"Artzy" Art during World War II


Introduction Unit Objectives
Unit-At-A-Glance/Lesson Plans Artzybasheff Bibliography
Teacher Resources Supplemental Activities
World War II WebQuests Literary Terms and Vocabulary
Student Chatroom Student Portfolios
Home University of North Texas
TEKS/TAKS Standards Online Tutorials
WWII Letters links Initial Artzybasheff images

Unit-At-A-Glance

Title:  "Artzy" Art During World War II

Topic:  "Art influences society and society influences art."  This unit studies cartoons, mainly the cartoons of Boris Arytzybasheff, and a few by other artists for purposes of comparison, that were made during World War II and analyzes the social events that influenced the creation of the cartoons as well as how the cartoons themselves impacted different societies.

Grade Level:  8th through 12th graders

Integrated Subjects:  Art History, Studio Art, World History, American History, Social Studies, Language Arts, Technology, and Theater Arts

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

 

Unit @ a Glance

 

 

Title:   “Artzy” Art During World War II

 

Grade Level:        8-12

 

Overarching Concept:

This unit of instruction is engineered to teach students that there is a give and take relationship between art, and the culture and time period in which it was created.  Each lesson serves as a building block to deepen the students’ understanding of the concept ‘society influences art, which in turn influences society’.  The Boris Artzibasheff image introduced in the first lesson will act as an element of cohesion for the unit by revisiting it in each lesson.

 

Integrated Subjects:

            Social Studies, Fine Art, and English/Language Arts, Science and Technology

 

 

Topic

Goal

Activity

Works of Art and Artists

Resources

TEKS

Assessment

Lesson 1:

Introduction to Artzybasheff image

 

(Lesson contributed by

Sandra S. Newton.)

This lesson should stimulate the student’s interest in when, where, who, why, and how the artwork was created.

Analyze a poster by Boris Artzybasheff and look for information about the context in which it was created through a brainstorming activity.

 

Untitled poster by Boris Artzybasheff.

 

 

The University of North Texas.

TX-110.42.11F

TX-110.59.4.I

TX-113.24.a.4.b.8.24.D

TX-113.24.a.4.b.8.27.B

TX-113.24.a.4.b.8.30.B

TX-113.24.a.4.b.8.30.C

TX-113.33.b.c.26.C

TX-113.52.c.1

TX-117.38.b.1

TX-117.38.b.2

TX-117.38.c.8.1

TX-117.38.c.8.3.B

TX-117.54.c.1.B

 

The completed questionnaire and participation in the brainstorming activity will indicate the level at which the student critically thought about the artwork by Boris Artzybasheff.  (Refer to rubric at the end of this unit.)

 

Lesson2:

Different Perspectives during World

War II

 

(Lesson contributed by

   Wendi Callaway.)

 

To understand various perspectives of WWII from different cultures by researching different aspects of the war, by examining propaganda posters from different cultures, and through role-play in different WWII-type situations.

World War II Web Quest

 

Researching Different sources

 

Analyzing the purposes for propaganda posters.

 

Creating timelines of WWII

 

Character Analysis of types of people involved in WWII

 

Respond to WWII letters from different cultures.

 

Writing and performing a skit in which different WWII characters interact with each other in a given situation.

Unlimited use due to the nature of the lesson.  This lesson is internet based.

 

Untitled poster by Artzybasheff used in Lesson 1.

World War II

Web Quest

 

World Wide Web

 

Library Resources on World War II

 

Propaganda posters

 

WWII Letters

 

WWII Timelines

TX-110.42.1 

TX-110.42.1.B 

TX-110.42.10 

 TX-110.42.10.A 

 TX-110.42.11.C 

 TX-113.32.c.14 

 TX-113.32.c.14.A 

 TX-113.32.c.20.A 

 TX-113.32.c.20.B 

 TX-113.32.c.20.B 

 TX-113.32.c.20.C 

 TX-113.32.c.24.A 

 TX-113.32.c.24.B 

 TX-113.32.c.24.C 

 TX-113.32.c.24.D 

 TX-117.52.b.2 

 TX-117.52.c.3 

 TX-117.52.c.3.B 

 TX-117.53.b.2 

 TX-117.55.c.4.B 

 TX-117.57.c.1.B 

 TX-117.64.c.1 

 TX-117.64.c.1.A 

 TX-117.64.c.2 

 

Successful completion of the web quest.

 

Detailed character analysis.

 

Peer Evaluations

 

Written response to WWII letters.

 

Role-playing and group discussion of skits.

Lesson 3:

Literary Metaphor

 

(Lesson contributed by

Sandra S. Newton.)

Identify that many political and social beliefs during World War II can be put into literary metaphor and can be seen in images of the time.

 

The students should have a thorough understanding of the concept literary metaphor.

Student will write original literary metaphors and create visual representation of original literary metaphor.

Untitled Poster by Boris Artzybasheff used in Lesson 1.

 

Image from the video game “World War II: Frontline Command” by KOCH media

 

Image from a 1943 issue Life magazine of a woman looking at a human skull.  Artist unknown

 

 

‘Bomb Shell’ -  Image of a woman on a bomb that reads “buy war bonds”.  Artist unknown

http://www.avi-writer.com/aboutbooks

/bookcovers/don’t

_you_know_war.jpg

 

 

Image of Rosie the Riveter by J. Howard Miller

 

An armed forces recruiting poster “Remember Dec. 7th”. Artist unknown.

 

Photo from a 1938 issue from Time magazine.  Artist unknown. http://www.time.com

/time/poy2001/

photo/hitler.html

 

 

 

The University of North Texas Library

 

World Wide Web

 

 

TX-110.24.8.22

TX-110.24.8.23

TX110.24.8.23.A     

TX-110.24.8.24

TX-10.24.8.24.

TX-110.42.11.G         

TX-110.42.19

TX-110.42.19.B

TX-110.42.21

TX-110.43.19

TX-110.43.19.B         

TX-110.43.20

TX-110.43.21

TX-110.44.19

TX-110.44.20  

TX-110.44.21

TX-110.45.19

TX-110.45.19.B         

TX-110.45.20

TX-110.45.21

TX-110.46.3   

TX-110.47.6.B           

TX-110.49.1   

TX-110.51.2.I              

TX-113.32.c.14          

TX-13.32.c.14.A     

TX-113.32.c.6            

TX-113.32.c.6.A        

TX-113.32.c.6.B        

TX-.ESL.42.11.7        

TX-8.ESL.51.2.9

The level at which the student is able to write a metaphor and illustrate the metaphor demonstrates the students understanding of the concepts involved.  (Refer to the rubric at the end of this unit.)

 

Lesson 4:

Cartoons and Anthropomorphic

Images

 

(Lesson contributed by

   Wendi Callaway.)

 

To examine how the events and propaganda efforts of WWII influenced the creation of types of cartoons, compare these cartoons to each other and to the art of Boris Artzybasheff in relationship to literary aspects like metaphor, narrative, anthropomorphic, etc.

Watch “Cartoons Go To War”

 

Compare and contrast political cartoons, animated stills, propaganda posters, and comics from WWII.

 

Discuss the influences of the war on those cartoons.

 

Make a scrapbook of cartoons.

 

Read excepts from Aesop’s Fables, illustrated by Artzybasheff.

 

Discuss the relationships between anthropomorphic, metaphor, fable, and narrative.

 

Write and illustrate an original fable.

 

Many possibilities are readily available, use what are obtainable for you.

 

Untitled Poster by Artzybasheff used in Lesson 1.

Examples of political cartoons, comics, propaganda posters, and animated stills from the time period.

 

Newspapers and magazines.

 

Aesop’s Fables

 

Artzybasheff’s political cartoons in Time magazine and illustrations for Aesop’s Fables.

 

World War II web quest.

 TX-110.42.11.F 

 TX-110.42.11.G 

 TX-110.42.12.D 

 TX-  

-110.42.13.E 

TX-110.42.13.C 

 TX-113.32.c.14 

 TX-113.32.c.14.A 

 TX-113.32.c.6 

 TX-113.32.c.6.A 

 TX-113.32.c.6.B 

 TX-113.33.b.c.9.A 

 TX-117.52.b.2 

 TX-117.52.c.2 

 TX-117.52.c.3 

 TX-117.53.c.3.A 

 TX-117.54.c.1.B 

 TX-117.55.c.1.B 

 TX-117.55.c.3.A 

 

 

A completed, organized scrapbook of images that illustrate examples of different types of cartoons.

 

An original, written fable that teaches a moral and an illustration that effectively narrates the fable and uses anthropo-morphic images

Lesson 5:

Artzybasheff and his Anthropomorphic

Images.

 

(Lesson contributed by

Sandra S. Newton.)

Allows students an opportunity to become more familiar the artist Boris Artzybasheff, his artwork and the concept of anthropo-morphic. Hopefully students will be able to recognize information presented in previous lessons in Artzybasheff’s anthropo-morphic images.

 

Analyze a variety of art by Artzybasheff in an informative scavenger hunt.

 

Student create a four part drawing which will contain anthropo-morphic images

World War II posters by Boris Artzybasheff from The University of North Texas Library.  Including the poster used in Lesson 1.

 

Twin Engines by Artzybasheff.  An advertisement for Lycoming Engines.

 

The Wright Cyclone Engine by Artzybasheff.  An advertisement for Lycoming Engines.

 

Castings for a Tractor by Artzybasheff.  An advertisement for Lycoming Engines.

 

The Model 47 Helicopter by Artzybasheff.  An advertisement for Lycoming Engines

 

Xerography by Artzybasheff.  An advertisement for Haloid Xerox.

 

Disturbing Emotions by Artzybasheff.  An advertisement for Parke Davis & Company.

 

4 Time magazine covers by Arzybasheff.

January 28, 1946

March 16, 1953

November 2, 1953

November 8, 1954

March 28, 1955

January 19, 1959

 

 

From Aesop’s Fables, an illustration for “The fox and the goat” by Artzybasheff.

 

Cover for the Artzybasheff book As I See drawn by Artzybasheff.

 

An illustration from the book Creatures by Artzybasheff.

 

An Artzybasheff illustration titled The Blooming Mill from his book Mechinalia.

 

An Artzybasheff illustration from the book Verotchka’s Tales.

 

 

The University of Texas at Tyler Library.

 

World Wide Web

TX-113.24.a.4.b.8.32.B

TX-113.32.c.26.A

TX-113.36.c.10.B

TX-113.37.c.8.C

TX-117.38.b.2

TX-117.56.c.4

 

The level at which the student performs on the ‘student scavenger hunt sheet’ and contributes to class discussion will indicate the level at which the student thought about the information that was presented. (Refer to the rubric at the end of this lesson.)

 

The level at which the student met the requirements of the assignment indicates the student’s understanding of the term

Anthropo-morphic.  (Refer to the rubric at the end of this unit.)

 

 

 

 

Lesson 1--Introduction to Boris Artzybasheff

Lesson 2--Different Perspectives of WWII

Lesson 3--Literary and Visual Metaphors

Lesson 4--Anthropomorphic images and Cartoons

Lesson 5--Morphing into anthropomorphic imagery

Assessment Rubric