Life, 1888-01-12 · page 4 of 16
Life — January 12, 1888 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of "That Fertile Imagination" Cartoon The cartoon depicts an artist showing indecent pictures to a shocked gentleman in a top hat. The dialogue satirizes artistic pretension: the artist claims the pictures are "innocent," arguing the viewer's mind supplies the indecency—that imagination, not the artwork itself, is "fertile" (productive of impropriety). This mocks a common defense of controversial art: that obscenity lies in the viewer's interpretation, not the creator's intent. The well-dressed gentleman's horrified reaction suggests the cartoonist skeptically questions whether such claims genuinely excuse crude or suggestive artwork. The satire targets both artists seeking to evade censorship through philosophical arguments and viewers expected to accept these justifications without complaint.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JANUARY. HE streets are sheeted o’er with ice,* Pedestrians are over nice, Where they tread : ‘The wind is blowing from the pole ; It takes at least a ton of coal To coax the sleepy, shivering soul Out of bed. The sealskin trade goes with a rush, There's also quite a boom in plush ; The doctor Divides enormous sums of gold With him who keeps the cures for ‘‘ cold” — Of poisons, pills and potions, bold Concoctor. In short the vendor of the tab Doth at the dime of mortal grab ; The mender of the bursting pipe Doth find his plumbs are getting ripe ; The maker of the gummy shoe Doth try to keep his rubber true ; And none but madmen old and bad Vibrate the fan. To be too warm is not the fad For Jan. _* If they are not they ought to be. There is no counting on this vile climate. * * * EAP YEAR is expected to solve the great problem of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, ‘What shall we do with the surplus maids?” * * * HE Czar of Russia begins to show some spirit, and 7he Century Magazine is purged of its Siberian articles before it reaches the hands of its Russian subscribers. If the American people had had more spunk two years ago the war articles might have been nipped in the bud. * * * HE Anarchist prisoner is treated little better than a shirt collar or pair of cuffs. Immediately after his arrest he is washed and then ironed. * * * OUNT TOLSTOI gives way to most ungovernable rage whenever he sees his name spelled with less than two dots to the i. He only crosées his t’s once, however. * * * ILLIAM WALTER PHELPS has the most exqui- site bang in Congress. Mr. Phelps began life as a poor boy and has worked his way up to his present eminence by dint of perseverance and a celluloid comb. if is not generally known that Chauncey M. Depew is not popular in Philadelphia because, during his last after- dinner speech in that delightfully restful town, he kept all his hearers awake. * * * NEMIES of General Husted allege that, in speaking of his recent defeat, the ex-Speaker remarked that it was a Cole day when he got left. Wy My FMHNorpery. THAT FERTILE IMAGINATION. -y C-m-st-k: Hou! PAINTING IND! PI Artist: VISIBLE. T ARREST YOU FOR WHY THE HEAD IS THE ONLY PORTION Don't you suppose I USSIA says her policy is Pacific. England’s seems to- be Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic and Antarctic. * * * BLOW is sometimes termed a strike, and when one reflects upon the amount of blowing there is in every strike, it does not seem surprising. * * * S years roll on the Old World and the New form new ties which will bind them together through the count- less ages of eternity. There are nine cable lines now. comicbooks.com