Looking at 9/11 Subjectively: How Do works of Art and Public Memorials Reflect our Need to Respond to Tragedies?

Lesson creator: Kimberly Herthel, Holmdel Public Schools, 10th grade Social Studies

Overview: This lesson is intended to serve as an introduction to primary sources and artwork in the beginning of the year, around the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Through visual sources, students will explore how people perceive art subjectively and how they react to tragedy. The lesson concludes by having students construct their own memorial to 9/11.

Objectives: After viewing and discussing images related to 9/11, students will be able to:

Compare and contrast primary (newspaper photos) and secondary (art) sources regarding 9/11 Analyze and explain art in response to a national tragedy Compare and contrast visual responses to 9/11 to determine the subjectivity of art and

experience Create an example of a memorial commemorating 9/11.

Time Required: Three 40-minute class periods and homework

NJ Social Studies Standards: 6.2.12.D.4.k: Analyze how the arts represent the changing values and ideals of society.6.2.12.A.6.d: Assess the effectiveness of responses by governments and organizations to tensions

resulting from ethnic, territorial, religious, and/or nationalist differences.

Common Core ELA Standards:RH.9-10.9: Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary

sources.

Materials: 9-11 PowerPoint projector computer blank poster paper colored pencils / markers 9/11 Memorial assignment sheet with rubric

Essential Question: How are different responses to tragedies reflected in works of art, such as paintings, sculptures, and memorials?

Essential Understanding: Different people deal with tragedy in different ways. Through artistic interpretation, students can understand the subjectivity of art and experience. This is especially important when studying public monuments that commemorate a tragic event. Students should understand that subjectivity impacts plans for national pubic monuments, shaping the way future generations may interpret the event.

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Procedures:

Day 1:

1. Do Now: Write in your notebooks, then discuss in small groups (3-4 students, teacher created

heterogeneous groupings): When you think of September 11, what image immediately comes to your mind? What feelings does it invoke? What images do you hear other people describe? What about the media?

Do-Now discussion. Follow up: Why do we think of different things? (we weren’t old enough to remember, we all interpret things differently) Why do we think of similar things? (media representations)

2. 9/11 mini-lecture: What happened on September 11, 2001? Students can volunteer to answer this question and the teacher can clarify any misconceptions. The teacher should present primary source photographs, such as those in Handout A. The

teacher may want to use Handout B: Primary Source Analysis Tool from the Library of Congress. Why are these photograph primary sources? Why are they reliable evidence of the event?

For more background on the events that happened on September 11, 2001, the teacher may want to visit http://www.911memorial.org/world-trade-center-history.

3. Discussion on how to read art. The teacher may want to hand out an art analysis worksheet (Handout D) for students to use as a guide. The teacher should especially focus on the following questions: What is the main subject? What else stands out to you? What mood do the lines, subject, & colors convey? What title would you give this work?

4. Model the analysis of art using one of the pieces of art from Handout C that was a response to 9/11. Model answering the questions presented previously. How does this painting compare to the photographs presented earlier? Probe for student

responses and discuss the responses. Make sure that students understand that while the photographs are an actual rendering of

events, art is a subjective response.

5. Show other paintings individually and have students think pair share to art literacy questions previously presented (Handouts C and D) After each group speaks, ask them what was different / the same between their responses. Also, ask them to compare the photographs viewed earlier to the paintings/artwork examined Explain that we each see things from our own perspective. Art is subjective, just as our

experiences are. Art is often powerful and intended to invoke feelings.

6. Show photographs from 9/11 memorials at the World Trade Center site and the Flight 93 Memorial. (Handout F) (Teacher information on memorials can be found on http://www.honorflight93.org/memorial/ and http://www.911memorial.org/memorial ) Explain that a memorial is intended to invoke a memory.

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Explain the design and the controversy behind the plan for the World Trade Center site. Ask and Discuss: How can you balance the concerns of the families of the victims, with the needs of the community and the nation at large in determining what a memorial to a tragic event should look like?

7. Present the National September 11 Memorial. Explain its design & controversy

8. First-day closure: Why might memories of a tragedy be more easily expressed artistically than through words? How can artistic expression of national tragedy help a nation heal? (This can be discussed in class or completed as an exit ticket.)

Homework: Research a memorial in your town (or nearby). Find out the artist, title, and date of the work and date of the event it memorializes. Take a digital picture of the memorial (either print it out or send it to the teacher before tomorrow’s class) and write a paragraph answering the following: How does this memorial artistically express the event it was created in response to? Due in two days

Day 2:

1. Do Now: Write in your notebooks: What do you feel is better – a memorial WTC, rebuilding the WTC, or

erasing the evidence and starting anew? Why? Class discussion

2. 9-11 Memorial creation activity Distribute assignment sheets-- Handout E: Create-Your-Own 9/11 Memorial Explain the task.

3. Students work in groups on the project. The teacher should walk around, answer questions, check for progress.

4. Closing: Group/class discussion: Did you encounter any difficulties so far when creating your memorial? Explain.

Homework: Research a memorial in your town (or nearby). Due tomorrow

Day 3:

1. Do Now: Write in your notebooks, then discuss: Describe a feature of your memorial that could be controversial. What conflicting opinions may

people have about this memorial? Why? Class discussion

2. Students finalize their 9-11 memorials and supporting paragraphs.

3. 9-11 Memorial presentations (informal)

4. Students should take out their homework. The teacher can pull up digital pictures sent before class. The class will discuss the memorials and how they compare to the memorials we observed. The

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teacher may also want to include memorials like the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. How do these memorials represent society over time? What is changing? Can you account for those changes? What remains the same?

5. Closing thought: What factors should memorial creators take into account? What effects may memorials have for posterity after a tragedy?

Assessment:

Learning will be measured through the memorial creation activity, graded using Handout G: 9/11 Assessment Rubrics; discussion; exit ticket; and distributive summarizing questions throughout group work.

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Handout A: Primary Sources regarding September 11, 2001

Photograph of firefights raising the American flag at Ground Zero, following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. From The Record (Bergen Co. NJ)/Getty Images), 2001.

Suggested photographs:

In this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, United Airlines Flight 175 nears the South Tower of the World Trade, which it struck at 9:03 a.m. The World Trade Center attacks killed 2,753 people. (Carmen Taylor/AP)

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Corey Sipkin/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

MARCOS TOWNSEND/AFP/Getty Images6

Firefighters look for survivors in the rubble of the World Trade Center. Photo by Todd Maisel/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

More iconic photographs of 9/11 can be viewed at this website: http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2013/09/11/iconic-911-photos.html#42d8538c-4ce2-4cf9-9bce-6946c72dcfa7

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Handout B: Analyzing Photographs and Prints

1. Observation: What do you see in this photograph?

a. What did you notice first?

b. What people and objects are shown?

c. How are people and objects arranged?

d. What is the physical setting?

e. Are there any other details that stand out?

2. Inference: Use what you see to generate a hypothesis about this image.

a. Why do you think this image was made?

b. What is happening in this image?

c. Who do you think the audience was for this image?

d. What can you learn from examining this image?

3. Question: What questions does this photograph leave unanswered?

a. If you could ask the photographer a question, what would it be?

b. What do you think happened after the scene in the photograph. Explain your prediction.

c. Write a caption for this image.

Modified from the Library of Congress’ Analyzing Tool http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/resources/Analyzing_Photographs_and_Prints.pdf

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Handout C: Suggested works of art regarding 9/11

Artwork # 1:

Untitled, Julie Smith, 2001

Artwork # 2:

Americana, Anthony Amabile, 20019

Artwork # 3:

Remembrance, Mikel Shilaku, 2002

Find other painted responses to 9/11 here: http://painting.about.com/od/submissiongallery/ig/9-11-paintings/sep11-ttrigg1.htm#step-heading

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Handout D: Art Analysis Worksheet

1. What category does this work fall under? (Painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramic, metal work, other) How can you tell?

2. Look at the piece as a whole. Answer the following questions.

a. How does the artist use color? Are there stark contrasts or is it blended?

b. How does the artist use lines? Are they organized in a specific way?

c. Are the forms in the piece realistic or abstract? Are they fully in one style or is it a mix of realistic and abstract images?

d. What initial emotions do you feel when viewing the art? List five adjectives that you feel when looking at the art.

3. What is the main subject? How do you know?

4. What mood do the lines, subject, and colors give you?

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5. Take a closer look at the artwork. Divide the image into equal sections of four. Closely study each section and write down any people, symbols, buildings, objects, or activities going on in each quadrant.

Quadrant 1 Quadrant 2

Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4

6. Based on the information above, give this artwork a title.

Compare/contrast your title to the artist’s title. What does this tell you about the artist’s intended message when creating this work?

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Handout E: Create-Your-Own 9/11 Memorial

There is a new contest to create a 9/11 Memorial, and your team decided to submit a creation to commemorate this national tragedy. Using what you know about different ways to perceive art, draw a memorial you think would best represent the events that occurred on 9/11. Use at least two symbols to make your design stand out and respond to the national tragedy, but remember to design it so people would want to visit it. Make sure your memorial is sensitive to different viewpoints. Your drawing should use color and be original. Remember, the public decides whether you get the commission (funds) to create your memorial!

After creating your memorial, write a paragraph to explain the following points: 1. Where (what city / state, what type of environment) would you place your memorial? Why? 2. Symbols in your plan and why you chose them to be used. 3. Possible reactions to your memorial.

After creating your memorial and writing about it in your group, you will present your memorial to the class. Make sure you explain where your memorial is and why you chose this location, as well as the symbols that you used. Describe what you think the reaction of the public would be as well. Choose who will present this information (or if you want to divide this task) before going in front of the class.

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Handout F: 9/11 Memorials

Flight 93 Memorial, Paul Murdoch Architects, Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, site established 2002, opened in 2011

WTC Memorial

Reflecting Absence, Michael Arad & Peter Walker, opened 2011

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Handout G: 9/11 Assessment Rubrics

Category 5 4 3 2 1

Memorial design

Uses at least two symbols to respond to 9/11; design is sensitive to multiple viewpoints; uses color and a unique design.

One symbol is unclear; Design is sensitive to multiple viewpoints; Uses color and a unique design.

Only one symbol used; Design is sensitive to most viewpoints; Uses color and a mostly unique design.

Only one symbol used; group did not think of other viewpoints when creating this; Does not use color or design is very similar to one viewed in class

No symbolism used; group ignored other viewpoints when creating; Does not use color; Design appears to be copied from another source.

Responded to prompt: written and verbal

Clearly responds to all parts of the prompt / assignment

Responds to main question / prompt with one minor exception

Responds to main question / prompt with two minor exceptions

Response to prompt is mostly vague or unclear

Does not respond to prompt

Supporting paragraph

Evidence very clearly and accurately supports the position

Evidence clearly supports the position, with one minor inaccuracy or exception

Argument is supported by limited evidence or a major inaccuracy

Little evidence and two or more major inaccuracies

Evidence unrelated to argument or inaccurate

Cooperation Students worked well in their group, being respectful, supporting each other and incorporating all members; The group was on task at all times

Students were respectful in their groups, however at times not all group members were included; when group got off task, they quickly refocused

Group was off-task two times; Not all group members were included; One minor incidence of disrespect

One incident of disrespect; Some group members were not included in the process; Group was off task several times and had difficulty refocusing

Group was disrespectful; did not work together as a team; Group was off task three or more times and had difficulty refocusing

Total: ________ / 20 = ___________%

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