TEACHER'S GUIDE
CARTOONS
to remember
FundaciónMuseoDeLaPazDeGernika
Acknowledgements: To all the colleagues from the Gernika Peace Museum who have contributed to the creation and improvement of the work.
Foru Plaza, 1
48300 Gernika-Lumo (Bizkaia) Tel. +34 94 627 0213 www.museodelapaz.org E-mail: hezkuntza.museoa@gernika-lumo.net
Gernika-Lumo, 2021
index
Excercises
A. INTRODUCTION OF THE WORKSHOP AND THE HISTORICAL PERIOD 16
workshop “CARTOONS TO REMEMBER"
B. ARTISTIC ASPECTS 19
- THE CARTOON AS A TOOL TO LEARN ABOUT
OUR HISTORY 6
C. DOCUMENTS FOR HISTORICAL RESEARCH 20
D. CRITIQUE OF THE PRESENT DAY 23
- TEACHING RESOURCES AND MATERIALS 27
annexes
INTRODUction
Duration
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
1'5-2 hours
The Gernika Peace Museum offers an interesting exhibition entitled "Cartoons to remember: Cartoons published in Bilbao newspapers during the war in Euskadi (1936-37)" curated by historians Aline Soberon and Txema Uriarte.The exhibition "Cartoons to remember" is the result of an in-depth research work by historians Txema Uriarte and Aline Soberón into the cartoons that appeared in the Bilbao press during the 11 months of the war in the Basque Country. As a result, the exhibition "Humor in times of war-Guda garaiko umorea" was carried out in Bilbao together
Course
Online
Language
hezkuntza.museoa@gernika-lumo.net
+ Info
Since the end of the 18th century, the printed press in the metropolis inserted cartoons in its main pages to illustrate or editorialise a news item. Cartoons are therefore artistic drawings, often hastily drawn, which develop, usually in a humorous way, an event or a thought.The exhibition at the Gernika Peace Museum is divided into three main themes: everyday life, the bombings and the international situation.As could not be otherwise, Gernika is present in these cartoons. Its unjustified and unjustifiable bombing reflects a new way of waging war that has been perpetuated to the present day. For many reasons Gernika is a symbol for people and nations who are obstinately in search of freedom.
with the Bilbao City Council and BilbaoIzan. Subsequently, and with the collaboration of the Museo de las Encartaciones, a new one was carried out, "Cartoonists at war-Marrazkilariak gerran", part of which can be seen in the exhibition at the Gernika Peace Museum. As the culmination of this research, the book of the same name "Viñetas para el recuerdo" was published, in which more than 300 of the cartoons collected, redrawn one by one by Aline, are shown. During the 1936 war, the press became a necessity. If you wanted to know where the rationing was being distributed, which air-raid shelter was being used, or get news about your son, boyfriend or husband, you had to buy a newspaper. At that time, Bilbao's newspapers proliferated with cartoons.
+info
means of jokes or winks, using praise, confusion, ridiculousness, criticism, wordplay, admiration, etc.
The cartoons and drawings in this exhibition are historical documents as well as small works of art. Through the drawings, the illustrators refer to events, give an opinion on a subject, satirise a character or a situation, or encourage the population to continue the resistance, as these cartoonists are experiencing the war at first hand. During the Civil War there was an emergence of cartoons and drawings in the journalistic sector, a sector that had not known such effervescence since the freedom of the press legislated by the Second Republic. This development was very noticeable during the months that the war lasted. With this abundance of events, photographs and drawings competed for graphic space in the newspapers. Some newspapers made extensive use of drawings and cartoons to provide information, encourage and distract the reader by
Aline Soberón and Txema Uriarte: Cartoons for remembrance, Cartoons and drawings published in the newspapers of Bilbao from the elections of February 1936 until the fall of the city in June 1937, Mundaka, 2018.
CARTOONS AS A TOOL to learn about OUR HISTORY
The Spanish Civil War (1936-39) is one of the historic events of the last century. The recovery of historical memory and the reparation of the victims of the violence deployed by the victors of the Civil War continues to provoke controversy. For this reason, there is a need to address this issue in history lessons both in Secondary and Baccalaureate. The aim is for young people to understand the events that divided Spanish society during this period.
As several scholars have argued, the teaching of history in schools contributes to ensuring peaceful and democratic coexistence. Here, the graphic novel (in this case, newspaper cartoons) becomes a very useful didactic resource for working on critical awareness and empathy towards the victims of traumatic events such as the Civil War. [...] Some academics have insisted on the need for secondary school history students to develop critical awareness and analytical skills in order to understand historical reality. [...] Secondary school students must acquire the skills necessary to read and think like historians.
graphic novel (a cartoon in this case) can be used to approach a specific historical reality that constitutes the plot of the novel. On the other hand, the comic (the cartoon in this case), as a representation of the past or a cultural product that is inscribed in a given historical context, can serve as a source of information about the moment in which it was created. [...] Therefore, the teacher must ensure that during this educational practice the graphic novel is properly implemented in the classroom in order to contribute to the students' achievement of the proposed pedagogical objectives.
Among the skills of the historian's work, the following abilities stand out: identifying, contextualising and corroborating. Firstly, when reading a text, the historian identifies the type of source. Secondly, the historian insists on the need to place the text in its corresponding time and space. And thirdly, the historian considers it necessary to corroborate the information in the text with other sources. [...] Before implementing the use of comics (the cartoon in this case) in the history lesson, it is essential to work on the conceptual contents that students should know. Finally, another important element to be considered is also the type of lesson to be drawn from the comics. Broadly speaking, these can be basically of two types. On the one hand, the
Iker Saitua: “Tristísima ceniza: una propuesta de intervención para enseñar la Guerra Civil en el País Vasco con la novela gráfica” (Sad ashes: a proposal for an intervention to teach the Civil War in the Basque Country through graphic novels), CLIO. History and History Teaching (2018), 44, pag. 183-193
the humour
The use of humour is a resource that is used on a daily basis in our lives. There are different types of humour: satirical, dark humour, clean humour... Humour can become a great tool to ridicule the enemy and to rally the people. It can act as a catalyst for social cohesion as well as for socialising collective emotions and feelings such as fear, anguish, uncertainty, anger, which are so often experienced during a
Graphic humour is a language rich in genres and performers, and is mainly expressed through jokes, comic strips, cartoons and personal caricatures.
In many parts of the world, however, the humourist, the comic, the cartoonist continue to be persecuted professions. Villalba (2017) explains:
period of war. We all want to laugh, and laughter has many physical and psychological benefits.
Palestinian cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh of Cartooning for Peace was imprisoned in Israel for a few months, incommunicado [in 2013]. Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat became famous because he was kidnapped and had his fingers broken [in 2011]. There are cartoonists who have suffered physical reprisals and their integrity is in danger. Here, it's difficult to leave the house and get fucked up with a few punches. The most that can happen is that they don't call you anymore.
Two years after the attack, the weekly reopened its doors to continue satirizing current affairs, political and religious figures, with no intention of giving up what they consider to be their fundamental rights.
The phrase "Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie) became a trending topic on social media in January 2015 after the attack on the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris. The attack, in which twelve of the magazine's staff were killed, was claimed by Daesh, where among other reasons they claimed the number of fighters returning to France, the country's jihadist target. The weekly had been threatened since 2006 for caricaturing the Prophet Mohammed, because according to Islam, deities cannot be depicted.
However, these attacks are not only carried out against artists but also against communicators and journalists. They are even more frequent among artists and journalists in countries such as Syria or Iraq, who have been kidnapped by extremist groups and in some cases killed for simply exercising their freedom of expression. In other countries, for example in Mexico, the murder of journalists because of their investigations into political corruption or organised crime is a social scourge that, unfortunately, is commonplace. Graphic art is a further
component of the media, which is one of the latent conflicts in today's societies, where intransigence even in the governmental sphere is on the increase . An example of this rising trend of intransigence is the extreme radicalisation of some traditionally centre-right parties' discourse on immigration or gender. It is very important that students become aware of this problem as a complex and global phenomenon that occurs in all types of societies.
Text extracted from: Art i compromís durant la Guerra Civil, una perspectiva des de la cultura de pau https://www.museunacional.cat/ca/art-i-compromis-0
Guía Educart Dossiers: https://www.museunacional.cat/sites/default/files/art-i-compromis_28gener.pdf, pág. 63-66.
0 CREATION OF THE WORKSHOP
The initial design for this workshop was prepared by Aline Soberón, one of the authors of the book and the exhibition, and Idoia Orbe, head of Education at the Gernika Peace Museum.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
1 didactic proposal
3 SECONDARY OBJECTIVES
This workshop fall within the 4th year of ESO and the 2nd year of Bachillerato. It is a didactic unit that can be dealt with in different areas (Art, Geography and History, Art, Visual and Audiovisual Education, Ethics, ...).
It is not essential, but it is advisable to introduce students to the subject of the Spanish Civil War. The contents to be covered are as follows: • The Civil War in the Basque Country. • Art in the first half of the 20th century. • Understanding humour as a political and opinion strategy.
- To know and work on the function of the cartoon in its different aspects.
- To encourage historical thinking among students.
- Understand the international context and the role played by major foreign powers in the Civil War.
- To understand the immediate consequences and legacy of the Civil War, mainly from a social and political point of view.
- To identify, analyse and explain, situating them in time and space, the most relevant events, processes and protagonists throughout the history of Spain and the Basque Country. The aim is to appreciate their influence and repercussions on the current configuration of both historical realities.
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2 general objective
- Educate the student to be able to historically contextualise an event.
6 SECtions
4 COMPETENCes
a) introduction of the workshop and the historical periodb) artistic aspectsc) documents for historical knowledged) critique of the present day
- Social and civic, to acquire critical knowledge about the memory marked by the trauma of the Civil War.
- Learning to learn, as students are fully aware of the learning process.
- Cultural awareness and expressions, as they develop knowledge of different artistic languages and codes.
- Artistic field.
7 DURAtioN
The estimated duration of the workshop is between one and a half and two hours.
5 REsourceS
- Human resources: facilitator
- Material resources: tablets to carry out the exercises, reproduction of cartoons and newspaper covers, drawing and design material (pencil, eraser, paper, computer, printer...).
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EVALUAtioN
Through this method, we aim to make the students aware of their learning, their level of knowledge, their teamwork and their involvement and commitment in the tasks to be carried out.
8 evaluation
The evaluation of this project can be done using the rubric provided.
- Firstly, it is proposed to use the rubric for each student to assess the work they have done (self-assessment).
- Secondly, it can also be used for the teacher's evaluation.
According to Liarte, Laia Lluch Molins defines rubrics as a tool for assessment and, sometimes, for grading that allows for the detailed assessment of each of the competences: "It is an ideal instrument especially for assessing competences, since it allows for dissecting the complex tasks that make up a competence into simpler tasks distributed in a gradual and operative manner".
Students should be made aware of how to evaluate this project from the outset. The maximum mark is 16, meaning that 16 is equivalent to a conventional 10, if everything is flawless. The minimum mark is 4, which is equivalent to a conventional 2.5.
Cedec rubric bank:
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https://cedec.intef.es/cedec-lanza-un-nuevo-banco-de-rubricas-y-otros-documentos-asociados-al-proyecto-edia/
EVALUAtioN
Evaluation indicators
Points
I did not demonstrate an adequate understanding of the issue, nor did I engage in the reflections.
I understood the topic in depth and participated in all the reflection activities.
I seemed to understand the main points of the topic but did not participate in any reflective activities.
I understood the topic in depth and participated in some reflective activities.
Knowledge gained (Individual)
I almost always listen to, share and support the efforts of others. I try to keep the group together by working as a team.
I rarely listen to, share and support the efforts of others. I am not usually a good group member.
I often listen, share and support the efforts of others. I do not cause "problems" in the group.
Sometimes I listen, share and support the efforts of others, but sometimes I am not a good member of the group.
Working with others (Individual)
Members meet and discuss on a regular basis. All students contribute to the debate and listen respectfully. We all contribute equally to the work.
Members meet and comment regularly. Most of us contribute to the debate and most of us listen respectfully. Most of us contribute fairly to the work.
We had few team meetings. Some members contributed to the discussion and listened respectfully. Some of us contributed equally to the work.
We did not have team meetings. Some team members did not contribute equally to the work.
Participation (Teamwork)
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I made an excellent contribution, presented my work well and participated in everything.
I provided some information, but I was not clear in the information presented.
I worked well in the group, provided input and presented quality information.
I provided very little information throughout the project.
Participation (Individual)
process
PICTORIAL STYLES OF CARTOONISTS
CARTOON ANALYSIS
EXHIBITION OF cartoons
introduction
NEWSPAPER IMMERSION
RECOGNISE CHARACTERS
PRODUCE A CARTOON
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excercises
1 Introduction of the workshop and the historical period
1.2. Explain the topic (the cartoons) briefly.
Then watch the video to immerse yourself in the subject (4:33 min.). This video offers a glimpse of the era, along with real images and cartoons.
1.1. Place all the cartoons on the walls of the classroom for when the pupils arrive.
Before taking part in the workshop, it is advisable to have a basic knowledge of the Spanish Civil War.
Click here to download the cartoons in pdf format.
To learn about the art of the cartoon and the historical context in depth, it is worth reading the book Viñetas para el recuerdo, on which the exhibition is based.
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Teamwork
5 minutes
These questions will help you in this reflection exercise:
1.3. Show some newspapers of the period with cartoons. Observe the various newspapers. Reflect on the importance of cartoons.
1936-37 newspapers • How big is the headline?• How large is the cartoon?• What is the size of the letters in the text?• …
In groups of 3-4 people
10 minutes
Today, our present-day• Are you in the habit of reading the newspaper?• If you read it, is it in paper or digital?• Have you ever noticed in which pages the cartoons are published? (Berria, Deia, El Correo, El País, Público, El Diario, The Times, Le Monde, Die Welt...)• Do you understand what these cartoons are trying to convey?• What difficulties do we encounter when we do not know the context of the cartoon?
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3. Discuss in a big group the reflections that have arisen in the small group.
Cartoons in today's digital newspapers:
https://www.eldiario.es/
https://www.deia.eus/humor/
5 minutes
https://www.elcorreo.com/opinion/vinetas/
In a big group
https://www.berria.eus/
https://elpais.com/noticias/vinetas/
https://www.publico.es/
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/profile/peter-brookes?page=1
https://www.lemonde.fr/dessins/
If you wish to delve deeper into the newspapers of the period, these links take you to the archives of Biscay, Guipuzcoa and the newspaper archive of the Basque press:
Biscay
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Guipuzcoa
Newspaper archive
The game
2 Artistic aspects
2.1. Recognise different avant-garde pictorial styles (pointillism, cubism and Soviet constructivism) and identify the style of various cartoonists.
https://view.genial.ly/619e02f2cef6440dea16b17f/game-breakout-cartoonists-artistic-styles-game
The teacher will give a brief explanation of the characteristics of each style (see annex), showing works to identify them more clearly.
2.2. After the game, we draw the conclusionsWhat style does each cartoonist have?What does their style reflect?What period is each style from?To what extent do the cartoonists respect each style? Do they mix different styles?How does the cartoonist explain the situation?Do they use colour? Is colour important?
The entire group
5 minutes
Participants will have to identify the style of some of the cartoonists using an interactive game.
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In groups of 2-3 people
10 minutes
In a big group
10 minutes
3.2. Reflection-What are the clues that have helped you identify each character?-What role do these characters play in the Civil War?-How are they portrayed and what are their characteristics according to these cartoons?
3 Documents for historical study
3.1. Recognise the main characters of the war in the Basque Country that appear in the cartoons.
Participants will have to identify the main characters of the cartoons using an interactive game.
The entire group
8 minutes
3.3. Analysis of the cartoons-Each group will choose one of the suggested topics. -They should look among the cartoons on display that fit their topic. -Subsequently, they should explain to the rest of the groups what they have discussed in their group. -To do this, they should read and look carefully at the cartoons they have chosen. -The questions suggested in each topic can be helpful for reflection, identification and contextualisation.
The game
https://view.genial.ly/619e0242316d240de3d4729c/game-breakout-cartoonists-the-characters-game
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In groups of 2-3 people
10 minutes
Cartoons from the exhibition directly related to these three themes:
Topics:a-To develop, through the cartoons, what were the consequences of the war (hunger, rationing, black market, evacuations, disaster, deaths...). b-Analyse the role played by women as judged by how they are portrayed in the cartoons. c-The solidarity between nations. What role do the European powers play in the civil war?
A - Consequences of the war
- How is war shown?- What is the situation in the rear, in the areas where there is no direct war?- How are soldiers, armies of different nationalities shown?
- Are there similarities and differences with the situation in other regions of the state?
First in small groups. Then the entire group.
10 minutes
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The questions suggested in each topic can be helpful for reflection, identification and contextualisation.
B - Women
C - The solidarity between nations
- How many cartoons feature women?- What role do women play in war?- What are the consequences for women during this period of war?-Does it correspond to reality?
- Which countries are involved in the Spanish Civil War?
- What kind of participation is it? Is it public, is it covert...?
- Who helps who?
- What is the reaction of the other countries?
- How are the various heads of state shown?
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4.2. Next, choose one of the following options and draw a cartoon.
4 Criticism of the present day
It is a matter of using creativity and the resource of humour to allow us to laugh, to relativise and to give new visions of the situation.
4.1. We will make a cartoon.
First of all, we will choose a current affairs topic that will help us to work on critical awareness and empathy towards the victims of traumatic events or of our everyday reality.
4.2.1. Choose a current situation and draw a cartoon by hand (starting from scratch, on a blank sheet of paper).4.2.2. Use an existing cartoon (from the exhibition or elsewhere), remove the texts and transform it to the current situation according to the chosen theme.4.2.3. Use a cartoon from the exhibition featuring a famous person and superimpose a picture of a current person (pictures of faces or other current objects can be taken from current newspapers or from the internet).
Possible topics for this exercise:
- During the exam period, all the work piles up: preapare for exams, present works and, what's more, study all the subjects at the same time.
- How Covid19 has changed our lives.
- In class, there is always someone alone and left out, but no one does anything about it.
- All summer festivals have been cancelled.
- …
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In a small group
10 minutes
In a small group
5 minutes
Some important concepts before you start drawing:
The text on the previous page has been extracted from: Art i compromís durant la Guerra Civil, una perspectiva des de la cultura de pau https://www.museunacional.cat/ca/art-i-compromis-0
-Remember to be critical but respectful. Humour, satire, provocation are always a means, not the goal. They should serve to draw attention to a subject, and once captured, they will convey a message.
-You can turn your enemy or fear into a cartoon, whether it is a person or a concept. Think about what the most characteristic features are and exaggerate them. Make an effort to think about how that person or that idea is recognised, how the essence can be portrayed. -Think in terms of opposites. If, for example, we want to represent the fear of "loneliness", exaggerate what it means to be with other people. This strategy can be used to distance yourself from it and find a comical way of talking about it.
Guía Educart Dossiers: https://www.museunacional.cat/sites/default/files/art-i-compromis_28gener.pdf, pág. 63-66.
4.3. Exhibition of the cartoons drawn according to the chosen topic.
It is advisable to display the vignettes in a visible place as we often have shared monsters, and when they are collectivised they also become smaller.
- If it is a new cartoon, it must be shown and explained.
- If it is a transformed cartoon, it must be shown, explained and compared with the original.
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The entire group
5 minutes
4.4. Possible questions for final reflection (if there is time).
Example of reconversion of a cartoon
- How does the cartoon change?
- Do the cartoons really serve to understand the reality of the moment?
- Do you think it is an appropriate tool to vindicate facts or situations?
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The entire group
5 minutes
© Jordi Vilalta
4.4. Possible questions for final reflection (if there is time).
Example of reconversion of a cartoon
- How does the cartoon change?
- Do the cartoons really serve to understand the reality of the moment?
- Do you think it is an appropriate tool to vindicate facts or situations?
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The entire group
5 minutes
© Jordi Vilalta
TEACHING RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
Video: TV Report Oizmendi Telebista (in Basque)
Gernika Peace Museum
Exhibition in PDF format: Cartoons to remember
Worksheet
about the exhibition
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Video: Gernika. Viñetas para el recuerdo (1936-37)
Video with
didactic material on the exhibition
Newspapers
of the time
ANnEXeS
THE FIRST PHASE OF CUBISM
Cubism had as its ideological basis the notion that an image is always observed from different points of view, as it is three-dimensional. This led the artists who developed this movement to seek new forms of pictorial representation, among which the break with the real image was made present through the formation of cubes and other geometric forms. The presence of numerous and certainly chaotic geometric figures gave the image a unique complexity that aimed to represent the very complexity of everyday life. The concept of Cubism was created by the critic Louis Vauxcelles, the same man who baptised the Fauves. This term originated from a critique he made of an artistic work which he called "cubes", and since then the concept of cubism was born. Cubist art would not have been possible without the advent of photography, which, by representing visual reality more accurately than painting, freed the latter from the obligation to represent things as they appear before our eyes and forced artists to seek a meaning other than the mere transcription of the external appearance of things in two dimensions.
Cubist art is considered to be an artistic movement that was present between 1907 and 1914. Cubism is considered a pioneering avant-garde movement because it was responsible for breaking with perspective, the last Renaissance principle that was still in force at the beginning of the century. Cubism was centred on the city of Paris, and the leaders and masters of the movement were the Spaniards Pablo Picasso and Juan Gris and the Frenchmen Georges Braque and Fernand Léger, but the artist Cézanne had already blazed the trail, who, influenced by Impressionism, reacted against it, rejecting print in favour of a deeper understanding of reality. Cézanne believed that nature is not drawn, but manifests itself through colour, his painting not being drawn, but a painting of volumes, of forms, relating them to each other once they have been created. This is where the problem of planes arose, which led him to look at objects from various points of view. It originated in France and was made famous by the artists belonging to this style, among whom we can highlight Pablo Picasso. This style of art was an essential kind of art as it gave rise to the other avant-gardes in Europe in the 20th century. Therefore, it is the final break that art had with traditional painting.
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ANnEXeS
- A new concept called "multiple perspective" emerged, i.e. all the parts were developed on the same plane.
- The works became uncompromising in terms of the aesthetics of things, which is why they appeared on the same plane and at different times, for example, in the case of human faces, the nose was represented in profile and the eye was represented from the front.
- There is no longer a single vision, which is why there is no sense of depth in works of art.
- Portraits, landscapes, and urban still lifes, were the main subjects that were most prominent when depicted.
- As far as colour is concerned, the most commonly used are muted tones such as browns, greens or greys, that is to say, all the colours that characterised Fauvism or Impressionism are removed.
- The gradations of light and shade disappear and the colours of reality are no longer used, with black and white appearing in the representations.
- Geometric shapes invade the compositions.
- The abstract style was not used, the form was always respected.
The appearance of Cubism has also been linked to two other developments in the same decade, namely psychoanalysis, which showed that there may be deeper motivations for human thoughts and actions, and the theory of relativity, which revealed that the world is not exactly in its deep structure. Main features of Cubism
- The disconnection with nature is achieved through the decomposition of the figure into its minimal parts, into planes, which will be studied in themselves and not in the global vision of volume.
- Cubism is a mental art, the work having value in itself, expressing ideas.
- Cubism was the definitive break with the Renaissance style. In Cubist works of art, therefore, the traditional view of art disappears completely.
- This style of art is mainly based on nature represented by geometric figures or shapes and by fragmenting surfaces and lines, in a simplified form, into cubes, cylinders and spheres.
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ANnEXeS
THE MAIN phasES OF CUBIST ART
with different textures and surfaces such as collage to create novel pictorial works. The main compositional characteristics of synthetic cubism lie in the choice of juxtaposition or superimposition of different parts of a performance. It often makes use of relevant techniques, such as collage and papier collé, thus favouring compositions of polioculari objects visions of the same object. At this stage the objects were no longer observed and ordered, but rather a summary of the essential figure, which is why different parts of the painting are highlighted. The synthesis is made by highlighting on the canvas the most significant parts of the figure that will be seen from all sides. Cubist paintersPablo Ruiz Picasso: his outstanding works within cubist art were several, as an example we have Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which represents a brothel in Barcelona.The paintings depict naked women with disfigured faces, influenced by Cézanne, Iberian art and black sculpture, in which he breaks with all the traditional rules of figurative painting by fragmenting perspective into square and angular volumes. Other works by Pablo Ruiz Picasso were the Nude with Towel, The Horta de Ebro Factory, and Portrait of Ambosio Vollard. One of his best works was Guernica, the painting symbolising the horror of the Spanish Civil War
There are different stages in the gradual development of this style of art, among which we can highlight the following:Analytical cubist artIt is known as the first phase of cubism that goes from 1909 and ends in 1912 and its precursor is Paul Cézanne. The artists dedicated themselves to the analysis of images and their reconstruction through these geometric forms. Their aim became a deeper search, which tried to extrapolate from reality and represent the very essence of the visible. This phase was characterised by the decomposition and imbalance of figures and forms. Its main aim was to observe them and try to establish a separate order. It was at this stage that one could see a cubism that was difficult to understand and very pure.It was characterised by the decomposition of form and figures into multiple parts, all of them geometric. forms of the cone, cylinder and sphere and through the use of pure colour. The latter was an analytical process called induction.
Synthetic cubist art A term that generally identifies the second part of the pictorial movement that commonly dates back to 1912, when Picasso painted Nature morte à la chaise cannée. The authors developed new techniques that enabled them to work
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ANnEXeS
and the bombing that destroyed the Basque town of Gernika, in a cubist style and with a symbolism of surrealism and expressionist deformations. George Braque: He is the other great creator of Cubism. He discovered that forms could be simplified by reducing them to prisms and cylinders. In his Still Life with Playing Cards he reduced chromaticism to grey colours and geometrised and decomposed forms to create a new reality by means of superimpositions and transparencies. He also delved into collage. Other outstanding works include Still Life with the Guitar, Still Life with the Cello and The Painter's Studio. Juan Gris: His Cubism is fundamentally synthetic and coloured. He used compositions with a firm structure and harmonious rhythm. He mixes softness and energy, which can be seen in the arrangement of his still lifes, executed on the basis of very violent planes. He focuses on the theme of still life, with elements such as glasses, bottles, diaries, fruit bowls, pipes, harlequins, musical elements. Outstanding works include Still Life, Breakfast and Still Life on a Chair. Fernand Léger: he worked in a cubism that tended towards mechanical and tubular forms. His most frequently used themes were related to everyday life and the machinism of the big city, with characters with a certain automaton-like character. We have works such as The Card Game, where the protagonists have
been turned into a sort of metallic robots, with other important works such as The Acrobats, The Cylinders, The Propellers.There are many other very famous painters of this style of art. Among them we can highlight some of those who are still known today, as well as their works, these artists are: Jean Metzinger, Robert Delaunay, Albert Gleizs. Of course, many more artists from this period are known today, but the best known and therefore the most famous are these artists.
+info
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ANnEXeS
Still Life with Playing Cards, George Braque, 1913
Three Women, Fernand Léger, 1921
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Pablo Picasso, 1907
Portrait of Dora Maar, Picasso, 1936
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Breakfast (Le Petit déjeuner), Juan Gris, 1914
Soldiers playing cards, Fernand Léger, 1917
Art scuplture faces, Picasso
AnNEXeS
Pointillism
object. At a given distance these tiny particles are optically mixed and the result would produce a much greater colour intensity than any mixture of pigments.
Pointillism is an artistic technique that consists of making a work through the use of tiny dots. It first appeared in 1869, spearheaded by the neo-Impressionist painter Georges Seurat, who was followed by artists such as Henri-Edmond Cross and Vlaho Bukovac. This procedure consists of placing dots of pure colours instead of brushstrokes on the canvas. This was the result of the chromatic studies carried out by Georges Seurat (1859-1891), the French painter, who in 1884 arrived at the division of tones by the position of touches of colour which, when viewed from a distance, create the desired combinations on the retina. Another of the most important Pointillist artists was Paul Signac, who participated with Seurat and other Neo-Impressionists in the Société des Artistes Indépendants (1884), all of them followers of Pointillism or Divisionism. It is related to Divisionism, a more technical variant of the method. Divisionism is concerned with colour theory, while Pointillism focuses more on the specific style of brush used to apply the paint. It is a technique with few serious practitioners today, and is notably seen in the works of Seurat, Signac and Cross. By adopting tiny, dot-like brushstrokes, they succeeded in accumulating, even on small surfaces, a great variety of colours and tones, each of which corresponded to one of the elements contributing to the appearance of the
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ANnEXeS
Entrance to the Port of Marseilles, Paul Signac, 1911
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Georges Pierre Seurat, 1884
Gray Weather, Grande Jatte, Georges Pierre Seurat, 1888
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Le Pont Neuf, Hippolyte Petitjean, 1912
Morning, Interior, Maximilien Luce, 1890.
Le Cirque, Georges Pierre Seurat, 1891
ANnEXeS
SOVIET CONSTRUCTIVISM
Russian constructivism is an artistic movement that triumphed in Russia in the 1920s. Painting, graphic design, photography and cinema show its influence, but it was in architecture that it found its most concrete and revolutionary application.The movement arose from the rejection of the decorative and ornamental excesses that it considered typical of bourgeois art. In contrast to the neoclassicism and Art Nouveau prevailing in the rest of Europe, they created an art based on simplicity, pure lines and geometric forms, inspired by Cubism and Futurism. Art at the service of the revolutionConstructivism became the official art of the Russian Revolution after its triumph and the aesthetic manifestation of the new socialist society. Constructivists understood art as another tool of the revolution, which could and should contribute to the formation of the new social order and the spread of socialist ideology. The artists wished to change the world with their artworks, which they always considered from a utilitarian and functional perspective, where aesthetics is always at the service of function.The design style was influenced by the industrial revolution that took place in Soviet territory after the revolution. We see it in one of the main works of
Constructivism, Vladimir Tatlin's Monument to the Third International. The latter was never built, and combined a machine aesthetic with dynamic components that celebrated technology, such as spotlights and projection screens. Russian constructivism in graphic designPure geometric forms, linearity, symmetry, repetition, simple dry stick typefaces, dominance of red and black, repetition, photomontage... With these elements, the Constructivists created a style of graphic design that shunned all artifice and which we still associate today with post-revolutionary Russia. One of its functions was to inform a largely illiterate population of the new government's policies. To do this, one of the main characteristics is used: the manipulation of typography to give each part of the text the characteristics (body, colour) that correspond to its importance in the message as a whole.Its central figures were Aleksandr Rodchenko, his wife Varvara Stepanova, El Lissitzky and the Stenberg brothers. The advertising agency founded by Rodchenko together with the poet Mayakovsky produced more than 150 designs and advertising pieces between 1923 and 1925.
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+info
ANnEXeS
It is 1925 in the newly created USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), the revolutionary process has brought with it a series of changes in the social structure of the time, and it is (at least up to that time) fertile ground for the incipient avant-garde. Painting, cinema, music, architecture... Soviet artists seemed determined to break with art as it had been understood up to that time and to put all their talents at the service of communist propaganda and the construction of a new society.It was in this context that Alexander Rodchenko designed this and other posters for Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein's film Battleship Potemkin, which recounts the events of the failed attempt at popular revolution in 1905.The work is a clear example of the groundbreaking proposals in the world of graphic design made at that time by artists such as El Lissitzky, Varvara Stepanova and Rodchenko himself. The aggressive and striking use of colour, the recurring use of diagonals and the incorporation of typography as an additional element in the pictorial composition are unmistakable characteristics of this period. in addition, they bear a certain resemblance to the contemporary works produced at the Bauhaus. Rodchenko's designs proved to be hugely influential in graphic design and
advertising throughout the 20th century. And the movie is today considered a cult film and one of the masterpieces of the Soviet film avant-garde. Indeed, director Brian De Palma was inspired by the film for the famous scene of the pram tumbling down the stairs, which appears in his film The Untouchables of Eliot Ness.
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ANnEXeS
Constructivist poster by Maiakowski
Varvara-Stepanova: poster Through Red and White Glasses, 1924
Soviet Russian propaganda poster, Vladimir Mayakovsky and Alexander Rodchenko, 1923
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Battleship Potempkin, Alexander Rodchenko, 1925
Books! poster by Alexander Rodchenko
thank you
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Thank you
Spanish Civil War cartoons (Teacher's guide)
Hezkuntza
Created on December 26, 2021
This educational guide deals with the Civil War through the graphic cartoons from the exhibition "Viñetas para el recuerdo" (Cartoons to remember), which is the result of in-depth research into the cartoons that appeared in the Bilbao press (1936-37).
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Transcript
TEACHER'S GUIDE
CARTOONS to remember
FundaciónMuseoDeLaPazDeGernika
Acknowledgements: To all the colleagues from the Gernika Peace Museum who have contributed to the creation and improvement of the work.
Foru Plaza, 1 48300 Gernika-Lumo (Bizkaia) Tel. +34 94 627 0213 www.museodelapaz.org E-mail: hezkuntza.museoa@gernika-lumo.net
Gernika-Lumo, 2021
index
Excercises
A. INTRODUCTION OF THE WORKSHOP AND THE HISTORICAL PERIOD 16
workshop “CARTOONS TO REMEMBER"
B. ARTISTIC ASPECTS 19
- THE CARTOON AS A TOOL TO LEARN ABOUT
OUR HISTORY 6C. DOCUMENTS FOR HISTORICAL RESEARCH 20
D. CRITIQUE OF THE PRESENT DAY 23
annexes
INTRODUction
Duration
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
1'5-2 hours
The Gernika Peace Museum offers an interesting exhibition entitled "Cartoons to remember: Cartoons published in Bilbao newspapers during the war in Euskadi (1936-37)" curated by historians Aline Soberon and Txema Uriarte.The exhibition "Cartoons to remember" is the result of an in-depth research work by historians Txema Uriarte and Aline Soberón into the cartoons that appeared in the Bilbao press during the 11 months of the war in the Basque Country. As a result, the exhibition "Humor in times of war-Guda garaiko umorea" was carried out in Bilbao together
Course
Online
Language
hezkuntza.museoa@gernika-lumo.net
+ Info
Since the end of the 18th century, the printed press in the metropolis inserted cartoons in its main pages to illustrate or editorialise a news item. Cartoons are therefore artistic drawings, often hastily drawn, which develop, usually in a humorous way, an event or a thought.The exhibition at the Gernika Peace Museum is divided into three main themes: everyday life, the bombings and the international situation.As could not be otherwise, Gernika is present in these cartoons. Its unjustified and unjustifiable bombing reflects a new way of waging war that has been perpetuated to the present day. For many reasons Gernika is a symbol for people and nations who are obstinately in search of freedom.
with the Bilbao City Council and BilbaoIzan. Subsequently, and with the collaboration of the Museo de las Encartaciones, a new one was carried out, "Cartoonists at war-Marrazkilariak gerran", part of which can be seen in the exhibition at the Gernika Peace Museum. As the culmination of this research, the book of the same name "Viñetas para el recuerdo" was published, in which more than 300 of the cartoons collected, redrawn one by one by Aline, are shown. During the 1936 war, the press became a necessity. If you wanted to know where the rationing was being distributed, which air-raid shelter was being used, or get news about your son, boyfriend or husband, you had to buy a newspaper. At that time, Bilbao's newspapers proliferated with cartoons.
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means of jokes or winks, using praise, confusion, ridiculousness, criticism, wordplay, admiration, etc.
The cartoons and drawings in this exhibition are historical documents as well as small works of art. Through the drawings, the illustrators refer to events, give an opinion on a subject, satirise a character or a situation, or encourage the population to continue the resistance, as these cartoonists are experiencing the war at first hand. During the Civil War there was an emergence of cartoons and drawings in the journalistic sector, a sector that had not known such effervescence since the freedom of the press legislated by the Second Republic. This development was very noticeable during the months that the war lasted. With this abundance of events, photographs and drawings competed for graphic space in the newspapers. Some newspapers made extensive use of drawings and cartoons to provide information, encourage and distract the reader by
Aline Soberón and Txema Uriarte: Cartoons for remembrance, Cartoons and drawings published in the newspapers of Bilbao from the elections of February 1936 until the fall of the city in June 1937, Mundaka, 2018.
CARTOONS AS A TOOL to learn about OUR HISTORY
The Spanish Civil War (1936-39) is one of the historic events of the last century. The recovery of historical memory and the reparation of the victims of the violence deployed by the victors of the Civil War continues to provoke controversy. For this reason, there is a need to address this issue in history lessons both in Secondary and Baccalaureate. The aim is for young people to understand the events that divided Spanish society during this period.
As several scholars have argued, the teaching of history in schools contributes to ensuring peaceful and democratic coexistence. Here, the graphic novel (in this case, newspaper cartoons) becomes a very useful didactic resource for working on critical awareness and empathy towards the victims of traumatic events such as the Civil War. [...] Some academics have insisted on the need for secondary school history students to develop critical awareness and analytical skills in order to understand historical reality. [...] Secondary school students must acquire the skills necessary to read and think like historians.
graphic novel (a cartoon in this case) can be used to approach a specific historical reality that constitutes the plot of the novel. On the other hand, the comic (the cartoon in this case), as a representation of the past or a cultural product that is inscribed in a given historical context, can serve as a source of information about the moment in which it was created. [...] Therefore, the teacher must ensure that during this educational practice the graphic novel is properly implemented in the classroom in order to contribute to the students' achievement of the proposed pedagogical objectives.
Among the skills of the historian's work, the following abilities stand out: identifying, contextualising and corroborating. Firstly, when reading a text, the historian identifies the type of source. Secondly, the historian insists on the need to place the text in its corresponding time and space. And thirdly, the historian considers it necessary to corroborate the information in the text with other sources. [...] Before implementing the use of comics (the cartoon in this case) in the history lesson, it is essential to work on the conceptual contents that students should know. Finally, another important element to be considered is also the type of lesson to be drawn from the comics. Broadly speaking, these can be basically of two types. On the one hand, the
Iker Saitua: “Tristísima ceniza: una propuesta de intervención para enseñar la Guerra Civil en el País Vasco con la novela gráfica” (Sad ashes: a proposal for an intervention to teach the Civil War in the Basque Country through graphic novels), CLIO. History and History Teaching (2018), 44, pag. 183-193
the humour
The use of humour is a resource that is used on a daily basis in our lives. There are different types of humour: satirical, dark humour, clean humour... Humour can become a great tool to ridicule the enemy and to rally the people. It can act as a catalyst for social cohesion as well as for socialising collective emotions and feelings such as fear, anguish, uncertainty, anger, which are so often experienced during a
Graphic humour is a language rich in genres and performers, and is mainly expressed through jokes, comic strips, cartoons and personal caricatures. In many parts of the world, however, the humourist, the comic, the cartoonist continue to be persecuted professions. Villalba (2017) explains:
period of war. We all want to laugh, and laughter has many physical and psychological benefits.
Palestinian cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh of Cartooning for Peace was imprisoned in Israel for a few months, incommunicado [in 2013]. Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat became famous because he was kidnapped and had his fingers broken [in 2011]. There are cartoonists who have suffered physical reprisals and their integrity is in danger. Here, it's difficult to leave the house and get fucked up with a few punches. The most that can happen is that they don't call you anymore.
Two years after the attack, the weekly reopened its doors to continue satirizing current affairs, political and religious figures, with no intention of giving up what they consider to be their fundamental rights.
The phrase "Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie) became a trending topic on social media in January 2015 after the attack on the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris. The attack, in which twelve of the magazine's staff were killed, was claimed by Daesh, where among other reasons they claimed the number of fighters returning to France, the country's jihadist target. The weekly had been threatened since 2006 for caricaturing the Prophet Mohammed, because according to Islam, deities cannot be depicted.
However, these attacks are not only carried out against artists but also against communicators and journalists. They are even more frequent among artists and journalists in countries such as Syria or Iraq, who have been kidnapped by extremist groups and in some cases killed for simply exercising their freedom of expression. In other countries, for example in Mexico, the murder of journalists because of their investigations into political corruption or organised crime is a social scourge that, unfortunately, is commonplace. Graphic art is a further
component of the media, which is one of the latent conflicts in today's societies, where intransigence even in the governmental sphere is on the increase . An example of this rising trend of intransigence is the extreme radicalisation of some traditionally centre-right parties' discourse on immigration or gender. It is very important that students become aware of this problem as a complex and global phenomenon that occurs in all types of societies.
Text extracted from: Art i compromís durant la Guerra Civil, una perspectiva des de la cultura de pau https://www.museunacional.cat/ca/art-i-compromis-0
Guía Educart Dossiers: https://www.museunacional.cat/sites/default/files/art-i-compromis_28gener.pdf, pág. 63-66.
0 CREATION OF THE WORKSHOP
The initial design for this workshop was prepared by Aline Soberón, one of the authors of the book and the exhibition, and Idoia Orbe, head of Education at the Gernika Peace Museum.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
1 didactic proposal
3 SECONDARY OBJECTIVES
This workshop fall within the 4th year of ESO and the 2nd year of Bachillerato. It is a didactic unit that can be dealt with in different areas (Art, Geography and History, Art, Visual and Audiovisual Education, Ethics, ...). It is not essential, but it is advisable to introduce students to the subject of the Spanish Civil War. The contents to be covered are as follows: • The Civil War in the Basque Country. • Art in the first half of the 20th century. • Understanding humour as a political and opinion strategy.
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2 general objective
6 SECtions
4 COMPETENCes
a) introduction of the workshop and the historical periodb) artistic aspectsc) documents for historical knowledged) critique of the present day
7 DURAtioN
The estimated duration of the workshop is between one and a half and two hours.
5 REsourceS
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EVALUAtioN
Through this method, we aim to make the students aware of their learning, their level of knowledge, their teamwork and their involvement and commitment in the tasks to be carried out.
8 evaluation
The evaluation of this project can be done using the rubric provided.
According to Liarte, Laia Lluch Molins defines rubrics as a tool for assessment and, sometimes, for grading that allows for the detailed assessment of each of the competences: "It is an ideal instrument especially for assessing competences, since it allows for dissecting the complex tasks that make up a competence into simpler tasks distributed in a gradual and operative manner".
Students should be made aware of how to evaluate this project from the outset. The maximum mark is 16, meaning that 16 is equivalent to a conventional 10, if everything is flawless. The minimum mark is 4, which is equivalent to a conventional 2.5.
Cedec rubric bank:
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https://cedec.intef.es/cedec-lanza-un-nuevo-banco-de-rubricas-y-otros-documentos-asociados-al-proyecto-edia/
EVALUAtioN
Evaluation indicators
Points
I did not demonstrate an adequate understanding of the issue, nor did I engage in the reflections.
I understood the topic in depth and participated in all the reflection activities.
I seemed to understand the main points of the topic but did not participate in any reflective activities.
I understood the topic in depth and participated in some reflective activities.
Knowledge gained (Individual)
I almost always listen to, share and support the efforts of others. I try to keep the group together by working as a team.
I rarely listen to, share and support the efforts of others. I am not usually a good group member.
I often listen, share and support the efforts of others. I do not cause "problems" in the group.
Sometimes I listen, share and support the efforts of others, but sometimes I am not a good member of the group.
Working with others (Individual)
Members meet and discuss on a regular basis. All students contribute to the debate and listen respectfully. We all contribute equally to the work.
Members meet and comment regularly. Most of us contribute to the debate and most of us listen respectfully. Most of us contribute fairly to the work.
We had few team meetings. Some members contributed to the discussion and listened respectfully. Some of us contributed equally to the work.
We did not have team meetings. Some team members did not contribute equally to the work.
Participation (Teamwork)
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I made an excellent contribution, presented my work well and participated in everything.
I provided some information, but I was not clear in the information presented.
I worked well in the group, provided input and presented quality information.
I provided very little information throughout the project.
Participation (Individual)
process
PICTORIAL STYLES OF CARTOONISTS
CARTOON ANALYSIS
EXHIBITION OF cartoons
introduction
NEWSPAPER IMMERSION
RECOGNISE CHARACTERS
PRODUCE A CARTOON
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excercises
1 Introduction of the workshop and the historical period
1.2. Explain the topic (the cartoons) briefly. Then watch the video to immerse yourself in the subject (4:33 min.). This video offers a glimpse of the era, along with real images and cartoons.
1.1. Place all the cartoons on the walls of the classroom for when the pupils arrive.
Before taking part in the workshop, it is advisable to have a basic knowledge of the Spanish Civil War. Click here to download the cartoons in pdf format.
To learn about the art of the cartoon and the historical context in depth, it is worth reading the book Viñetas para el recuerdo, on which the exhibition is based.
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Teamwork
5 minutes
These questions will help you in this reflection exercise:
1.3. Show some newspapers of the period with cartoons. Observe the various newspapers. Reflect on the importance of cartoons.
1936-37 newspapers • How big is the headline?• How large is the cartoon?• What is the size of the letters in the text?• …
In groups of 3-4 people
10 minutes
Today, our present-day• Are you in the habit of reading the newspaper?• If you read it, is it in paper or digital?• Have you ever noticed in which pages the cartoons are published? (Berria, Deia, El Correo, El País, Público, El Diario, The Times, Le Monde, Die Welt...)• Do you understand what these cartoons are trying to convey?• What difficulties do we encounter when we do not know the context of the cartoon?
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3. Discuss in a big group the reflections that have arisen in the small group.
Cartoons in today's digital newspapers:
https://www.eldiario.es/
https://www.deia.eus/humor/
5 minutes
https://www.elcorreo.com/opinion/vinetas/
In a big group
https://www.berria.eus/
https://elpais.com/noticias/vinetas/
https://www.publico.es/
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/profile/peter-brookes?page=1
https://www.lemonde.fr/dessins/
If you wish to delve deeper into the newspapers of the period, these links take you to the archives of Biscay, Guipuzcoa and the newspaper archive of the Basque press:
Biscay
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Guipuzcoa
Newspaper archive
The game
2 Artistic aspects
2.1. Recognise different avant-garde pictorial styles (pointillism, cubism and Soviet constructivism) and identify the style of various cartoonists.
https://view.genial.ly/619e02f2cef6440dea16b17f/game-breakout-cartoonists-artistic-styles-game
The teacher will give a brief explanation of the characteristics of each style (see annex), showing works to identify them more clearly.
2.2. After the game, we draw the conclusionsWhat style does each cartoonist have?What does their style reflect?What period is each style from?To what extent do the cartoonists respect each style? Do they mix different styles?How does the cartoonist explain the situation?Do they use colour? Is colour important?
The entire group
5 minutes
Participants will have to identify the style of some of the cartoonists using an interactive game.
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In groups of 2-3 people
10 minutes
In a big group
10 minutes
3.2. Reflection-What are the clues that have helped you identify each character?-What role do these characters play in the Civil War?-How are they portrayed and what are their characteristics according to these cartoons?
3 Documents for historical study
3.1. Recognise the main characters of the war in the Basque Country that appear in the cartoons.
Participants will have to identify the main characters of the cartoons using an interactive game.
The entire group
8 minutes
3.3. Analysis of the cartoons-Each group will choose one of the suggested topics. -They should look among the cartoons on display that fit their topic. -Subsequently, they should explain to the rest of the groups what they have discussed in their group. -To do this, they should read and look carefully at the cartoons they have chosen. -The questions suggested in each topic can be helpful for reflection, identification and contextualisation.
The game
https://view.genial.ly/619e0242316d240de3d4729c/game-breakout-cartoonists-the-characters-game
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In groups of 2-3 people
10 minutes
Cartoons from the exhibition directly related to these three themes:
Topics:a-To develop, through the cartoons, what were the consequences of the war (hunger, rationing, black market, evacuations, disaster, deaths...). b-Analyse the role played by women as judged by how they are portrayed in the cartoons. c-The solidarity between nations. What role do the European powers play in the civil war?
A - Consequences of the war
- How is war shown?- What is the situation in the rear, in the areas where there is no direct war?- How are soldiers, armies of different nationalities shown? - Are there similarities and differences with the situation in other regions of the state?
First in small groups. Then the entire group.
10 minutes
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The questions suggested in each topic can be helpful for reflection, identification and contextualisation.
B - Women
C - The solidarity between nations
- How many cartoons feature women?- What role do women play in war?- What are the consequences for women during this period of war?-Does it correspond to reality?
- Which countries are involved in the Spanish Civil War? - What kind of participation is it? Is it public, is it covert...? - Who helps who? - What is the reaction of the other countries? - How are the various heads of state shown?
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4.2. Next, choose one of the following options and draw a cartoon.
4 Criticism of the present day
It is a matter of using creativity and the resource of humour to allow us to laugh, to relativise and to give new visions of the situation.
4.1. We will make a cartoon.
First of all, we will choose a current affairs topic that will help us to work on critical awareness and empathy towards the victims of traumatic events or of our everyday reality.
4.2.1. Choose a current situation and draw a cartoon by hand (starting from scratch, on a blank sheet of paper).4.2.2. Use an existing cartoon (from the exhibition or elsewhere), remove the texts and transform it to the current situation according to the chosen theme.4.2.3. Use a cartoon from the exhibition featuring a famous person and superimpose a picture of a current person (pictures of faces or other current objects can be taken from current newspapers or from the internet).
Possible topics for this exercise:
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In a small group
10 minutes
In a small group
5 minutes
Some important concepts before you start drawing:
The text on the previous page has been extracted from: Art i compromís durant la Guerra Civil, una perspectiva des de la cultura de pau https://www.museunacional.cat/ca/art-i-compromis-0
-Remember to be critical but respectful. Humour, satire, provocation are always a means, not the goal. They should serve to draw attention to a subject, and once captured, they will convey a message. -You can turn your enemy or fear into a cartoon, whether it is a person or a concept. Think about what the most characteristic features are and exaggerate them. Make an effort to think about how that person or that idea is recognised, how the essence can be portrayed. -Think in terms of opposites. If, for example, we want to represent the fear of "loneliness", exaggerate what it means to be with other people. This strategy can be used to distance yourself from it and find a comical way of talking about it.
Guía Educart Dossiers: https://www.museunacional.cat/sites/default/files/art-i-compromis_28gener.pdf, pág. 63-66.
4.3. Exhibition of the cartoons drawn according to the chosen topic.
It is advisable to display the vignettes in a visible place as we often have shared monsters, and when they are collectivised they also become smaller.
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The entire group
5 minutes
4.4. Possible questions for final reflection (if there is time).
Example of reconversion of a cartoon
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The entire group
5 minutes
© Jordi Vilalta
4.4. Possible questions for final reflection (if there is time).
Example of reconversion of a cartoon
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The entire group
5 minutes
© Jordi Vilalta
TEACHING RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
Video: TV Report Oizmendi Telebista (in Basque)
Gernika Peace Museum
Exhibition in PDF format: Cartoons to remember
Worksheet about the exhibition
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Video: Gernika. Viñetas para el recuerdo (1936-37)
Video with didactic material on the exhibition
Newspapers of the time
ANnEXeS
THE FIRST PHASE OF CUBISM
Cubism had as its ideological basis the notion that an image is always observed from different points of view, as it is three-dimensional. This led the artists who developed this movement to seek new forms of pictorial representation, among which the break with the real image was made present through the formation of cubes and other geometric forms. The presence of numerous and certainly chaotic geometric figures gave the image a unique complexity that aimed to represent the very complexity of everyday life. The concept of Cubism was created by the critic Louis Vauxcelles, the same man who baptised the Fauves. This term originated from a critique he made of an artistic work which he called "cubes", and since then the concept of cubism was born. Cubist art would not have been possible without the advent of photography, which, by representing visual reality more accurately than painting, freed the latter from the obligation to represent things as they appear before our eyes and forced artists to seek a meaning other than the mere transcription of the external appearance of things in two dimensions.
Cubist art is considered to be an artistic movement that was present between 1907 and 1914. Cubism is considered a pioneering avant-garde movement because it was responsible for breaking with perspective, the last Renaissance principle that was still in force at the beginning of the century. Cubism was centred on the city of Paris, and the leaders and masters of the movement were the Spaniards Pablo Picasso and Juan Gris and the Frenchmen Georges Braque and Fernand Léger, but the artist Cézanne had already blazed the trail, who, influenced by Impressionism, reacted against it, rejecting print in favour of a deeper understanding of reality. Cézanne believed that nature is not drawn, but manifests itself through colour, his painting not being drawn, but a painting of volumes, of forms, relating them to each other once they have been created. This is where the problem of planes arose, which led him to look at objects from various points of view. It originated in France and was made famous by the artists belonging to this style, among whom we can highlight Pablo Picasso. This style of art was an essential kind of art as it gave rise to the other avant-gardes in Europe in the 20th century. Therefore, it is the final break that art had with traditional painting.
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ANnEXeS
The appearance of Cubism has also been linked to two other developments in the same decade, namely psychoanalysis, which showed that there may be deeper motivations for human thoughts and actions, and the theory of relativity, which revealed that the world is not exactly in its deep structure. Main features of Cubism
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ANnEXeS
THE MAIN phasES OF CUBIST ART
with different textures and surfaces such as collage to create novel pictorial works. The main compositional characteristics of synthetic cubism lie in the choice of juxtaposition or superimposition of different parts of a performance. It often makes use of relevant techniques, such as collage and papier collé, thus favouring compositions of polioculari objects visions of the same object. At this stage the objects were no longer observed and ordered, but rather a summary of the essential figure, which is why different parts of the painting are highlighted. The synthesis is made by highlighting on the canvas the most significant parts of the figure that will be seen from all sides. Cubist paintersPablo Ruiz Picasso: his outstanding works within cubist art were several, as an example we have Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, which represents a brothel in Barcelona.The paintings depict naked women with disfigured faces, influenced by Cézanne, Iberian art and black sculpture, in which he breaks with all the traditional rules of figurative painting by fragmenting perspective into square and angular volumes. Other works by Pablo Ruiz Picasso were the Nude with Towel, The Horta de Ebro Factory, and Portrait of Ambosio Vollard. One of his best works was Guernica, the painting symbolising the horror of the Spanish Civil War
There are different stages in the gradual development of this style of art, among which we can highlight the following:Analytical cubist artIt is known as the first phase of cubism that goes from 1909 and ends in 1912 and its precursor is Paul Cézanne. The artists dedicated themselves to the analysis of images and their reconstruction through these geometric forms. Their aim became a deeper search, which tried to extrapolate from reality and represent the very essence of the visible. This phase was characterised by the decomposition and imbalance of figures and forms. Its main aim was to observe them and try to establish a separate order. It was at this stage that one could see a cubism that was difficult to understand and very pure.It was characterised by the decomposition of form and figures into multiple parts, all of them geometric. forms of the cone, cylinder and sphere and through the use of pure colour. The latter was an analytical process called induction. Synthetic cubist art A term that generally identifies the second part of the pictorial movement that commonly dates back to 1912, when Picasso painted Nature morte à la chaise cannée. The authors developed new techniques that enabled them to work
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and the bombing that destroyed the Basque town of Gernika, in a cubist style and with a symbolism of surrealism and expressionist deformations. George Braque: He is the other great creator of Cubism. He discovered that forms could be simplified by reducing them to prisms and cylinders. In his Still Life with Playing Cards he reduced chromaticism to grey colours and geometrised and decomposed forms to create a new reality by means of superimpositions and transparencies. He also delved into collage. Other outstanding works include Still Life with the Guitar, Still Life with the Cello and The Painter's Studio. Juan Gris: His Cubism is fundamentally synthetic and coloured. He used compositions with a firm structure and harmonious rhythm. He mixes softness and energy, which can be seen in the arrangement of his still lifes, executed on the basis of very violent planes. He focuses on the theme of still life, with elements such as glasses, bottles, diaries, fruit bowls, pipes, harlequins, musical elements. Outstanding works include Still Life, Breakfast and Still Life on a Chair. Fernand Léger: he worked in a cubism that tended towards mechanical and tubular forms. His most frequently used themes were related to everyday life and the machinism of the big city, with characters with a certain automaton-like character. We have works such as The Card Game, where the protagonists have
been turned into a sort of metallic robots, with other important works such as The Acrobats, The Cylinders, The Propellers.There are many other very famous painters of this style of art. Among them we can highlight some of those who are still known today, as well as their works, these artists are: Jean Metzinger, Robert Delaunay, Albert Gleizs. Of course, many more artists from this period are known today, but the best known and therefore the most famous are these artists.
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Still Life with Playing Cards, George Braque, 1913
Three Women, Fernand Léger, 1921
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Pablo Picasso, 1907
Portrait of Dora Maar, Picasso, 1936
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Breakfast (Le Petit déjeuner), Juan Gris, 1914
Soldiers playing cards, Fernand Léger, 1917
Art scuplture faces, Picasso
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Pointillism
object. At a given distance these tiny particles are optically mixed and the result would produce a much greater colour intensity than any mixture of pigments.
Pointillism is an artistic technique that consists of making a work through the use of tiny dots. It first appeared in 1869, spearheaded by the neo-Impressionist painter Georges Seurat, who was followed by artists such as Henri-Edmond Cross and Vlaho Bukovac. This procedure consists of placing dots of pure colours instead of brushstrokes on the canvas. This was the result of the chromatic studies carried out by Georges Seurat (1859-1891), the French painter, who in 1884 arrived at the division of tones by the position of touches of colour which, when viewed from a distance, create the desired combinations on the retina. Another of the most important Pointillist artists was Paul Signac, who participated with Seurat and other Neo-Impressionists in the Société des Artistes Indépendants (1884), all of them followers of Pointillism or Divisionism. It is related to Divisionism, a more technical variant of the method. Divisionism is concerned with colour theory, while Pointillism focuses more on the specific style of brush used to apply the paint. It is a technique with few serious practitioners today, and is notably seen in the works of Seurat, Signac and Cross. By adopting tiny, dot-like brushstrokes, they succeeded in accumulating, even on small surfaces, a great variety of colours and tones, each of which corresponded to one of the elements contributing to the appearance of the
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Entrance to the Port of Marseilles, Paul Signac, 1911
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Georges Pierre Seurat, 1884
Gray Weather, Grande Jatte, Georges Pierre Seurat, 1888
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Le Pont Neuf, Hippolyte Petitjean, 1912
Morning, Interior, Maximilien Luce, 1890.
Le Cirque, Georges Pierre Seurat, 1891
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SOVIET CONSTRUCTIVISM
Russian constructivism is an artistic movement that triumphed in Russia in the 1920s. Painting, graphic design, photography and cinema show its influence, but it was in architecture that it found its most concrete and revolutionary application.The movement arose from the rejection of the decorative and ornamental excesses that it considered typical of bourgeois art. In contrast to the neoclassicism and Art Nouveau prevailing in the rest of Europe, they created an art based on simplicity, pure lines and geometric forms, inspired by Cubism and Futurism. Art at the service of the revolutionConstructivism became the official art of the Russian Revolution after its triumph and the aesthetic manifestation of the new socialist society. Constructivists understood art as another tool of the revolution, which could and should contribute to the formation of the new social order and the spread of socialist ideology. The artists wished to change the world with their artworks, which they always considered from a utilitarian and functional perspective, where aesthetics is always at the service of function.The design style was influenced by the industrial revolution that took place in Soviet territory after the revolution. We see it in one of the main works of
Constructivism, Vladimir Tatlin's Monument to the Third International. The latter was never built, and combined a machine aesthetic with dynamic components that celebrated technology, such as spotlights and projection screens. Russian constructivism in graphic designPure geometric forms, linearity, symmetry, repetition, simple dry stick typefaces, dominance of red and black, repetition, photomontage... With these elements, the Constructivists created a style of graphic design that shunned all artifice and which we still associate today with post-revolutionary Russia. One of its functions was to inform a largely illiterate population of the new government's policies. To do this, one of the main characteristics is used: the manipulation of typography to give each part of the text the characteristics (body, colour) that correspond to its importance in the message as a whole.Its central figures were Aleksandr Rodchenko, his wife Varvara Stepanova, El Lissitzky and the Stenberg brothers. The advertising agency founded by Rodchenko together with the poet Mayakovsky produced more than 150 designs and advertising pieces between 1923 and 1925.
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It is 1925 in the newly created USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), the revolutionary process has brought with it a series of changes in the social structure of the time, and it is (at least up to that time) fertile ground for the incipient avant-garde. Painting, cinema, music, architecture... Soviet artists seemed determined to break with art as it had been understood up to that time and to put all their talents at the service of communist propaganda and the construction of a new society.It was in this context that Alexander Rodchenko designed this and other posters for Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein's film Battleship Potemkin, which recounts the events of the failed attempt at popular revolution in 1905.The work is a clear example of the groundbreaking proposals in the world of graphic design made at that time by artists such as El Lissitzky, Varvara Stepanova and Rodchenko himself. The aggressive and striking use of colour, the recurring use of diagonals and the incorporation of typography as an additional element in the pictorial composition are unmistakable characteristics of this period. in addition, they bear a certain resemblance to the contemporary works produced at the Bauhaus. Rodchenko's designs proved to be hugely influential in graphic design and
advertising throughout the 20th century. And the movie is today considered a cult film and one of the masterpieces of the Soviet film avant-garde. Indeed, director Brian De Palma was inspired by the film for the famous scene of the pram tumbling down the stairs, which appears in his film The Untouchables of Eliot Ness.
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Constructivist poster by Maiakowski
Varvara-Stepanova: poster Through Red and White Glasses, 1924
Soviet Russian propaganda poster, Vladimir Mayakovsky and Alexander Rodchenko, 1923
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Battleship Potempkin, Alexander Rodchenko, 1925
Books! poster by Alexander Rodchenko
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