rss feedWhat is a Pin-Up Girl?
- Summery image from artist Haddon Sundblom
What is a Pin-Up Girl??
A pin-up girl is a woman who is considered by the viewer to be so attractive and appealing that he/she chooses to pin her image up on his wall. The earliest recollections of the term “pin-up” being coined was in 1941. Early pin-up images were photos of women cut from magazines, newspapers, postcards or chromo-lithographs and later calendars and posters of pin-up girls were mass produced to an appreciative male audience. The majority of the most popular early pin-up girls were movie stars and other celebrities who were considered sex symbols such as Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth.
During WW2, pin-up artwork dominated the walls of American and European G.I.’s giving them something to look at and admire besides the men they were surrounded by. These attractive images offered these men a much needed visual contrast to the ugliness of war. Elvgren pin up calendars were shipped overseas to servicemen and those are now highly valued collector’s items. Even the aircraft nose art of the US Air Force battalion were graced by seductive pin-up images. In 1941, Chuck Yeager the famous test pilot broke the sound barrier in a plane decorated by a beautiful piece of pin up art depicting his own wife. He named the plane “Glamorous Glynnis” after her. Pin up style nose art was popular until the late 1970’s when the awareness and understanding of the exploitation of women increased, in turn causing the artwork to be banned from use. Original nose art pieces are still viewable in many galleries around the world.
Soon pin-ups began infiltrating the advertising world, predominantly by the influence of Haddon Sundblom. This was the beginning of the “Sex Sells” advertising theme which even today shows no sign of slowing down. Cutesy images used to sell products were replaced with alluring and enticing women. Sundblom’s work creating rich and luminous oil-based pin up art most famously influenced the future work of Gillette (Gil) Elvgren who worked under his tutelage at Sundblom’s “Stevens-Gross” ad agency. Other pin-up artists that studied under Sundblom and were influenced by his painting style are most notably Joyce Ballantyne (one of my personal favourites), Bill Medcalf, Al Buell and Harry Ekman. Though not directly influenced in-person, other artists came to adopt a similar technique and overall look, notably Pearl Frush, Peter Driben, Art Frahm, and Vaughan Alden Bass to name a few.
Today, several sources still assert that the overall top three pin-up girl images ever are Betty Grable’s photo depicting her in a sexy one-piece swimsuit, Marilyn Monroe’s infinitely famous classic skirt blowing image from her movie “The Seven Year Itch”, and finally Farrah Fawcett’s infamous poster image from the 70’s. Today’s famous modern day pin-up girls include the amazing Dita Von Teese, timeless Bernie Dexter, hard-core Masuimi Max, alluring Heidi Van Horne and sexy Jami Deadly.
Here at Pop Rocket Studios we work with you to create your own unique images with you as the star! You can invoke that retro Elvgren vibe or manifest a modern Masuimi Max edgy and extreme look. We work with you to create something that reflects your own personal style, look and overall theme. If you’re unsure of exactly what style or theme you’re looking for perhaps do some research googling some of the various names of artists or models listed in this post and write down some you like. You can also right click and save your favourite images, and then send them on to us to help us know what you’re looking for. Whether the images you send us are for theme ideas, costume/outfit choices, posing concepts or hair styles, we will do what we can to recreate that unique style for you. Get in touch with us and be a Pin-Up girl for a day! You know you want to!
Give me a call to book your session, Call Jennifer at (403) 604-7565, I look forward to working with you!
