how art and politics are intertwined particularly in printmaking . contemporary imagery includes street art

2. Paper Politics

3. Paper Politics
Political Art and Printmaking

5. • political prints have always been intended to engage the viewer, change
opinion and inspire action
• in US China and Mexico printmakers work collectively to generate powerful
images that reflected the social conditions of the times
• printmaking has an advantage that painting an sculpture does not : it
doesn’t cost a lot , its expressive and is an ideal way to voice oppositon
• artists such as Rembrandt and Goya made prints but were famous
because of their paintings . There are other artists who around the 1940’s
created political art that represented the social condition of their time. This
continues today with printmaking that also includes extensions such as
street art using stencils and wheatpaste

6. • political prints have always been intended to engage the viewer, change
opinion and inspire action
• in US China and Mexico printmakers work collectively to generate powerful
images that reflected the social conditions of the times
• printmaking has an advantage that painting an sculpture does not : it
doesn’t cost a lot , its expressive and is an ideal way to voice oppositon
• artists such as Rembrandt and Goya made prints but were famous
because of their paintings . There are other artists who around the 1940’s
created political art that represented the social condition of their time. This
continues today with printmaking that also includes extensions such as
street art using stencils and wheatpaste

7. • political prints have always been intended to engage the viewer, change
opinion and inspire action
• in US China and Mexico printmakers work collectively to generate powerful
images that reflected the social conditions of the times
• printmaking has an advantage that painting an sculpture does not : it
doesn’t cost a lot , its expressive and is an ideal way to voice oppositon
• artists such as Rembrandt and Goya made prints but were famous
because of their paintings . There are other artists who around the 1940’s
created political art that represented the social condition of their time. This
continues today with printmaking that also includes extensions such as
street art using stencils and wheatpaste

8. • political prints have always been intended to engage the viewer, change
opinion and inspire action
• in US China and Mexico printmakers work collectively to generate powerful
images that reflected the social conditions of the times
• printmaking has an advantage that painting an sculpture does not : it
doesn’t cost a lot , its expressive and is an ideal way to voice oppositon
• artists such as Rembrandt and Goya made prints but were famous
because of their paintings . There are other artists who around the 1940’s
created political art that represented the social condition of their time. This
continues today with printmaking that also includes extensions such as
street art using stencils and wheatpaste

10. Francisco Goya

11. Francisco Goya

12. Francisco Goya
• this is what you were
born for

13. Francisco Goya
• this is what you were
born for
• 1810 -20

14. Francisco Goya
• this is what you were
born for
• 1810 -20
• Disasters of War series

15. Francisco Goya
• this is what you were
born for
• 1810 -20
• Disasters of War series
• aquatint 8“ x 6”

16. Francisco Goya
• this is what you were
born for
• 1810 -20
• Disasters of War series
• aquatint 8“ x 6”
• his first act was to depict
war without glory or
purpose

17. Francisco Goya

18. Francisco Goya

19. Francisco Goya
• Executions of
the 3rd of May
1808 painted in
1814

20. Francisco Goya
• Executions of
the 3rd of May
1808 painted in
1814
• Goya painted a
group of
Napoleon’s
army shooting
the men of
Madrid who
stood against
them as the
army invaded.

21. Francisco Goya
• Executions of
the 3rd of May
1808 painted in
1814
• Goya painted a
group of
Napoleon’s
army shooting
the men of
Madrid who
stood against
them as the
army invaded.
• white shirted
man/ innocence
of all victims

23. Francisco Goya : I Saw It

24. Francisco Goya : I Saw It

28. The Dream of Reason Brings forth Monsters

29. The Dream of Reason Brings forth Monsters

30. The Dream of Reason Brings forth Monsters
• etching and aquatint

31. The Dream of Reason Brings forth Monsters
• etching and aquatint
• 'Imagination abandoned by reason
produces impossible monsters: united with
her, she is the mother of the arts and the
source of her wonders'.

32. The Dream of Reason Brings forth Monsters
• etching and aquatint
• 'Imagination abandoned by reason
produces impossible monsters: united with
her, she is the mother of the arts and the
source of her wonders'.

33. The Dream of Reason Brings forth Monsters
• etching and aquatint
• 'Imagination abandoned by reason
produces impossible monsters: united with
her, she is the mother of the arts and the
source of her wonders'.
• It would appear the etching highlights the
value of rational thought and reflection.
Without this process there is no correction
of thought or elimination of bad elements in
our practices.

36. • Rue Transnonain
was created in
response to the
massacre of 19
people - including
women and
children - by the
French National
Guard in response
to the strike of silk
weavers in Lyon,
on April 14, 1834.
• response?

37. Honore Daumier: Rue Transnonain 15th April
• Rue Transnonain
was created in
response to the
massacre of 19
people - including
women and
children - by the
French National
Guard in response
to the strike of silk
weavers in Lyon,
on April 14, 1834.
• response?

38. Daumier: Gargantua lithograph 1831

39. Daumier: Gargantua lithograph 1831
• this image landed
Daumier in jail
• he depicts the King
Louise Philippe
devouring the food
and money of the
poor
• he sits on a camode
and expels favours
for the rich and
politicians

40. Daumier: Gargantua lithograph 1831
• this image landed
Daumier in jail
• he depicts the King
Louise Philippe
devouring the food
and money of the
poor
• he sits on a camode
and expels favours
for the rich and
politicians

42. Manet: Execution of Maximilian of 1867

43. Manet: Execution of Maximilian of 1867

44. Manet: Execution of Maximilian of 1867
• Abandoned by the French
government that crowned him
and sent him to Mexico, the
Emperor Maximilian was
executed by a firing squad of
Benito Juárez's army at
Querétaro, north of Mexico City,
on June 19, 1867. News of the
execution reached Paris on July
1, just as Napoleon III was
inaugurating that year's
Universal Exposition. Édouard
Manet set to work almost
immediately, and by early 1869
he had completed a series of
four paintings and one
lithograph of the subject.

45. Manet: Execution of Maximilian of 1867
• Abandoned by the French
government that crowned him
and sent him to Mexico, the
Emperor Maximilian was
executed by a firing squad of
Benito Juárez's army at
Querétaro, north of Mexico City,
on June 19, 1867. News of the
execution reached Paris on July
1, just as Napoleon III was
inaugurating that year's
Universal Exposition. Édouard
Manet set to work almost
immediately, and by early 1869
he had completed a series of
four paintings and one
lithograph of the subject.
• link to Daumier’s work

47. Thomas Nast : A Group of Vultures Waiting
wood engraving

48. Thomas Nast : A Group of Vultures Waiting
wood engraving

49. Thomas Nast : A Group of Vultures Waiting
wood engraving

50. Thomas Nast : A Group of Vultures Waiting
wood engraving
• Our System of Feathering
Nests Breeds Tweeds all
over the Land. From the
cover of Harper's Weekly
dated March 27, 1886. This
wood engraving shows a
vulture with a big dollar
sign on his chest sitting
high above the city in his
nest, which is lined with
money bags and bones.

51. Thomas Nast : A Group of Vultures Waiting
wood engraving
• Our System of Feathering
Nests Breeds Tweeds all
over the Land. From the
cover of Harper's Weekly
dated March 27, 1886. This
wood engraving shows a
vulture with a big dollar
sign on his chest sitting
high above the city in his
nest, which is lined with
money bags and bones.
• corrupt officials who stole
millions of dollars from the
city of New York.

52. Thomas Nast : A Group of Vultures Waiting
wood engraving
• Our System of Feathering
Nests Breeds Tweeds all
over the Land. From the
cover of Harper's Weekly
dated March 27, 1886. This
wood engraving shows a
vulture with a big dollar
sign on his chest sitting
high above the city in his
nest, which is lined with
money bags and bones.
• corrupt officials who stole
millions of dollars from the
city of New York.
• Nast’s campaign led to
Tweed’s arrest and
imprisonment

53. Thomas Nast : A Group of Vultures Waiting
wood engraving
• Our System of Feathering
Nests Breeds Tweeds all
over the Land. From the
cover of Harper's Weekly
dated March 27, 1886. This
wood engraving shows a
vulture with a big dollar
sign on his chest sitting
high above the city in his
nest, which is lined with
money bags and bones.
• corrupt officials who stole
millions of dollars from the
city of New York.
• Nast’s campaign led to
Tweed’s arrest and
imprisonment

55. German Expressionism

56. German Expressionism
• prints became the the
medium of political
communication during the
upheavel of World War I
and the revolutions and
the class struggles that
followed
• Kathe Kollwitz, Otto Dix
and George Grosz used
their prints to attack
injustice, poverty and war

57. German Expressionism
• prints became the the
medium of political
communication during the
upheavel of World War I
and the revolutions and
the class struggles that
followed
• Kathe Kollwitz, Otto Dix
and George Grosz used
their prints to attack
injustice, poverty and war

58. German Expressionism
• prints became the the
medium of political
communication during the
upheavel of World War I
and the revolutions and
the class struggles that
followed
• Kathe Kollwitz, Otto Dix
and George Grosz used
their prints to attack
injustice, poverty and war

59. German Expressionism
• prints became the the
medium of political
communication during the
upheavel of World War I
and the revolutions and
the class struggles that
followed
• Kathe Kollwitz, Otto Dix
and George Grosz used
their prints to attack
injustice, poverty and war

60. German Expressionism
• prints became the the
medium of political
communication during the
upheavel of World War I
and the revolutions and
the class struggles that
followed
• Kathe Kollwitz, Otto Dix
and George Grosz used
their prints to attack
injustice, poverty and war

61. German Expressionism
• prints became the the
medium of political
communication during the
upheavel of World War I
and the revolutions and
the class struggles that
followed
• Kathe Kollwitz, Otto Dix
and George Grosz used
their prints to attack
injustice, poverty and war

63. • The Mothers, woodcut
• Mother and Dead Child; etching 1903
• Prisoners, from the Peasants War; etching

64. • The Mothers, woodcut
• Mother and Dead Child; etching 1903
• Prisoners, from the Peasants War; etching

65. • The Mothers, woodcut
• Mother and Dead Child; etching 1903
• Prisoners, from the Peasants War; etching

66. • The Mothers, woodcut
• Mother and Dead Child; etching 1903
• Prisoners, from the Peasants War; etching

67. • The Mothers, woodcut
• Mother and Dead Child; etching 1903
• Prisoners, from the Peasants War; etching

68. • The Mothers, woodcut
• Mother and Dead Child; etching 1903
• Prisoners, from the Peasants War; etching

70. Otto Dix

71. Otto Dix
• showed the carnage
that he had experienced
first hand in WWI

72. Otto Dix
• showed the carnage
that he had experienced
first hand in WWI
• he created a group of
etchings and aquatints
created from 1920-24

73. Otto Dix
• showed the carnage
that he had experienced
first hand in WWI
• he created a group of
etchings and aquatints
created from 1920-24
• highlights the stark
reality of trench warfare

74. Otto Dix
• showed the carnage
that he had experienced
first hand in WWI
• he created a group of
etchings and aquatints
created from 1920-24
• highlights the stark
reality of trench warfare
• Wounded , etching

75. Otto Dix
• showed the carnage
that he had experienced
first hand in WWI
• he created a group of
etchings and aquatints
created from 1920-24
• highlights the stark
reality of trench warfare
• Wounded , etching
• Mealtime in the
trenches, etching

76. Otto Dix
• showed the carnage
that he had experienced
first hand in WWI
• he created a group of
etchings and aquatints
created from 1920-24
• highlights the stark
reality of trench warfare
• Wounded , etching
• Mealtime in the
trenches, etching

77. Otto Dix
• showed the carnage
that he had experienced
first hand in WWI
• he created a group of
etchings and aquatints
created from 1920-24
• highlights the stark
reality of trench warfare
• Wounded , etching
• Mealtime in the
trenches, etching

78. George Grosz

79. George Grosz
• Grosz satarized
the corrupt
officers of the
German armies
• Heartfield Blut
and Eisen ( Blood
and Iron) became
the sign of
resistance in
Germany
(photomontage
• Grosz’s Fit for
Service

80. George Grosz
• Grosz satarized
the corrupt
officers of the
German armies
• Heartfield Blut
and Eisen ( Blood
and Iron) became
the sign of
resistance in
Germany
(photomontage
• Grosz’s Fit for
Service

81. George Grosz
• Grosz satarized
the corrupt
officers of the
German armies
• Heartfield Blut
and Eisen ( Blood
and Iron) became
the sign of
resistance in
Germany
(photomontage
• Grosz’s Fit for
Service

82. Are there consequences? Does it make a
difference?
• In the 1930’s Kollwitz, Dix Grosz and Heartfield were all threatened by the
Nazi’s and prevented from working openly
• The Nazi’s confiscated the work of the artists and had them dismissed
from their teaching positions
• Images from Dix, Grosz and Heartfeld were shown in the Degenerate Art
Exhibition of 1937 . There is another side to this story though...

83. The First Blockbuster exhibition

84. The First Blockbuster exhibition

85. The First Blockbuster exhibition

86. The First Blockbuster exhibition
• In 1937, Nazi officials purged German
museums of works the Party considered to
be degenerate. From the thousands of works
removed, 650 were chosen for a special
exhibit of Entartete Kunst. The exhibit opened
in Munich and then traveled to eleven other
cities in Germany and Austria. In each
installation, the works were poorly hung and
surrounded by graffiti and hand written labels
mocking the artists and their creations. Over
three million visitors attended making it the
first "blockbuster" exhibition.

87. The First Blockbuster exhibition
• In 1937, Nazi officials purged German
museums of works the Party considered to
be degenerate. From the thousands of works
removed, 650 were chosen for a special
exhibit of Entartete Kunst. The exhibit opened
in Munich and then traveled to eleven other Kollwitz believed that art should reflect social conditions in
cities in Germany and Austria. In each one's time. The Nazis forbade her work to be displayed,
installation, the works were poorly hung and and banished her work to the cellar of the Crown Prince
surrounded by graffiti and hand written labels Palace, declaring "In the Third Reich mothers have no
mocking the artists and their creations. Over need to defend their children. The State does that."
three million visitors attended making it the
first "blockbuster" exhibition.

88. • the majority of artists considered “degenerate” became revered for their
work and were major artists of the 20th century including the most
degenerate of them all ... Picasso
• the degenerate art show was exhibited along side what was considered
good artwork, most of these artists are not studied as significant artists

89. Picasso : Guernica
• what is its message? read for us on pg15 bottom of the page
Chelsea

90. Guernica

91. Guernica

92. Guernica

93. Guernica
• based on the bombing of the ancient Basque town of Guernica during the
Spanish Civil War

94. Guernica
• based on the bombing of the ancient Basque town of Guernica during the
Spanish Civil War
• Condor Legion of the German Luftwaffe attacked and destroyed Guernica,
a civilian target as a practice mission for their warplanes (soon to be used
in WW2)

95. Guernica
• based on the bombing of the ancient Basque town of Guernica during the
Spanish Civil War
• Condor Legion of the German Luftwaffe attacked and destroyed Guernica,
a civilian target as a practice mission for their warplanes (soon to be used
in WW2)
• more than 1 million Parisians marched in protest

96. Guernica
• based on the bombing of the ancient Basque town of Guernica during the
Spanish Civil War
• Condor Legion of the German Luftwaffe attacked and destroyed Guernica,
a civilian target as a practice mission for their warplanes (soon to be used
in WW2)
• more than 1 million Parisians marched in protest
• Picasso painted this / graphic effect/ looked like a newspaper

97. LEAR and TGP

98. LEAR and TGP
• LEAR: League of Revolutionary Artists and Writers ( Liga Artistas y
Escritores Revolucionarios)

99. LEAR and TGP
• LEAR: League of Revolutionary Artists and Writers ( Liga Artistas y
Escritores Revolucionarios)
• TGP Popular Graphic Arts Workshop (Taller de Grafica Popular) both
groups worked to create high quality woodblocks. lino and lithos and
illustrations of political events

100. LEAR and TGP
• LEAR: League of Revolutionary Artists and Writers ( Liga Artistas y
Escritores Revolucionarios)
• TGP Popular Graphic Arts Workshop (Taller de Grafica Popular) both
groups worked to create high quality woodblocks. lino and lithos and
illustrations of political events
• During the 40’s the TGP focused on fascism, the Spanish Civil War and rise
of Hitler and Mussolini

101. LEAR and TGP
• LEAR: League of Revolutionary Artists and Writers ( Liga Artistas y
Escritores Revolucionarios)
• TGP Popular Graphic Arts Workshop (Taller de Grafica Popular) both
groups worked to create high quality woodblocks. lino and lithos and
illustrations of political events
• During the 40’s the TGP focused on fascism, the Spanish Civil War and rise
of Hitler and Mussolini
• In 1938 they produced a series of anit Nazi prints

102. LEAR and TGP
• LEAR: League of Revolutionary Artists and Writers ( Liga Artistas y
Escritores Revolucionarios)
• TGP Popular Graphic Arts Workshop (Taller de Grafica Popular) both
groups worked to create high quality woodblocks. lino and lithos and
illustrations of political events
• During the 40’s the TGP focused on fascism, the Spanish Civil War and rise
of Hitler and Mussolini
• In 1938 they produced a series of anit Nazi prints
• Leopoldo Mendez created Deportation to Death 1942

103. LEAR and TGP
• LEAR: League of Revolutionary Artists and Writers ( Liga Artistas y
Escritores Revolucionarios)
• TGP Popular Graphic Arts Workshop (Taller de Grafica Popular) both
groups worked to create high quality woodblocks. lino and lithos and
illustrations of political events
• During the 40’s the TGP focused on fascism, the Spanish Civil War and rise
of Hitler and Mussolini
• In 1938 they produced a series of anit Nazi prints
• Leopoldo Mendez created Deportation to Death 1942

109. • Cheng Tiegeng: Mao
Zedong woodblock print
• “These works are
considered the start of the
Chinese avant-garde
movement.”
• Li Qun, Portrait of Lu Zun
• Li Hua ( style was strongly
influenced by Kathe
Kollwitz)

110. • Cheng Tiegeng: Mao
Zedong woodblock print
• “These works are
considered the start of the
Chinese avant-garde
movement.”
• Li Qun, Portrait of Lu Zun
• Li Hua ( style was strongly
influenced by Kathe
Kollwitz)

111. The Cold War
• after WWII and into the 60’ printmaking died out but not completely. Where
there was political struggle there were graphic images/prints made. This
would include the Cuban revolution, the Civil Rights movement and
Vietnam War.
• in the 1960’s there is a resurgence in print. a number of famous artists
produce works in print
• the first one we will look at is Ed Keinholz

112. Ed Keinholz

113. Ed Keinholz
• Edward Kienholz wanted his art to function in the capacity of a social
conscience. He wanted to create art that would make people reconsider
the role of throw-away people in modern culture; to draw attention to the
facets of society that are taboo. The people in Kienholz's works found few
homes in the art of the 1950s and 1960s. Such ugly topics were not
handled in the realm of high art. Kienholz felt that he had to call attention
not only to their dilemmas, but to the social circumstances that allowed
their exploitation.(2)

114. Ed Keinholz
• Edward Kienholz wanted his art to function in the capacity of a social
conscience. He wanted to create art that would make people reconsider
the role of throw-away people in modern culture; to draw attention to the
facets of society that are taboo. The people in Kienholz's works found few
homes in the art of the 1950s and 1960s. Such ugly topics were not
handled in the realm of high art. Kienholz felt that he had to call attention
not only to their dilemmas, but to the social circumstances that allowed
their exploitation.(2)

115. Ed Keinhoz: THE ILLEGAL OPERATION

116. Ed Keinhoz: THE ILLEGAL OPERATION

117. Ed Keinhoz: THE ILLEGAL OPERATION
• Issue of abortion
• Roe vs Wade
• What is this installation about?

118. Andy Warhol: The Electric Chair 1971

119. Andy Warhol: The Electric Chair 1971

120. Andy Warhol: The Electric Chair 1971
• Warhol began using the image
of the electric chair in 1963,
the same year as the two final
executions in New York State.
Over the next decade, he
repeatedly returned to the
subject, reflecting the political
controversy surrounding the
death penalty in America in
the 1960s. The chair, and its
brutal reduction of life to
nothingness, is given a
typically deadpan
presentation by Warhol. The
image of an unoccupied
electric chair in an empty
execution chamber becomes
a poignant metaphor for

121. Elizabeth Catlett: Sojourner Truth 1947

122. Elizabeth Catlett: Sojourner Truth 1947

123. Elizabeth Catlett: Sojourner Truth 1947

124. Elizabeth Catlett: Sojourner Truth 1947
• Catlett’s linocut along with Alison Saar’s 1999
Washtub Blues addresses the topic of racism in
America

125. Leon Golub

126. Leon Golub

127. Leon Golub

128. Leon Golub

129. Leon Golub
• Leon Golub Interrogation III
1981 acrylic on linen
• Napalm I, acrylic on linen
1969
• Interrogation 1 1981 acrylic on

130. Leon Golub
• Leon Golub Interro
1981 acrylic on lin
• Napalm I, acrylic o
1969
• Interrogation 1 198

131. Sue Coe

132. Sue Coe

133. Sue Coe