Story Art – Jacob Lawrence

1. Story Art – Jacob Lawrence 2nd Grade February Art Project West Mercer Elementary Art Enrichment Program

2. Today’s Project- Story Art Part 1 • Jacob Lawrence • The Great Migration • Pencil, crayon, captions Part 2 • Paint

3. Jacob Lawrence • Born in 1917 in New Jersey • His parents moved from the south to make a better life • In New York, he learned about African American history and art • Gained a reputation as a history painter • Commissioned to paint the Great Migration series • Taught art at the University of Washington

4. Events leading to the Great Migration-1 • In the south, much of the land is rural farmland • After slavery was abolished, many slaves stayed to work the land • The were not paid well and so were too poor to own land

5. Events leading to the Great Migration-2 • Pests and floods ruined crops Panel 9: “They left because the boll weevil had ravaged the cotton crop.” • Children worked in the fields with their parents Panel 24: “The children were forced to work in the fields. They could not go to school.”

6. Events leading to the Great Migration-3 • In the south, they experienced discrimination Panel 14: “For African Americans there was no justice in the southern courts.” Panel 19: “There had always been discrimination.”

7. Events leading to the Great Migration-4 • World War I changed industry in the north • Many white men went off to war making a shortage of workers • Industrial production increased • Panel 1: "During the World War there was a great migration North by Southern Negroes." (1940-41)

8. The Great Migration

9. The Great Migration- 1 • 1 million African Americans moved north •  They moved mostly to Chicago, Detroit, New York City, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus Panel 36: “Migrants arrived in Chicago, the gateway to the west.” Panel 45: "They arrived in Pittsburgh, one of the great industrial centers of the North, in large numbers."

10. Great Migration- 2 • Moving to the north did improve their lives • Voting, education, empowerment, and community Panel 58: “In the north, the African American had more educational opportunities.” Panel 59: “In the north, they had the freedom to vote.”

11. The Great Migration- 3 • Life in the north also had its challenges • Housing became scarce • Discrimination Panel 49: “They found discrimination in the north. It was a different kind.”

12. The Migration Series • Panel 3: “ From every southern town, migrants left by the hundreds to travel north.” • 60 paintings done all at the same time, color by color • Paintings numbered and with captions to tell a story • Style called expressive cubism

13. Story Art • Whose story is he telling? • How does he show the people? • How does he show objects? Panel 31: “Migrants found improved housing when they arrived north.” Panel 60: “And the migrants kept coming.”

14. What kinds of colors does he use? Panel 5: “Migrants were advanced passage on the railroads, paid for by northern industries.” Panel 39: “ Railroad platforms were piled high with luggage.”

15. Step 1- Choose scenes • Tell a story of migration by choosing 2 different scenes • Life in the South • Journey north • Life in the north • Scenes should include • people (one, a family, or more) • Simple shapes (a person can be a circle and rectangles) • Big shapes (no fine details) • Sketch 2 scenes on scratch paper

16. Step 2- Canvas Paper • Names on the back (white side) • Paper in landscape orientation • Draw scenes in pencil • Trace in black crayon

17. Step 3- Captions • 2 yellow strips • Write names on back in pencil • Write simple sentences to describe your scenes • Get ok from a parent • Trace in sharpie pen

18. Part 2 - Step 4- Tempera paint • Lawrence used only simple, bright colors • Black, white, brown • Red, blue, yellow, green