Would you use this picture in an art project?

[politicat]

I'm working on an art project that uses antique reproductions of ads and luggage labels.

I've got a gorgeous one from the late 30s or early 40s for Lufthansa - it's a beautiful piece of work...

But.

There's a very small swastika on the ad. (Less than 1/8 in by 1/8th in - the whole piece is 4.25 inches by 3 inches.) The ad shows a carriage with driver and bonneted lady in the lower 2/3rds of the ad, with an airliner going overhead in the upper quarter of the ad, and the swastika is on the tail of the plane.



Part of me says this is history, and this is the ugly side of history. Another part says to discard the image and use something else. A third part says that a single drop of paint would take care of the problem.

Nazism is highly repugnant to me, all the more so because I feel like we're living in the repeat of that era. But the Nazis didn't create the image and for that matter, the person who did create the image may have been compelled to use the symbol because it was used as a national marking.

[laheina]

1. The print is cool

but the swastika is always a buzz kill. I say: go for the paint.

[Book Lover]

2. Use it

and please do not alter it. History is not useful when it had been amended.

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. I think painting it out is dishonest and revisionist history.

It's there, use it, keep it, and let it live. It's not your fault it's there, and as you say, it's a beautiful bit of design work in that ad, so the ad is certainly worth using.

If the Swastika really bothers you that much, use a different ad. But don't rewrite history by painting it out.

[halwesten]

4. don't distort the truth

I say use it. I hate everything the swastika stands for but that's history.