Since I have been a small boy I have had a fascination with espionage (in particular codes and cyphers) which these days have turned into novels and non-fiction books on espionage. I also developed a fascination with camouflage because as I was building model first warplanes and setting them in dog-fights they had to be camouflaged. and this also carried over into models of naval ships. The Art of Persuasion drew immediately when I saw the advertisement of the exhibition because it was about an area I loved in history, and also it would enable me to visit The British Army Museum, which I had never been to before.
I was not disappointed with the museum, it was well apportioned, light and easily accessible with many areas to view covering the history for the British soldier from the Zulu Wars to Northern Ireland to the latest sorties.
Paul Mason 
National Army Museum
I revelled in everything presented and will be going back in future visits to London. It also has a lovely restaurant and scrumptious meals.
So where is this leading, well the link may seem tenuous, but last year I was extremely fortunate to be able to go to the National Army Museum’s exhibition ‘The Art of Persuasion’.
Where is the link you may ask, well whether it espionage or camouflage you are seeking to persuade someone about something, and the exhibition ‘The Art of Persuasion: Wartime Posters by Abram Games’ does exactly the same. However, in this case, it is being used as Lisa Broe has stated as:
⦁ an information source
⦁ to provide entertainment (movies, magazines, television, etc.)
⦁ to provide global awareness
⦁ as an educational source
⦁ to shape our knowledge and opinions
⦁ as an advertisement
The exhibition explored the life and legacy of designer Abram Games and focused on his time as an ‘Official War Poster Artist’ during the Second World War and the impact he had on peoples lives then, and subsequently even on our lives today.
Games was inspired by many things, but in particular by his Jewish heritage, his experiences as a soldier, the politics which he had experienced and was experiencing, and by his need to:
⦁ recruit
⦁ educate
⦁ influence servicemen and women
⦁ influence civilians from all walks of life
This exhibition showed how Games techniques enabled communication effectively, and covered from his stark imagery and visual puns to the airbrush techniques which were so innovative at that time ( and still are).
A book on the work of Abram Games, written by his daughter, [Naomi Games] makes for an (at least for me) riveting read.
Abram Games: His Wartime Work by Naomi Games (link to Amazon)
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