http://www.pbs.org/art21/education/abstraction/lesson2.html
Lesson 2—Cartoon Commentary

Cartoons are often conceived as both humorous and deeply serious. Combining both fictional and non-fictional elements, cartoons have been used as a subversive or radical medium to comment on and critique the mainstream. Often providing a forum for visual protest, political cartoons present diverse perspectives on the pertinent issues of the day. Whether in form or content, many contemporary artists have a strong connection to the comic aesthetic and the comic critique. Drawing from their work, this lesson explores how cartoons use both representational and abstract visual language and messages to narrate social and political concerns.

Walton Ford creates large-scale watercolors of animals and humans interacting in Audubon-like landscapes with biting social and historical commentary. Kerry James Marshall has created the comic strip RYTHM MASTR, which presents a contemporary super hero based on a traditional Yoruba god and myth. Raymond Pettibon’s paintings and drawings suggest political or satirical statements about everything from baseball to American presidents. Kara Walker's notecards and silhouette images tell provocative stories about race, sexuality, and power through the visual landscape of the Civil War South.

objectives

• Students will research the history of political cartoons.

• Students will compare and contrast the work of political cartoons found in mass media like newspapers and magazines, with political cartoons and political commentary found in contemporary art.

• Students will create their own political cartoons commenting on a pertinent social or political issue of the time.

materials & resources

Art:21 Web Site
• ("Liberty Bros. Permanent Daily Circus")...– Michael Ray Charles art work
• "RYTHM MASTR" —Kerry James Marshall interview
• Political Humor & Colonial Critique—Walton Ford interview
• Political Cartoons, Patty Hearst...—Raymond Pettibon interview
• Projection Fictions—Insurrection!... —Kara Walker interview

Additional Web Sites
• http://cagle.slate.msn.com/politicalcartoons/
Current political cartoons and cartoonists from around the world
• http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/
A brief history of political cartoons
• http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/ea/side/cartoon.html
History of political cartoons and bibliography
• http://www.library.northwestern.edu/spec/hogarth/main.html
William Hogarth
• http://www.umt.edu/partv/famus/print/daumier/daumier.htm
Honore Daumier Prints
• http://www.wesleyan.edu/dac/coll/grps/goya/goya_intro.html
Francisco Goya Prints
• http://www.icaboston.org/exhibits/splat.cfm
Rhytm Mastr

Classroom Materials
• Additional Sunday comic section of local newspapers and magazines, current of past editions

critical questions
• What are the differences between cartoons and other visual media that critique or comment?

• How do cartoons address political or social causes?

• What is the history of political cartoons and how have they reflected the pertinent issues of the day?

• What are the most significant genres of political cartoons and how did they become the most significant?

• How is humor related to cartoons, political or otherwise? Are there limits to humor?


activities

The Sunday Comics
Look at a current Sunday paper with a comics section and ask students to categorize each of the comics presented into types or themes. Collect a variety of Sunday papers from around the country and repeat the exercise with other newspapers from urban or rural areas, West coast, Midwest, or East coast papers. Consider how the categories or themes are similar or different in different areas.
(Time: One 45 minute session)


Are Political Cartoons Funny?
Humor plays different roles in political cartoons from different eras and addressing different subject areas. Discuss the element of humor embedded in political cartoons. Ask students to discuss if there are limits to humor and what they are. What are the implications of using irony, satire, or sarcasm when addressing issues of diversity, poverty or homelessness? Are there subjects or issues that are not appropriate for use with humor? How does this relate to the 1st Amendment’s right to freedom of speech? Vote on the funniest comic in the Sunday paper and discuss why it was funny. Repeat the exercise for the least funny.
(Time: Half a 45 minute session)


A History of Visual Commentary
Discuss the history of political cartoons from religious and political editorials during the Protestant reformation in Germany to the impressionistic caricatures being made during the early Renaissance in Italy. Using examples of political prints made by Francisco Goya, William Hogarth, and Honore Daumier, discuss the combination of parody, protest, caricature, symbolism, allusion, metaphor and humor that exist within these early political cartoons. Discuss how these three artists used political cartoons to comment on the political events of their time. Based on the images, have students describe the political issues they are portraying. Ask students to describe what the artists’ personal stance on the issue is and how it is similar to or different from the stance of a history textbook takes.
(Time: One 45 minute session)


Pettibon and Americana
Introduce students to the work of Raymond Pettibon through the Season Two video segment and Web transcripts. Have students compare and contrast the images and text he is using with the images and text they saw in the work of Goya, Hogarth, and Daumier. Ask students to identify the subjects Pettibon is dealing with in his images and how they reflect the place and time of the artist. Ask students what are other ways they would describe Pettibon’s images. How is Pettibon’s use of image and text different from the earlier examples of political cartoons? Pettibon does not consider himself a political artist. Ask students if they agree or disagree after looking at his work. Define the meaning(s) of the word 'political' and discuss whether cartoons are always political even if they do not have overt political messages or meanings.
(Time: One 45 minute session)


Ford and Walker on Social Commentary
Through his paintings, Walton Ford directly confronts the history of colonialism as well as a very personal family legacy of slave-owners from the American South. His images address this particular history in satirical and often provocative ways. Have students look at a series of Ford’s paintings and prints and discuss how his images are similar to or different from the images of Kara Walker’s in terms of tone, subject matter, and imagery. Because Ford is commenting on a very particular history, ask students to identify what his images convey in terms of historical fact and personal fiction. Kara Walker also creates imagery based on the contentious history of the American South. Her silhouette images suggest the painful past of slavery and violence that still haunt the American psyche. How are Ford’s images of historic events and places different from Kara Walker’s. Ask students to describe the fact and fiction presented in both of their work. Ask students to describe the way each artist presents a visual commentary on the history of the South.
(Time: One 45 minute session)


Marshall and New Translations
Another contemporary artist who incorporates the language and the aesthetic of cartoons and comics in his work is Kerry James Marshall. His comic book, RYTHM MASTR, creates a contemporary protagonist from a traditional Yoruba deity and combines African history, mythology and a love of fantasy with a contemporary medium and story. RYTHM MASTR is not a political story but has obvious political implications about representing history and culture. Discuss how RYTHM MASTR is different from contemporary comic books and contemporary political cartoons. Discuss the political issues being addressed in the work and how they reflect the current issues and ideas that Kerry James Marshall is interested in. Although less explicit, how do other comic books such as Marvel Comics or DC Comics, deal with political concerns and issues?
(Time: One 45 minute session)


Cartoon Commentary
Have students choose a current issue or political figure and create their own political cartoon. Ask students to consider which elements they will draw from to create their commentary - parody, protest, caricature, symbolism, allusion, metaphor or humor. Compile all of the cartoons and organize the different images into categories by subject or theme. Create a book of all of the cartoons with chapter introductions written by the students describing the particular theme or topic being addressed. Duplicate for all members of the class.
(Time: Five 45 minute sessions to long-term project)

reflection & evaluation

• Have students identified the various aspects of political cartoons and incorporated them into a cartoon of their own creation?

• Have students learned about the history of political cartoons?

• Have students created their own cartoons addressing a current issue, idea or event?

Find out how this lesson plan correlates to your state's education standards! On PBS TeacherSource do a search for "Art in the 21st Century" and click on the Standards Match icon.

going further

Using this lesson as a starting point, political cartoons from any era or artist can be used to explore the historical events, issues, concerns and figures from that time. In addition, the following lessons could be combined with this lesson to form a longer unit of study:

Characters and Caricatures
Honoring Heroes and History
War on Film

Did you use this lesson or generate your own activities based on ideas inspired by the lesson? Submit student art work, new lesson plans, and your comments to Art:21 and have them posted on the site. Help the Online Lesson Library grow!

additional lesson plans on featured artists

Walton Ford
Cartoon Commentary
Confronting Conflict
Landscape & Place
Describing the Real

Kerry James Marshall
Cartoon Commentary
Looking at Likeness
Understanding Home

Raymond Pettibon
Cartoon Commentary
Dictators, Collaborators, Managers & Soloists
Describing the Real
The Alter-Ego Saves the Day

Kara Walker
Cartoon Commentary
Characters & Caricatures
Confronting Conflict
Describing the Real
Looking at Likeness
Migrating Viewpoints