army.
The recruiter, a middle-aged man with a neat moustache and tan skin, sees her glance at the poster. “Aah.. that’s the original vintage poster from 1945.”
He smiles proudly.
‘No, it's not.’ Nile thinks to herself.