Holocaust Heroes

Power

Ten Heroes
Ten Heroes 859. Tapestry by Linda Stein. Leather, archival pigment on canvas, fabric, metal, zippers; 56 x 61 x 2 inches; 2016.

OVERVIEW

Power Encounter involves discussion about (dis)(em)power(ment). In this encounter, students will look at artists who are connecting to themes of power and narrative and make art that re-imagines new narratives of everyday heroism.

PURPOSE

Artist Linda Stein creates tapestries and sculptures that incorporate superheroes and fantasy icons that are juxtaposed with real-life female heroes.  In her series entitled Holocaust Heroes Fierce Females, Stein’s intent is to exemplify women’s heroic acts of rescue and protection during the time of the Holocaust. In her series entitled Fluidity of Gender Stein creates wearable, androgynous sculptures that enable viewers to try on new personas or avatars. In this encounter students will be introduced to other artists, who are Stein’s contemporaries, Chitra Ganesh, and Ivan Velez Jr. who also use comics in their artwork.

Given that images transmit a range of social and cultural values that privilege and exclude others, this encounter aims to create the capacity for imagining and envisioning new narratives and new realities that challenge dominant narratives. This encounter also aims to develop personal strategies for understanding cultural dynamics that include the diversities, ambiguities and complexities of power and identity construction that can be applied to communicating and teaching students about such topics in a developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive manner.

LEARNING GOALS

  • Through observation and discussion, students identify, analyze, investigate, and reflect upon issues related to power and heroism in the context of everyday experience.
  • Drawing upon everyday experience, students create, tell, or reveal personal narratives that tell a story of heroism.
  • Through engagement with artists who use comic imagery, students envision their empowered self as an upstander on an everyday basis, in this particular case by finishing the statements: “I am an Upstander for  ___________. Or “I am an Upstander when  ___________.

ACTIVITIES and DISCUSSION:

  1. Empowerment Tapestry Activity (PDF)
  2. Diagram a Superhero Activity (PDF)
  3. Videos and Discussions Activity (PDF)
  4. Self as Superhero Activity (PDF)

RESOURCES:

  1. Toku, M. (2001) What is manga? The influence of pop culture in adolescent art? Art Education, 54, 11-17. http://www.csuchico.edu/~mtoku/vc/Articles/toku/Toku_what%20is%20manga_.html
  2. McCloud, S. (1994). Understanding comics [the invisible art]. New York : Harper Perennial (View PDF)
  3. Berkowitz, J., & Packer, T. (2001). Heroes in the classroom: Comic books in art education. Art Education, 54(6), 12-18. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3193910?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
View Power Encounter at Stein Studio & Gallery View Comic Power Encounter Lesson Plan

Justice Encounter: To Act OR Not To Act

Hannah Senesh 806 by Linda Stein (2014) 5 ft. sq. leather, metal, canvas, paint, fabric & mixed media
Hannah Senesh 806 by Linda Stein (2014)
5 ft. sq. leather, metal, canvas, paint, fabric & mixed media

GOALS and OBJECTIVES

  • explore issues of social justice and social justice activism as upstander
  • understand why and how people take action to address injustice
  • develop empathy for people whose experiences differ from our own
  • inspire participants (through art) to be upstanders for social justice
  • recognize how one’s life history shapes personal perspectives on upstander behavior and social justice

The Holocaust, slavery, lynchings, and other human rights abuses are not, as we would like to believe, accidents in history. They happened because individuals, groups, and nations made decisions and choices to act or not to act.

REFLECT upon the following questions.

  • How have I been complicit in perpetuating racism, sexism and stereotypes or creating a climate of animosity, xenophobia, or homophobia—(i.e., through jokes, comments, and casual remarks, etc.)?
  • How have I exhibited upstander behavior in either mundane or monumental ways?

MAKE a parallel list of upstander behaviors vs bystander behaviors.

VISUALIZE Social Justice

Envision how we might change our institutions and our psyches…to take seriously the nurturance of consciousness, conscience, compassion, and community.

RESOURCES

  • Curricular Encounters with Holocaust Heroes: Fierce Females—Tapestries and Sculpture by Linda Stein @ http://h2f2encounters.cyberhouse.emitto.net/
  • Knight, W. B. (2010). Never again a (K)night with Ben. In A. Arnold, A. Kuo, E. Delacruz & M. Parsons (Eds.), G.L.O.B.A.L.I.Z.A.T.I.O.N, Art, and Education (pp. 126-134). Reston, VA: The National Art Education Association.
  • Stein, L. (Ed.). (2016). Holocaust Heroes: Fierce Females—Tapestries and Sculpture by Linda Stein. Philadelphia, PA: Old City Publishing.
Download Justice Encounter lesson plan

Hero

An encounter with H2F2, called The Hero Around/Within Us, involves creating a graphic novel/cartoon that incorporates self-narratives of real and/or imagined experiences. Begin by viewing the Eleven Heroes Sculptural Tapestry by Linda Stein and click on the faces of each hero to learn about the Hero. From reading the essays in the 2016 H2F2 book or from your own research on each of the heroes (see links on the Leadership encounter to begin research), and looking at the Holocaust Heroes: Fierce Females tapestries, one can learn about the lives and actions of the women, and the context of their lives. Add to, as well as, respond to the interactive prompts overlaid on the digitized tapestries, to explore Stein’s use of feminist pop culture and religious icons such as Wonder Woman, Kannon, and Mononoke—who personify the values of empowerment, strength, justice and protection. In this H2F2 encounter, answer the following questions: What can I do, personally, to confront violence? What experience(s) and interaction(s) have I had that have shaped a decision in my life? Who are my heroes? How can I learn from my hero role models and their values? Further, reflect on people who have demonstrated actions of protection, equality, and justice. Identify people that embody actions (large and small) to help others. Imagine the heroes and icons in Stein’s artwork as animated and conversant life guides, shamans, or protectors. Compose a graphic narrative by any means (drawing, collage, computer) that portrays a problem that needs to be solved, which can be based on social injustice experienced or witnessed. Post your graphic narrative onto your blog or a course blog provided by your teacher. We invite you to post the hyperlink to your graphic narrative in the comment area below by logging in to H2F2 website.

Example:

Heroic Tapestries Ruth Gruber 805 2014

Heroic Tapestries
Ruth Gruber 805
2014
fabric, archival pigment on canvas, leather, metal, zippers
5 ft. sq.

Click here to see image detail

Click here to interact with Heroic Tapestries: Ruth Gruber

Resources

LEADERSHIP

Stein’s tapestries draw attention to fragments of life, using collage as a way to juxtapose, overlap, layer, hide, and reveal relationships. In a close view of the tapestries, for example, what meanings are possible when considering the juxtaposition of calico cotton next to black leather? Both could be fragments from aprons that, when placed together, suggest different kinds of services that women have performed, including domestic labor. Look closely at each element and consider all of the possible meanings. Next, consider how each meaning is developed in relationship to other elements in the tapestry. Then, create a collage honoring a woman who has made courageous decisions toward furthering social justice.

To begin the encounter, watch the 7-minute video on the Holocaust Heroes: Fierce Females—Tapestries and Sculpture by Linda Stein.

The ten heroes in the tapestries are:

Hannah Senesh ,  Anne Frank ,  Hadassah Bimko Rosensaft ,  Noor Inayat Khan ,  Nancy Wake ,  Ruth Gruber ,  Gertrud Luckner ,  Zivia Lubetkin ,  Vitka Kempner ,  Nadezhda Popova

Click on each to learn more about these ten heroes!

Ten Heroes 859
Leather, archival pigment on canvas, fabric, metal, zippers, 56 x 61 x 2 inches
(2016 © Linda Stein)

Click here to see image detail

Click here to interact with Heroic Tapestries:Ten Heroes 859

JUSTICE

An encounter with the Anne Frank tapestry called, Welcome Home, begins with reading excerpts from her diary and current news reports concerning groups of people seeking safety in a foreign land. The current news could be juxtaposed with film images from Voyage of the Damned. The historical documentary depicts the incident in 1939 when a ship traveling from Germany to Cuba, full of Jewish refugees seeking asylum and safety, is refused entry to Cuba; and then when they try to land in the United States, in Florida, they’re again refused entry. Forced to return back to Germany, some people jumped overboard. While eventually some refugees were granted asylum in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, many were not, and subsequently exterminated in Nazi concentration camps. How could the past inform the present, so that people could be welcomed home? Create a collage, which includes news images from the past and present, along with diary entries, that brings a personal perspective to current and historical events about the desire to be welcomed home. Seeking and learning about a diverse range of life narratives prompts an empathetic process of understanding injustice within the complexities of environments and communities.

Lesson Plan Example: Justice Encounter: To Act OR Not To Act

Anne Frank 839
 Anne Frank 839
fabric, archival pigment on canvas, leather, metal, zippers
2015
5 ft. sq.

Click here to see image detail

Click here to interact with Heroic Tapestries: Ann Frank

ACTIVISM

What if each of Stein’s fierce feminist leaders simultaneously had a prominent seat at the table on the national and world stage? What if all stood up when they were told to sit down? What if all spoke out, when they were told to be quiet? What if…? Just imagine what Wonder Woman would say or do to a victimizer? Change the text-bubbles, as does Stein in her art, to voice upstander concerns.

Noor-Khan-c

Noor Inayat Khan 813
2014
fabric, archival pigment on canvas, leather, metal, zippers
5 ft. sq.

Click here to see image detail

Click here to interact with Heroic Tapestries: Noor Khan