What do you think?
Rate this book
Dazzle: Disguise and Disruption in War and Art
Whilst it is a constant throughout history that conflict has inspired and engendered great art, it is much rarer event for art to impact directly upon the vicissitudes of war. Yet, in the course of the First World War, a collision of naval strategy and the nascent modern art movement, led to some 2000 British ships going to sea as the largest painted modernist canvases in the world covered in abstract, clashing, decorative and geometric designs in a myriad of colors. Dazzle had arrived.
Heavily inspired by Cubism and British Vorticism, dazzle was conceived and developed by celebrated artist and then naval commander Norman Wilkinson. Dazzle camouflage rejects concealment in favor of disruption. It seeks to break up a ship’s silhouette with brightly contrasting geometric designs to make a vessel’s speed and direction incredible difficult to discern both critical factors in the early years of the torpedo. False painted bow-waves and sterns were used to confuse and throw off the deadly U-boat captains by up to 55%. The high contrast shapes and colors further made it very difficult to match up a ship in the two halves of an optical naval rangefinder.
Some questioned dazzle’s effectiveness but, combined with the adoption of the convoy system led to a considerable reduction in the number of merchant ships losses. Dazzle camouflage was adopted internationally first by the US Navy and its use was continued by the major navies right through to the Second World War and beyond, although the development of radar and aircraft range lessened its effectiveness.
This new book traces the development of the Dazzle aesthetic from theory into practice and beyond. It looks at the impact that dazzle was to have on art, especially in the work of Edward Wadsworth, Charles Pears and Wilkinson himself. It takes the story further and looks at how dazzle impacted upon many aspects of art and design from record covers to fashion and also showcases the wonderful tributes that contemporary artists, such as Peter Blake and Tobias Rehberger, have made by painting ships and ferries as a timely means to mark the ongoing centenary of the First World War. The primary object of this scheme was not so much to cause the enemy to miss his shot when actually in firing position, but to mislead him, when the ship was first sighted, as to the correct position to take up. Dazzle is method to produce an effect by paint in such a way that all accepted forms of a ship are broken up by masses of strongly contrasted color, consequently making it a matter of difficulty for a submarine to decide on the exact course of the vessel to be attacked. When making a design for a vessel, vertical lines were largely avoided. Sloping lines, curves and stripes are by far the best and give greater distortion. Norman Wilkinson, 1919.
Published to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland Superbly and copiously illustrated by sketches, designs, artworks, photographs and artifacts of dazzle in action Dazzle includes a major sourcebook section to provide reference and inspiration for artists, designers and modelers The ultimate gift book for all who take their inspiration from the sea.
Heavily inspired by Cubism and British Vorticism, dazzle was conceived and developed by celebrated artist and then naval commander Norman Wilkinson. Dazzle camouflage rejects concealment in favor of disruption. It seeks to break up a ship’s silhouette with brightly contrasting geometric designs to make a vessel’s speed and direction incredible difficult to discern both critical factors in the early years of the torpedo. False painted bow-waves and sterns were used to confuse and throw off the deadly U-boat captains by up to 55%. The high contrast shapes and colors further made it very difficult to match up a ship in the two halves of an optical naval rangefinder.
Some questioned dazzle’s effectiveness but, combined with the adoption of the convoy system led to a considerable reduction in the number of merchant ships losses. Dazzle camouflage was adopted internationally first by the US Navy and its use was continued by the major navies right through to the Second World War and beyond, although the development of radar and aircraft range lessened its effectiveness.
This new book traces the development of the Dazzle aesthetic from theory into practice and beyond. It looks at the impact that dazzle was to have on art, especially in the work of Edward Wadsworth, Charles Pears and Wilkinson himself. It takes the story further and looks at how dazzle impacted upon many aspects of art and design from record covers to fashion and also showcases the wonderful tributes that contemporary artists, such as Peter Blake and Tobias Rehberger, have made by painting ships and ferries as a timely means to mark the ongoing centenary of the First World War. The primary object of this scheme was not so much to cause the enemy to miss his shot when actually in firing position, but to mislead him, when the ship was first sighted, as to the correct position to take up. Dazzle is method to produce an effect by paint in such a way that all accepted forms of a ship are broken up by masses of strongly contrasted color, consequently making it a matter of difficulty for a submarine to decide on the exact course of the vessel to be attacked. When making a design for a vessel, vertical lines were largely avoided. Sloping lines, curves and stripes are by far the best and give greater distortion. Norman Wilkinson, 1919.
Published to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland Superbly and copiously illustrated by sketches, designs, artworks, photographs and artifacts of dazzle in action Dazzle includes a major sourcebook section to provide reference and inspiration for artists, designers and modelers The ultimate gift book for all who take their inspiration from the sea.
- GenresHistory
128 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2015
1 person is currently reading
18 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 13, 2018
Fascinating book. Very well illustrated (although some are on the small side), and remarkable for the amount of detailed history included. I found the text somewhat less than engaging at points, but very much so at others. The inclusion of contemporary and recent artistic works inspired by the dazzle ships is a nice touch. One might best appreciate it by leaving it sitting around, dipping in on occasion even at random to enjoy the paintings and photographs and read a page or a few pages, rather than reading straight through. But it's worth engaging on any level, and should appeal to a variety of interests.
June 24, 2020
An excellent book which sadly I lack the time to do a deep dive on, but my remarks would echo most of the positive statements in other reviews. Notable for being a social/war history of a war technology/public art project/neurology experiment and for the really wonderful range of images and paintings within.
April 3, 2024
The subject was interesting but the writing was quite haphazard and confusing.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews