Making Soldiers: Ready for Service c. 1917

Editor: This is Eric Kennington’s ‘Making Soldiers: Ready for Service,’ date unknown, held at the Tate. It's a moving depiction; the soldier in the foreground seems both resolute and apprehensive. What symbols do you see embedded within it? Curator: The helmet, a modern steel "Brodie," speaks of protection, but also anonymity, dehumanization. Notice how it obscures part of his face. The throng behind him signifies collective identity, the shared burden of war. Editor: It’s almost as if the individual is being subsumed by the mass. Curator: Precisely. And consider the rifles. Are they tools of defense, or instruments of a mechanized destruction? The repetition of these forms emphasizes that the emotional and physical weight soldiers bore. Editor: It’s fascinating how these visual cues shape our understanding of war. Curator: Indeed. Kennington uses symbols to remind us about cultural memory and the psychological weight of conflict.