Technically, I don't consider "pin-up" to be a genre, at least not a
strict or narrow one. It's a reference to a printed image application.
Namely, a mass-produced printed image that is typically pinned to a
wall, without a frame, and often cheaply available. The calendars that
auto mechanics hang in their garages are "pin-up" calendars. So are many
posters of celebrities. A Playboy centerfold pulled from the magazine
and pinned to a wall would be a "pin-up". An 8x10 glossy photo
thumbtacked to a wall could be a pin-up. They were originally called
"pin-ups", because you literally pinned them to the wall, not because of
some very narrow definition of their subject content. Look it up in a
few dictionaries, and you'll see I'm not alone on this point.
When the original classic pin-up images were being created, did they go
to the trouble of only using vehicles that were at least 50-years old?
No. They were totally free to use contemporary vehicles.
If the original classic pin-up images could use contemporary vehicles,
why shouldn't you have that same freedom?
Was there any sort of official international treaty that decided the use
of contemporary vehicles in pin-up images had to cease by a certain
year? No. Feel free to use vehicles from any era you like, even
futuristic vehicles.
I do realize term "Pin-Up" is commonly used these days as a genre, but I
think its application is often a bit misguided. Some folks seem to think
there are very narrow and strict guidelines as to what can be Pin-Up and
what can't. I think that's poppycock. If it's a genre at all, I think
it's a fairly broad one. I also think it needn't be frozen in time. I
think there should be plenty of room in this world for modern looking
Pin-Up images, and for Pin-Up images that push the envelope and take the
category to new territories. Else, there will be very little true art in
the genre, and everyone will be endlessly and slavishly copying everyone
else.
Note: If you use the term in its classic sense, to refer to an image
literally pinned to a wall, it's "pin-up". If you use the term to refer
to an art movement, then it's "Pin-Up" (capitalized).
I have very similar feelings about folks who consider "pop music" a term
that refers to a particular genre of music, when it literally just means
"music that is popular" — any music, any genre, as long as it's popular.
We won't get into that can of worms now, though. :)
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