I’ve never been incredibly politically aware, which is why I suppose I write for The Guide as opposed to the opinion section. I try to avoid bringing up politics — namely, the current war in the Middle East — here in D.C. simply because I don’t know enough about it. When I found out that there was an exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum featuring various posters from World War I, I was interested because of the artistic aspects of the works. But as I examined each poster, the politics behind the messages conveyed in the art jumped out at me, and I couldn’t help but become immersed in the propaganda.

“Over the Top: American Posters from World War I” displays a number of posters from the period starting with the outbreak of the war to the post-war years. Images printed by the Liberty Loan campaigns, the War Savings Stamp program, the Victory Loan and the Red Cross appealed to Americans’ sense of patriotism in order to encourage monetary contributions to the war effort.

The posters on display were selected from the collection of Thomas and Edward Pulling, grandson and great-grandson of the Honorable R.C. Leffingwell, assistant secretary of the Treasury and head of the War Loan Organization. Leffingwell received a vast collection of posters from the war in gratitude for his influence in the successful financial program.

Joann Moser, senior curator for the graphic arts at the museum, selected the posters that best represented the spirit of the various campaigns. “I was mostly interested in getting the most effective works and also getting this range of campaigns,” she said. “I didn’t want to leave anything out.”

Not only does the exhibition feature pieces from a variety of campaigns and organizations, but the posters are very clearly directed at different audiences. “One of the things that I think is most interesting is the way they were marketing these war bonds to various audiences,” Moser said. Posters featuring voluptuous women clothed only in light drapery pleading “Fight or Buy Bonds” target men who were not able to go to war themselves. Women felt empowered by combining images of Joan of Arc with strong mother figures. Posters that carried heavy nationalistic messages appealed to immigrants. “They presented the support of this war as a way to make people realize that you’re a true American,” Moser said. “It was a way of buying acceptance.” The exhibit even features a poster that is directed at children by telling them, “You can help your Uncle Sam win the War. Save your Quarters. Buy War Savings Stamps.”

“In a way, although there was high literacy in the United States as opposed to other countries, there still were a lot of people for whom pictures spoke more directly than words,” Moser explained. “So this was a way of reaching people who maybe weren’t as literate.” To the organizers of the war effort, the campaigns were not attempts to educate the American public about the technicalities of war financing; they simply had to sell the idea of patriotism. “By making these very appealing visual images, it spoke to people who maybe didn’t really understand,” Moser said.

With each different audience, the illustrators significantly adjust the imagery and text of the posters. Germans were conveyed as immoral and violent monsters, and they were frequently referred to as Huns. In one particularly powerful poster, the words “The Hun. — His Mark. Blot it out with Liberty Bonds.” accompany a plain poster with a large bloody handprint. This was the first poster to use the word Hun, and its brutal connotation continued throughout the war. In the lists of ethnicities in the posters, German was never included. Moser agreed that the posters could be overwhelming. “I think the imagery is really powerful, and it’s not terribly subtle,” she said. Even the less violent images carry blatantly strong political messages, and the title of the exhibition, “Over the Top,” appears to warn visitors of the strong content found in the propaganda.

“Over the Top: American Posters from World War I” will be at the Smithsonian American Art Museum through Feb. 3, 2008. Admission is free. For more information, call 202-633-1000.