For as long as I have known the iconic 1945 photograph of a sailor kissing a nurse to celebrate the end of World War II I have seriously wondered about consent. I first saw the photograph by the Life magazine photojournalist Alfred Eisenstaedt in my teens. By that time the picture had been world famous for a good 30 years. It has remained so after 74 years.
It came under renewed focus with the death of George Mendonsa, the sailor most likely in it, at age 95. The nurse in the picture was identified as Greta Zimmer Friedman. Mendosa’s death prompted me to quickly paint the remarkable picture. Even when I was painting it, the thought of whether the kiss would be denounced as an assault in today #MeToo era troubled me. I had a vague recollection that it was a random kiss by a jubilant sailor basking in the glory of the Allied victory.
As The Guardian notes, Friedman “had spoken of her shock at being grabbed and kissed by Mendonsa, who was drunk, amid exuberant scenes in Times Square after the surrender of Japan.”
“So we get into Times Square and the war ends and I see the nurse,” Mendonsa told CNN in 2015 of the moment that was captured by Alfred Eisenstaedt. “I had a few drinks, and it was just plain instinct, I guess. I just grabbed her.”
Both the involved parties have spoken about Mendosa “grabbing” Friedman which should be clearly problematic at any time irrespective of the prevailing sociocultural milieu, particularly now in the context of the #MeToo movement.
Friedman had told The New York Times in 2005 that the kiss was not consensual with her son later saying she did not view it negatively.
A statue depicting the kiss was vandalized yesterday with #MeToo scrawled in red on the woman’s leg.
I must admit to being hesitant in painting the photograph but did so after discovering Friedman may not have made much of it even though she clearly did not consent to it.
As I mentioned, this was a quick job for me. It took me about five minutes because of the inherent movement and angles in the picture. My painting is more a tribute to Eisenstaedt than anything else. The painting appears to have been liked by many. Hence this post.