Abstract
The recent publication of Dazzle: Disguise and Disruption in War and Art is timely, since 2017 marks a hundred years since the introduction of dazzle techniques towards the latter half of World War I. In this short book, James Taylor presents a history of the development and deployment of these techniques of visual disruption in a way that takes into account a wide range of interests in the history of the twentieth century. These include the concerns of historians of maritime warfare and military history more generally, as well as those of historians of art and visual culture.
For the benefit of this wide range of potential readers, Taylor introduces the concept of dazzle as something distinct from the notions that underlie that of camouflage: it is something designed to visually confuse, rather than conceal. Carefully-planned geometric patterns were painted onto ‘thousands of merchant ships and hundreds of naval vessels’ (p. 8) with the specific intention of confusing the crews of German submarines and thus, it was hoped, thwarting potentially disastrous attacks.
The account of dazzle in this book is structured around the life and work of the artist Norman Wilkinson (1878–1971), already a painter of marine subjects when World War I broke out. Although Taylor does not shy away from later controversy about Wilkinson’s claim to be the inventor of dazzle, he is generally supportive of this claim, which is covered in detail in the chapter ‘Rivals for the Dazzle Painting ‘Prize’’. Throughout, he draws on accounts from Wilkinson’s family as well as archival research and engagement with other recently published scholarship to present a case and create a portrait of the man which provides the unifying thread throughout most of the book.
Acknowledging that dazzle painting ‘reached its apogee in 1918’ and was ‘not used again in the Second World War on a wide scale’ (p. 21), in the later sections of the book the focus is on various kinds of afterlife of the dazzle concept, for instance in fashion designs, art installations, and merchandise for the Imperial War Museum. At this point in the story, it may be that there is more to interest historians of art and design than those whose concerns are primarily with maritime history, although this section also includes the recent commemorative ‘dazzling’ of five vessels by artists such as Sir Peter Blake and Tobias Rehberger.
Perhaps more directly pertinent to maritime historians is the crucial question explored throughout the book: did dazzle work? Taylor acknowledges that this was, and remains, a hotly contested question, while noting that it continues to be the subject of scientific investigation to this day.
Taylor’s narrative is supported and enhanced by a wide range of illustrations drawn from both the science and the art of dazzle. These include contemporary photographs of ‘dazzled’ vessels, reproductions of technical drawings and posters, and paintings by many twentieth century artists, including Wilkinson himself. It is greatly to the credit of both Taylor and the designer, Nicola Bailey, that they have managed to include such a wealth of visual material within quite a slim volume in a way that complements the text so well.