This document provides an overview and lesson plan for teaching students about how artworks can connect to and reflect social, cultural, and political history through their contexts and themes. The lesson introduces the concept of context, provides examples of artworks like Guernica that addressed contemporary events like the Spanish Civil War, and guides students through analyzing artworks and selecting three of their own to present on that connect to a social, cultural, or political issue. The goal is for students to understand how art can document and illustrate different histories and for students to practice justifying connections between artworks and the circumstances of their creation.

1. ART and HISTORY 1
ART and HISTORY
HS Art Accomplished
VA:PR6.1.IIa
By Lillian Andrew
Overview
VA:Pr6.1.IIa Make, explain, and justify connections between artists or artwork
and social cultural and political history.
Prior to this lesson: Students should be able to identify elements and principles
in artworks, analyze and interpret meaning.
Teacher will present the art term Context. Context describes the circumstances
in which an artwork is created. Teacher will provide examples showing
connections between artworks and social, cultural, or political themes. Teacher
and students will focus on artwork titled Guernica by Pablo Picasso. Teacher
will guide students through readings from various sources covering the
artworks context. Teacher will guide students through an analysis of
Functional Family. Students will analyze Picture of Garbage by Vik Muiz.
Students will select and analyze 3 artworks or artists that connect to social,
cultural, and political history. Students will create descriptions for each work
explaining the artist/works role in history. Each student will consider
alternative perspectives in planning their presentation. Students will present
their selections to the class. Students and teacher will evaluate each student
presentation and pose questions to prompt students to justify selections.
Following this lesson: Students can identify a theme of contemporary society,
culture, or politics to inspire an artwork. Students will use various news
sources including Newspapers, Internet, TV, and Podcasts. Students will
research current events that connect to contemporary social issues, cultural
norms or changes, and political news. Students will identify an issue or article
to inspire a still life. Students will select 3-4 objects to symbolize their issue or
event. Students will arrange still life and use pencils to create a drawing.
Objectives
Students will be able to
§ Analyze artworks and identify contextual influences.
§ Analyze and select 3 artworks that connect to social, cultural, and
political history.
§ Create descriptions for each selection justifying connections between
artists or artwork and history.
Activities
1. Teacher will introduce Contexts, the circumstances that surround an
artwork. Art isn’t made in a vacuum. Artists are inspired by the world
Materials
Guernica, Pablo Picasso
3rd
of May, Francisco Goya
Las Meninas, Diego Velasquez
The Green Heart, Ellen Lanyon
Functional Family, M. Louise Stanly
Picture of Garbage, Vik Muniz
Other Resources
Guernica is painting created by Pablo
Picasso for the 1937 worlds fair. The
work expresses Picasso’s disgust for
the violence in Spain caused by the
Spanish Civil War. The artwork
Guernica is titled after a small village
in Spain with the same name. The
village was bombed by German
troops lead by Adolf Hitler, in support
of the leader of Spain, Francisco
Franco. There was no strategic
purpose to the bombing. Over a
thousand people were killed or
injured.
Water by Charles Sheeler, is a work
created in 1945 around the boom of
the Industrial Revolution in America.
His work shows a pristine structure
that glorifies human ingenuity.
The Green Heart by Ellen Lanyon
depicts a surreal or fantastical setting
featuring a mechanical structure and
heart connecting to plant like forms.
The work presents ideas about man’s
connection with nature.

2. ART and HISTORY 2
Resources
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-1010/early-abstraction/cubism/a/picasso-guernica
http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/guernica_nav/main_guerfrm.html
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/49.128
around them. Art can have social, political, and cultural themes.
2. Teacher will provide examples for artworks that connect to social,
political, or cultural history. Teacher will prompt students to analyze
each work identifying dominant elements, principles, subject and
mood. Students will consider the artist’s perspective and possible
agenda. Students will practice analyzing and identifying contexts that
are evident in an artwork.
3. Group Analysis Artworks: 3rd
of May by Francisco Goya, Water by
Charles Sheeler, The Green Heart by Ellen Lanyon.
4. Teacher and students will read and analyze Guernica by Pablo
Picasso. Teacher will use questioning throughout readings to check for
understanding.
5. Checks for Understanding Questions: Where was Guernica first
presented? What inspired Picasso to create it? What was happening in
Spain at the time the artwork was created?
6. Teacher will facilitate an analysis; lead my students, of Functional
Family by M. Louis Stanley.
7. Students will independently analyze Picture of Garbage by Vik Muniz.
8. Students will utilize online resources or art books provided, to analyze
and select 3 artworks that represent events or ideas from social,
political, or cultural history. Students must have one work for each
context.
Adaptations
Advanced students: Select 1 work for each context as well as 1 work that
demonstrate ideas from multiple contexts. Students will create an introduction
to the collection describing art’s ability to record and illustrate political,
cultural and social histories.
Beginning students: Will choose form a selection of works and identify which
work fits best describing political, social, and cultural histories.
Evaluation
Students will be assessed by a rubric aligned to the standard. Students must
have 3 works selected that reflect social, cultural, and political histories.
Students’ selections must be accompanied by a detailed description justifying
their selection.
Picture of Garbage by Vik Muniz is a
work from a series titled Wasteland.
Muniz has created a few series of
works inspiring social awareness and
change. Wasteland is a project Muniz
took on after seeing the poverty in a
community near a landfill. The
community was filled with workers
from the landfill. Muniz created
portraits of the workers with trash
from the landfill and then auctioned
the works off donating all of the profit
to the community.