the Great Migration and Art

Pittsburgh Iron and Steel Institute: 1904

World War TWO Rations: artifacts

Art in US History Class: 2014

I teach US History in a North Carolina public high school. Each semester I use art; however, this semester, I am taking pains to keep track of each and every piece of art and image that we analyze in class.  This link will take you to the page I am using to document this effort. It will be updated throughout the Spring Semester of 2014: Enjoy ! 

Barbary Wars: using ThingLink

Click HERE and you'll be directed to how I use THINGLINK to marry up all that the WorldWideWeb has to offer about the Barbary Wars. I start class off with a VTS about this image and let the students try to make sense of it. This is a visual method of introducing the Barbary Wars. THEN, I'll use the Thinglink Tags to broaden our discussion about the Barbary Wars. After exploring the image and talking about the Barbary Wars, I will engage students in a grammactical treatment of the topic.

World War One Cartoon Art

Cincinnatus and the Fasces

What is a FASCES?

Who was Cincinnatus? 

Watch this short six minute video for an explanation.

Harlem Renaissance: Langston Hughes in the History Classroom

Step I
Conduct a VTS inquiry with students about this image.

Step II  

Ponder the title of the poem; what do you think it will be about?

Title: The Negro Speaks of Rivers

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Step III

Read the poem aloud … Yes, I’ll need a volunteer ! !

The Negro Speaks of Rivers
by Langston Hughes

I've known rivers:

I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the

flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.

I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.

I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln

went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy

bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:

Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Step III

Paraphrase each stanza of the poem into your own words.

Step IV

Listen to LANGSTON Hughes’ reading of his poem.     *click here

STEP V

What are the Connotations of this poem? : Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal. What do the words mean beyond the obvious? What are the implications, the hints, the suggestions of these particular word choices?

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Step VI

PLOT: provide a brief summary of places and/or events mentioned in the poem.

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Step VI:

 SUBJECT:

What is or are the subjects of the poem?  Provide a short list of place, or people mentioned or inferred.

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STEP VI

Theme: In identifying theme, recognize the human experience, motivation, or condition suggested by the poem.  (Plot + Subject(s))

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How does this image reflect the poem by Hughes?

Write five to ten sentences in your journal that answers this question.

1.     What is the meaning behind Hughes’ poem?

An example of COMPLETED STUDENT WORK from a real high school student  ! !

Mabel Dwight: artist

Read about this artist here at this link.

ANALYSIS of this work: Click Here

 and drag your cursor to the "tags" on the image

Analysis of the work shown above: CLICK HERE and drag your cursor to the "tags" on the image

Analysis of the work above: CLICK HERE and drag your cursor to the "tags" on the image

Chi Rho and Constantine the Great

suggested use for Teachers: 

1. Ask students to draw the Chi Rho symbol in their journals. Then ask students if any of them know the historic significance of the image.

2. read the link about the SYMBOL and jot down a few facts about its historical use.

3. then scroll down to the tapestry image and do a VTS with the image.

4. after students have investigated the image, listen to the audio link about this tapestry from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

5. Use this as a review of Constantine's efforts as emperor or as a way to introduce Constantine.

What is the historic significance of the CHI RHO symbol?

How did Constantine the Great use this symbol? Click here for access an audio tour to this tapestry shown above; this piece of art that displays the connection between the Chi Rho and  Constantine. Can you count the number of Chi Rho symbols used in the tapestry?

Click here for the audio

"Lost" WPA Murals in North Carolina

I recently did some research about WPA Murals in North Carolina. Read this link to the NC Museum of Art that showcases my research, findings, and classroom application lesson plan.

http://news.artnc.org/2013/08/01/integrating-local-art-new-berns-wpa-murals/

Tuskeegee Airmen and Modern Art

Title: Tar Baby vs. St. Sebastian
artist: Michael Richards
date created: 1999 

The United States military was racially segregated until 1948. 

President Harry S. Truman ended the practice of having military units organized according to race.



Who were the TUSKEEGEE Airmen? 

Here is a WW 2 Era video that gives details about the Tuskeegee Airmen: "Wings for this Man" was produced by the U.S. military at the end of World War Two (1945). It details the trials and accomplishments of the first unit of African American airplane pilots in the U.S. military. The narrator is a very young future president, Ronald Reagan.

The video below is a more modern review of the history of the Tuskeegee Airmen.(part 1 of 2)

The piece of artwork below is an homage to the Tuskeegee Airmen. Examine the work and then read the informational placard at the end: an eerie twist awaits.

Here is some more information about the work from the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Eiffel Tower in ART

Eiffel Tower, c. 1909. Robert Delaunay, French, 1885 – 1941.
Oil on canvas, 38 x 27 3/4 inches (96.5 x 70.5 cm).
Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950.

Audio for this work above.

Link to article about Delaunay's other Eiffel Tower paintings: click here

Washington Crossing the Delaware

 click here for the AUDIO lecture

Saint Lucy at the North Carolina Museum of Art

Saint Lucy lived from 283 to 304 and was a wealthy young Christian. She is venerated as a saint and martyr by Christians: Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox. Her name is derived from the Latin word meaning light: Lux, lucis. She is the patron saint of the blind. 

Lucy was supposed to be married to a non Christian pagan, but she refused. Her to be husband ratted her out to the Roman authories and told them that she was a Christian. For this, she was to be killed, but the Romans could not find the will to kill her, somehow: miracle, anyone? But the resourceful Romans did manage to cut her very pretty eyes out with a fork: MESSY! Another version of the story is that she herself cut her eyes out and gave them to her jilted fiance, because he really loved her eyes. Upon doing so, Lucy told him to leave her alone, so she could serve God.

Interactive COMPUTER AGE ART 

meets Saint LUCY ! ! 

Mexican-Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer discusses his interactive art work dedicated to the memory of Saint Lucy: April 13, 2013, at an educators only conversation about how he mixes technology, art, and science.

Hemmer uses facial recognition computer technology to recognize the viewer's eyes, and then the viewer's eyes digitally explode and burn !  

HOW COOL IS THAT?

Click here to watch art lovers enjoying the computer age interactive SAINT LUCY 

The artist and Mr. Hill

The NC Museum of Art purchased this interactive art, so come and visit ! ! !

click here for the artist's personal website