Life, 1915-06-03 · page 46 of 52
Life — June 3, 1915 — page 46: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This short comic piece satirizes pretentious artistic criticism. Two men pass a soldiers' monument in a town square. One character—appearing to be an aesthete or art snob—dismisses the monument as lacking artistic merit, then criticizes various aspects of the landscape: factory chimneys, advertisements, even a theater interior. His companion agrees with everything, responding positively to what the snob condemns. The joke's punchline reveals the second man works arranging "deathbed scenes" for moving pictures—he has no genuine taste; he simply accepts whatever is presented. The satire mocks those who adopt contrarian artistic positions as markers of sophistication, suggesting such criticism is hollow and performative rather than grounded in actual aesthetic judgment. The piece appears in *Life* magazine (1916), which frequently published social commentary through humor.
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