Date of Award
Fall 1-5-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Art & Art History
First Advisor
Maria Antonella Pelizzari
Second Advisor
Michael Lobel
Academic Program Adviser
Maria Antonella Pelizzari
Abstract
This thesis provides an overview of Junior Bazaar, a short-lived magazine for teenage girls published by Hearst between 1945-1948. Under the supervision of art director Lillian Bassman the magazine featured a variety of aesthetic devices — such as photomontage, asymmetrical layouts, the selective use of color, and playful placement of graphic forms — in efforts to distinguish itself from other publications on the market and construct a visual space specific to its teenage readers. Bassman’s unconventional stewardship of Junior Bazaar made room for an up-and-coming set of photographers, including Richard Avedon, Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, Louis Faurer, and other members of what Jane Livingston termed as “the New York School.”The magazine’s visual and literary sophistication afforded readers with an alternative path for commercial ideation, one that emphasized a type of individual and idiosyncratic choice ultimately at odds with the demands of the market. This revaluation spotlights the political ramifications of such visual imaginings and how Junior Bazaar resonated within the wider postwar media landscape.
Recommended Citation
Bishop, Rose D., "Girl In Action: Junior Bazaar, 1945-1948" (2021). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/690
Included in
American Popular Culture Commons, Fashion Design Commons, Graphic Design Commons, Illustration Commons