Political and Social issues in Art

1. Political and
Social Issues in
Art

2. Barbara
Kruger

4. Jenny Holzer

5. Sergio
Hernandez

6. Marcia Yerman

7. Steve
Shepard

8. Kathe
Kollwitz

9. Pablo Picasso –
Guernica, 1937

10. Hundertwasser

11. Project Description:
•Depict your social statement in a 2D way. Your image should be an "in
your face" style; the image should be large and possibly cropped, going
off the edge of the paper or depicting an unusual angle or scene…Think
about what point of view you want to depict (An unborn foetus, for
example, if you are against abortion. How would you depict abortion
rights? How would you depict Pro-Life? Do the desires of the mother
trump the right to life for the unborn child? An example of a racist
episode/event in history.)
•You could add minimal text (See art of Barbara Kruger) – or make it all
about the words (see Jenny Holzer).
•Choose your colour scheme carefully. You may want to choose a
monochromatic colour scheme (all blues, all reds, etc.) Be sure all white
space on your paper is filled in.
Timeline:
Spend your Internet time researching the issue you have chosen to speak out about. Keep
your sketchbook next to you, and jot down quotes or words that jump out at you or speak
to you. Use any images you may see to sketch out some ‘thumbnail sketches.’ Be sure to
document the sites you visit. Your sketchbook should be a visual record of the research and
documentation that you have done.

12. Objectives:
• Choose an issue you care deeply about, and would want to
try and do something about. This issue should be
something that is a general issue or concern in society
somewhere in the world. Be sure you are picking a general
issue, not simply one of your pet peeves!
• Some ideas of things you might be interested in
depicting/standing up for or against:
pollution/environmental concerns, abortion rights, pro-life,
racism, big government, homelessness, AIDS, religious
wars, the war in Iraq, poverty, verbal abuse, bullying,
depression, teen suicide, discrimination, gay rights…
What do you CARE about? Talk to people- has anyone in
your family been affected by any of these? How? Why?
How did it affect them?