Lesson 1: Cartoons in Context

There is a long history of artists using cartoons as a powerful means for criticizing their world -- with humor. Today, artists continue to publish their cartoons in our newspapers, magazines and electronic media. The fun and beauty of political cartooning is that it is an art form that pays special attention to individual attitudes about politics and society as well as the cartoonist's personal style of drawing.

Unlike some other forms of art, cartooning is open to all styles of drawing, from the very crude to the very polished. Every style is accepted if the cartoon communicates a message to its readers/viewers. A major criterion for judging cartoons is to determine if it causes the readers to re-examine their views on the topic. Will it lead to social change? To understand a political cartoon, it is important to look at it as art and propaganda. Ask how the artist used the art elements and techniques to express ideas. Think about the cartoon as propaganda and analyze the ideas expressed and the context in which the cartoon was drawn. Both the art and the message are important ways to understand the meaning the artist wanted to communicate. We'll start by taking a look at probably the most famous American cartoon of all time. Then we will look at caricature in even earlier times.

OBJECTIVES

In this chapter you will:

• Identify issues in an early American cartoon and see how it was influenced by, and influenced the time and place during which it was created
  
• Evaluate the role of the artist in his community
  
• Discuss the artistic quality of the cartoon
  
• Compare statues and drawings from the past that used distortion
  
• Draw your own caricatures

http://www.ade.state.az.us/standards/arts