tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post3531101990332762962..comments2024-03-18T14:05:31.316-04:00Comments on Today's Inspiration: The Union Carbide "Hand o' God"leifpenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-16704952278378507372016-11-12T16:08:46.350-05:002016-11-12T16:08:46.350-05:00Thank you for featuring the Union Carbide ad art: ...Thank you for featuring the Union Carbide ad art: It has been an inspiration to me since I was 8 years old! And thank you LIFE and FATE that Nat White's daughters were directed here and able to give us such insights and comfortable remembrances of their father. Knowing the name of the artist for so many of these UC ads is yet another circle completed for me.Michael Wm Kalutahttp://www.kaluta.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-91959629007895672502011-09-20T09:42:09.876-04:002011-09-20T09:42:09.876-04:00Hi--
I am Nat White's youngest daughter, Jan ...Hi--<br /><br />I am Nat White's youngest daughter, Jan White, and when I saw there was another comment on this forum, I was so excited! My sister, Chris, lost her brave battle with cancer a few months ago, so she won't know the joy I am feeling about your find. I have to confess that I am so happy (and envious) that you have two of them. There were over 100.<br /><br />You are very lucky to have some of my dad's pictures. I probably saw those being painted. We have tried for years to find them, and I suspect they have either been lost or destroyed, or are in someone's basement, attic, or even den.<br /><br />I believe KDavies may have been one of his art directors.lablanchehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16570938455000427235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-67651452316354023442011-09-19T20:28:06.179-04:002011-09-19T20:28:06.179-04:00For Christine White Jorgensen, and Leif:
I have a...For Christine White Jorgensen, and Leif:<br /><br />I have acquired two of your father's paintings;<br /><br />"Chromium makes time stand still", and the other painting is "Promise of a Golden future". They were in my Dad's Attic, likely he picked them up during a move years ago (he was the manager of a moving company). zthe back of one reads "K Davies" on the wood frame..perhaps this was an employer at Union Carbide? Have you any of the others? <br /><br />They are wonderful!<br /><br />Jennifer4legshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00719708864615562999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-28315729088894644102010-03-26T03:16:56.070-04:002010-03-26T03:16:56.070-04:00Thanks, Leif, for highlighting some of my father&#...Thanks, Leif, for highlighting some of my father's ads. I am Jan, his youngest daughter, and I spent my childhood looking at him do 120 of these. I never heard them referred to as 'hand of god', but like my sister, thought of the ad campaign as, 'The Hand in Things to Come.' I am so glad to see my favorite, the hand reaching for the moon. Some of his stuff was just so 'out there.' <br /><br />I do vividly recall being allowed to watch occasionally in his studio, promising to be absolutely silent while he went from pencil on board to finished painting. I believe he did approximately one a month for 10 years. It usually took him a week to complete one, and I would stick my head in the door from time to time and ask if I could watch. Another one of my bests was the one that takes place in some paleolithic landscape, with an apatasaurus/brontosuarus in the background. That was one of those silent observations. I thought the dinosaur's neck was an elephant's trunk as he was drawing it, but couldn't say anything. We always met for breakfast at 6 or 7 a.m. on the weekends, and being just a kid, I was dinosaur crazy, and was able to finally share my excitement that it wasn't just a mundane elephant, but a BRONTOSAURUS! Dad was a nocturnal creature, sleeping only a couple of hours a night. He usually got up around 3 or 4 in the morning, and went down to his studio to take advantage of the quiet.<br /><br />I do know that when '2001 a Space Odyssey' came out in 1967, I was all excited. He calmly told me he met Stanley Kubrick at the Plaza one day, and Kubrick wanted him to paint concept art for the movie while he found backers. It was a gamble, but my sister was in college, and he couldn't afford to do it gratis. Kubrick really liked the way Dad 'did stars'. <br /><br />Dad and I also discussed the Bhopal explosion when it happened. This was years after the Union Carbide stopped the series. Papa was not happy over that. I remember when he painted that one, too, asking him, 'what's that?' and being told, 'a power plant Union Carbide is building somewhere in India.' I don't remember him even mentioning it was nuclear.<br /><br />Also, most of the time he drew his own hand, and only resorted to models when he needed both hands in a picture. Often he would sketch his left hand in a mirror to get a right hand, and be drawing on the board at the same time with his right hand. At least one time my uncle was the model.<br /><br />It really is a pleasure to see that some of this work is still being looked at. No one knows where the originals are. He was able to keep some of the original Crane drawings. I guess he was friends with one of the Daltons. I have one hanging on my wall right now. Sometimes he even signed them. But NEVER the Union Carbide paintings.lablanchehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16570938455000427235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-71019475257736974762010-02-22T13:27:08.131-05:002010-02-22T13:27:08.131-05:00Dear Leif or whoever has posted this blog which wa...Dear Leif or whoever has posted this blog which was just referred to me by our son, a videogame concept artist. <br /> As a teenager, I saw my father, Nat White, painting most of the images you have of the Union Carbide paintings; he was a humble but renowned illustrator working for Caulkins & Holden ad company, and savored doing these paintings from beginning to end. He was looking hard for the right hands to illustrate. <br /> Then at "Hamburger Express" in Glen Cove, Long Island, I remember Dad whispering to Mom, "there they are, the hands!" Sure enough, a man sitting down the way had massive hands. He was a longshoreman in Brooklyn, and more than happy to come to Manhattan to have them photographed in a variety of poses. <br /> Many years later, Dad came into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In his mind and ours, the utter hubris of the Union Carbide ads became a perfect vehicle for scriptural truths appropriate to each illustration. Yet even before his New Birth, he painted these " a hand in things to come" with genuine awe.<br /> Sincerely, Christine White Jorgensen, FloridaChristine White Jorgensennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-3485107986370374322009-08-23T15:15:31.739-04:002009-08-23T15:15:31.739-04:00Hey Tom;
No... I have no idea... its very frustra...Hey Tom;<br /><br />No... I have no idea... its very frustrating, considering how aften ad art was signed back then. I'm going to have a look through my 1950's AD annuals... maybe some of these ads were included in there - if so, they'll almost certainly include artist's credits.leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-52346913586364790252009-08-23T15:03:38.586-04:002009-08-23T15:03:38.586-04:00Leif, after enlarging that UC hand, I agree with y...Leif, after enlarging that UC hand, I agree with you. It is looser, and done in transparent washes in a much more free flowing style like DSM. Good call Leif, I think I need stronger glasses. ;-) <br /><br />Do you have any ideas why they didn't show the illustrator's signatures on those illos, and other advertising illos? That has always been a question in my mind since art school. Seems like since they were using some of the well known illustrators at the time to illustrate their ads, they would be happy to feature their names. (?)<br /><br />Tom WatsonTomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13237565169344311948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-48001146908745727562009-08-23T14:35:57.836-04:002009-08-23T14:35:57.836-04:00You know the one I'm referring to, Tom, is the...You know the one I'm referring to, Tom, is the one that's so distinctly different from all these others? Its the watercolour technique that makes me think that piece is by DSM. Take a look through my DSM set and you'll see similar pieces (similar, not the same). DSM also seemed to have been the go-to guy for illustrations of hands. I've come across several, but haven't scanned the all yet.<br /><br />Lester Rossin often used illustrations of just close ups of hands by DSM for their studio promo ads... and you know how literal ADs can be about that sort of thing:<br /> ("So who do we get for this illustration of a big hand?" "Hhmmm... Hey! - I saw an ad from Lester Rossin featuring a big hand! Let's ask them if their hand guy's available!")leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-79928900073803392032009-08-23T13:57:40.193-04:002009-08-23T13:57:40.193-04:00Leif, I can't recall ever seeing an academic r...Leif, I can't recall ever seeing an academic rendered illustration by David Stone Martin. If you have a sample of his literal academic style, I'd love to see it. I always associate his work with a jagged stylized calligraphic line and loose washes, but really didn't follow his work.<br /><br />Tom WatsonTomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13237565169344311948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-45189977329848007622009-08-23T13:41:44.253-04:002009-08-23T13:41:44.253-04:00Doug - that's a good call! - DSM was Ben Shahn...Doug - that's a good call! - DSM was Ben Shahn's assistant on some mural projects when he was first starting out. If you type 'David Stone Martin' into the blue 'search this blog' box near the top left corner of the front page, it'll call up all my previous posts on his career. :^)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-48319436266961977282009-08-23T13:25:32.640-04:002009-08-23T13:25:32.640-04:00thanks, Leif.
I just did a quick search on David ...thanks, Leif.<br /><br />I just did a quick search on David Stone Martin. I didn't recognize the name, but I definitely recognize his jazz covers with the black line and color patches style. Very reminiscent of Ben Shahn's work.Dougnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-63990919628857532022009-08-23T11:44:52.780-04:002009-08-23T11:44:52.780-04:00Doug; They were done by many different artists - ...Doug; They were done by many different artists - all anonymously - but I'm guessing the hand launching the fighter jet was illustrated by David Stone Martin.leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-65406635130140982672009-08-23T11:22:43.026-04:002009-08-23T11:22:43.026-04:00Anybody know who the artist for this ad campaign w...Anybody know who the artist for this ad campaign was?<br /><br />Another different campaign has whacky gadgets of the not-so-distant future. I used to collect old Scientific Americans to get the ad on the back which featured these. I believe they were also Union Carbide.Dougnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-51364241679509323792009-08-20T03:01:32.732-04:002009-08-20T03:01:32.732-04:00Check out Dial B for Blog and his awesome 5 part p...Check out Dial B for Blog and his awesome 5 part post on the Big Giant Hand as he appears on comic book covers You wont be disappointed.Gav Kassonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-46183829588119441402009-08-19T17:18:37.748-04:002009-08-19T17:18:37.748-04:00Glad you found us, Kevin - even happier that we ma...Glad you found us, Kevin - even happier that we made your day! :^)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-84306681804770949022009-08-19T16:32:01.044-04:002009-08-19T16:32:01.044-04:00When I was a kid I used to visit my Grandmother in...When I was a kid I used to visit my Grandmother in Virginia and she had a ton of old Readers Digests and National Geographics with these ads in them. I was fascinated by them. I would draw them and try to copy the style. That was 30 years ago. Just recently, I was able to remember the company and find some ad pages on Ebay to buy. This post is a real treat and I am estatic to see great jpegs of these pieces. You just made my day. Thanks.Kevin Greenenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-53225232822341151542009-08-13T20:10:54.574-04:002009-08-13T20:10:54.574-04:00Great POst...Man those were some handy illustrator...Great POst...Man those were some handy illustrators. I , like Tom , did not get the God thing right away. But then again....I guess our worldview color our perceptions.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06853491825832197697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-46614256001659745582009-08-12T19:43:47.164-04:002009-08-12T19:43:47.164-04:00Right on Tom; Now there's an example of Ameri...Right on Tom; Now <i>there's</i> an example of American generosity and tolerance worthy of high praise! :^)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-49229419952805254482009-08-12T19:10:13.788-04:002009-08-12T19:10:13.788-04:00Leif, perhaps we are reading from 2 different hist...Leif, perhaps we are reading from 2 different history books.. the Canadian version and the American version. ;-) And, I have no doubt Canadians are all also very generous. I also have friends and relatives (on Joan's side) who were raised in America and living in Canada, and some that were raised in Canada and living in America.. and I hear a lot of different points of view. Regardless, my friend, we can agree to disagree on whether it represents the hand of God or the hand of man. I will compromise and call it UC's "Helping Hand". ;-)<br /><br />Tom WatsonTomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13237565169344311948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-62989140843168279042009-08-12T09:26:01.941-04:002009-08-12T09:26:01.941-04:00Joyce;
Thanks for the education! I'm delighte...Joyce;<br /><br />Thanks for the education! I'm delighted and honoured to have another member of the venerable Rockwell Museum as a reader. :^)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-89499849623074148272009-08-12T08:51:18.828-04:002009-08-12T08:51:18.828-04:00Morning Leif,
I confess I've been reading your...Morning Leif,<br />I confess I've been reading your blog without signing up as a follower. <br />While looking at your "Hand o' God" images I was struck by how much they owed to the murals painted by Diego Rivera at the Detroit Institute of Arts in the 1930s, before Union Carbide and other corporations took over the imagry. In the DIA murals there are areas at the top of the walls that are painted with a variety of hand holding representations of the mineral wealth of the earth. [Look for an image in Google images files for Diego Rivera.]Its an interesting precursor.<br />Joyce K. Schiller<br />Norman Rockwell MuseumJoycehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12842860906627601448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-34732997254495352702009-08-12T07:32:48.248-04:002009-08-12T07:32:48.248-04:00Rich;
Thanks as always for your appreciative resp...Rich;<br /><br />Thanks as always for your appreciative response to my efforts. :^)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-75057643504468179952009-08-12T07:29:20.834-04:002009-08-12T07:29:20.834-04:00Tom;
I seem to have struck a nerve with you on th...Tom;<br /><br />I seem to have struck a nerve with you on this one and I'm sorry about that, but I think if you step back and imagine the casual observer's immediate reaction to seeing these ads for the first time, at least some give the immediate impression that God's hand is coming down from Heaven and "moving mountains" -- and I think if you can look at it objectively, you'll probably agree that it's <i>likely</i> the agency that conceived these ads intended to suggest that man had achieved the powers of God by way of the sort of business UC and other industrial corporations were engaged in.<br /><br />As for America being the most generous and tolerant of mockery and that being a fact (and I say this as someone who has family, friends and business associates all over America and who loves all that is great about America and Americans and is happy to be a neighbour to America)...<br /><br /><b>Canada</b> is more generous and tolerant - of mockery or otherwise. We're just not as good at tooting our own horn. ;^)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-50350454185906540082009-08-12T07:16:36.448-04:002009-08-12T07:16:36.448-04:00Thanks Jon;
I did a quick search on Flickr and ca...Thanks Jon;<br /><br />I did a quick search on Flickr and came across several more UC Hand o' God ads, including the excellent one you have in your collection. :^)leifpenghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-48320504193411079792009-08-12T05:13:38.243-04:002009-08-12T05:13:38.243-04:00Another great series - thanks Leif!
These illustra...Another great series - thanks Leif!<br />These illustrators really had some chops and of course your amusing ironic comments have also.<br /><br />"Hands of the Titan" I'd rather have them dubbed.Richnoreply@blogger.com