Onze land en zeemacht 1865 - 1875

Editor: This is "Onze land en zeemacht," or "Our Land and Naval Power," a lithograph drawing or print by George Lodewijk Funke, made sometime between 1865 and 1875. It depicts various military personnel in uniform. It's quite detailed! What’s your interpretation of it? Curator: This print, appearing within a series of “children’s prints,” isn’t just about national pride. We should consider the implications of visually encoding militaristic power and disseminating it to children. How might this normalize or even glorify military action within the cultural imaginary, particularly in the context of the Netherlands' colonial history? Editor: Colonial history? I see it more as just a display of national pride, almost like showing off their various military divisions. Curator: Precisely. But where does that "national pride" originate? What sustains it? Consider that the depicted military power was, at that time, inextricably linked to colonial expansion and control, particularly in the Dutch East Indies. By presenting this as a matter of pride, doesn’t it mask the violence and exploitation inherent in colonialism? How might we read this image as a form of cultural conditioning? Editor: I guess I hadn't considered the possible ways this artwork relates to the colonial context of the time. Curator: It's crucial to see these works as products of their time. What visual strategies are being used to promote potentially problematic ideas of national identity? Who benefits from that narrative? That’s a constant set of questions we need to consider. Editor: Definitely food for thought. I will never see it as simple propaganda now.