|
|
Introduction Task Process Resources Evaluation Reflection
During the Great Migration, northern white
workers instigated race riots due to antagonism over labor competition with
southern black migrants. In this painting, Jacob Lawrence pared down the
composition and used diagonal shapes and movements to heighten the action
and create a powerful visual statement about struggle.
Jacob Lawrence continued to address ideas about struggle in three subsequent
series of works: War, 1946-47, Struggle
From the History of the
American People, 1955-56, and Hiroshima, 1983.
RIOT
A violent public disorder or disturbance that occurs when a group of three
or more people assemble and act with a common intent.
SYMBOL
A symbol is something--usually a sign or an object--that represents or stands
for something else. For example, flags are symbols for countries and hearts
are symbols for love.
MOTIF
A single or repeated theme, design, or color.
Back to the Beginning
In this webquest you will:
- Consider the way Jacob Lawrence composed his paintings to represent
the struggles of people in the face of adversity.
- Use visual and compositional devices such as shapes and symbols to
communicate an experience of struggle.
- Research and discuss how struggle is represented in various art forms,
including theater, television, and writing.
Back to the Beginning
|
|
![](../art/img/pho109x171struggle2.jpg) |
Race riots
were very numerous all over the North because of the antagonism that
was caused between the Negro and white workers. Many of these riots
occurred because the Negro was used as a strike breaker in many of
the Northern industries.
The Migration of the Negro, panel 50, 1940-41
Casein tempera on hardboard
18 x 12 in. (45.7 x 30.5 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York; gift of Mrs. David M. Levy
© Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, courtesy of the Jacob and Gwendolyn
Lawrence Foundation |
|
|
|
- Look at
Jacob
Lawrence's painting, panel #50 from The Migration Series.
Move your mouse over the painting and find questions to discuss with
your classmates.
- Read the information about Jacob Lawrence's painting, panel #50 from
The Migration Series.
- Go to
http://www.jacoblawrence.org/art04.html,
scroll down to the "series" box and select a series from the
pull down menu. Click on SUBMIT. Click on the thumbnail picture to see
a large image.
Look at Jacob Lawrence's series of works: War, Hiroshima, and Struggle
From
the History of the American People.
As you look at these images, consider how Jacob Lawrence represents
the struggles of people in the face of adversity, and answer the questions
below. Take notes.
What symbols has Lawrence used to portray the tragedy of Hiroshima?
World War II? Earlier battles? Make a list.
What compositional devices did Lawrence use to convey a sense of struggle
and conflict?
What shapes or objects are exaggerated? Why?
How did Lawrence use line and shapes to convey a feeling of action?
What palette of colors did he use?
How does color communicate emotion in these works?
Do these series have anything in common? What can you find?
- Discuss your findings with the class.
- What emotions do you express during times of struggle?
Which body language or gestures do you use? Why?
- Draw or paint an experience of struggle. Choose one of the following:
An historical struggle.
The struggle of someone you know.
A personal struggle that you have experienced.
Use symbols, motifs, and compositional devices that you have explored
in Jacob Lawrence's work.
- View and discuss your drawings or paintings with the class.
What do they have in common?
Back to the Beginning
SCENES OF STRUGGLE
Film stills
http://brando.crosscity.com/HTMLVer/GalleryMB/MGallery.asp?
ViewType=2&Film=6&ImageIndex=11
http://filmstills5.freeservers.com/cgi-bin/i/obrothe1/obrot05.jpg
http://filmstills3.freeservers.com/cgi-bin/i/chicken1/chick06.jpg
Photographs
http://www.newseum.org/pulitzer/html/1/index.htm
http://www.newseum.org/pulitzer/html/11/index.htm
http://www.newseum.org/pulitzer/html/4/index.htm
http://www.newseum.org/pulitzer/html/5/index.htm
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/movement/PT/police_dogs_1963.html
Anime
http://www.theblackmoon.com/BarefootGen/bomb.html
http://mkrfuu.homestead.com/hg~ns4.html
http://www.cs.mun.ca/~anime/afs/bgc2.html
Paintings
Click on Delacroix in the left hand frame. Then
click on Horses Fighting in a Stable,1860, and The Battle of Tailleburg
(draft), 1834-35.
http://artchive.com/ftp_site.htm
http://www.grnica.swinternet.co.uk/
http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/view1zoom.asp?dep=11&full=
1&mark=1&item=1976%2E100%2E7
http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/view1zoom.asp?dep=11&full=
1&mark=1&item=65%2E183%2E3
http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/view1zoom.asp?dep=11&full=
1&mark=1&item=20%2E104
/american_voices/506/index.html
PERSONAL STRUGGLE
Read the poem One Thousand Cranes on this website.
http://www.sadako.com/pettit.html
Read the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young victim of the Hiroshima atomic
bomb disaster.
http://www.sadako.com/story.html
The Legacy Project articulates a global exchange on the enduring consequences
of the many historical tragedies of the 20th century.
http://www.legacy-project.org
Back to the Beginning
You will be evaluated on two elements: your participation in class discussions
about struggle; and your drawing or painting about an experience of struggle.
- Class Discussion Evaluation: Refer to the questions listed in the
Process
section. Did you show evidence of thoughtful comparisons between Jacob
Lawrence's depictions of struggle and those of other images you found
in your web research? Did your comparisons address both content and
composition, and a thorough understanding of each? Did you demonstrate
an understanding of how scenes of struggle are portrayed differently
in still versus moving images and across other genres?
- Struggle Evaluation: Does the visual representation you created represent
creativity, originality and a personal style?
- What kinds of unique or interesting symbols, motifs or compositional
devices did you use to represent struggle?
- How does it compare in style, composition and content to Jacob Lawrence
and other images of struggle you examined?
Learning
Standards Addressed
Back to the Beginning
Compare your own or other's experiences of struggle with those in the Migration
Series, the Hiroshima Series and the War Series.
What have you learned about how you and other people handle the challenge
of struggle, especially during times of adversity?
Use the web resources above to take a look at scenes of struggle in television,
film, and theater.
How do actors, actresses, and cartoon or animated characters use their bodies
to represent struggle?
How do directors create a scene or a sense of struggle? Consider lighting,
angles, action, etc.
Back to the Beginning |
|