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Student Research Guide Spr2024: War and Art - Kekoa Paki: Top 10 Resources

Top 10 Resources

"Views of Political Geography in the Seven Years' War: Military Artists Prints and British Consumers." Written by Jocelyn Anderson.

This source details the role that the map shop of Thomas Jeffery had in spreading information about the Seven Years' War to the British public during the mid-1700s. This source discusses both the details of the shop itself and the work it sold which was made up of maps and topological sketches made by trained sketch artists in the Americas. The source is interesting in the context of the topic of war art because it discusses a part of the topic that's rarely discussed, the way in which war art is distributed and how it influences the way that art is perceived by others. This subtopic is not written too heavily on in the context of war so it would be a great trend to focus your research on.

Anderson, J. (2018). Views of political geography in the Seven Years’ War: Military artists’ prints and British consumers. Oxford Art Journal, 41(1), 19–38. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48560605 

 

"Painting History: An Artist's Reframing of Memory and War from Survival to Healing." Written by Elizabeth Chey.

This source discusses the life and work of the artist Vann Nath who survived being confined in the S-21 torture facility during the Cambodian Genocide. The source reflects upon the role that memorialization plays in preventing the repetition of violent acts of the past. This source is unique amongst most of the other sources I found on this topic as it was written by someone who actually met the artist they discussed while they were alive. Most other sources on this topic only know the artist they discuss through their artwork and other writings, so having a writer who actually talked with and knew on a personal level the artist they discuss is a novel resource that any scholar on this topic should look into.

Chey, E. (2022). Painting history: An artist's reframing of memory and war from survival to healing. Manoa, 33/34(2), 235-242. https://skagit.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/painting-history-artists-reframing-memory-war/docview/2684617043/se-2 

 

"The Mirror of Memory: Constructions of Hell in the Marukis' Nuclear Murals." Written by Charlotte Eubanks.

This source discusses the work of Iri and Toshi Maruki, a married pair of Japanese artists who experienced the direct aftermath of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. This source discusses how the Marukis most famous series of artwork, “The Hiroshima Panels,” should be understood as a piece of performance art and not just a series of paintings as the Marukis originally gave performances and speeches to go along with the panels and help the viewer understand how they were intended to engage with the pieces. This source is useful for war art researchers as it discusses both some of the most famous war artists of all time, the Marukis, and a common theme in the discussion of war art, how the way people engage with war art changes over time.

Eubanks, C. (2009). The mirror of memory: Constructions of hell in the Marukis’ nuclear murals. PMLA, 124(5), 1614–1631. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25614388

 

"World War I and the Visual Arts." Written by Jennifer Farrell.

This source is basically what the "start your research here" sources were, but specifically for the sub-topic of war art surrounding the First World War. It provides a wide overview of the different artists and artistic movements of the time, discussing initial positive reception to the war by artists, the artistic movement of futurism and its glorification of speed, war, and modernity, and how artists reacted once the realized the true nature of the war they were in. This source provided me with much of the bases I used for my own research on war, so I'd recommend reading it early on into your studies. 

Farrell, J. (2017). World War I and the visual arts. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 75(2), 4–39. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48567977

 

"Confronting Postwar Shame in Weimar Germany: Trauma, Heroism, and the War Art of Otto Dix" Written by Paul Fox.

This source discusses the life and work of Otto Dix, a German artist who served on the frontlines during the first World War. This source delves into the role that trauma played in influencing the work of Otto Dix and other veteran artists of the time, it also discusses how the shame surrounding trauma at the time affected their work. This source is useful for scholars as it discusses one of the most famous war artists of all time, Otto Dix, and discusses one of the most common themes in war art, that being how artists use their work to process the trauma they have surrounding war.

Fox, P. (2006). Confronting postwar shame in Weimar Germany: Trauma, heroism and the war art of Otto Dix. Oxford Art Journal, 29(2), 247–267. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3841015

 

"Emancipation's Encounters: The Meaning of Freedom from the Pages of Civil War Sketchbooks." Written by Martha S. Jones

This source discusses how the sketches made by Union soldiers during the American Civil War portray African Americans. The source discusses how the paintings suggested that the artists were not fully on board with the idea of emancipation, still seeing black people as innately different, if not worse, than white people. This source is useful as it discusses how artists portray those victimized by popular narratives, which is a common theme in war art, in reference to the American Civil War.

Jones, M. S. (2013). Emancipation’s encounters: The meaning of freedom from the pages of Civil War sketchbooks. Journal of the Civil War Era, 3(4), 533-548. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26062099 

 

"Dirty Freaks and High School Punks: Peter Saul’s Critique of the Vietnam War." Written by David McCarthy.

This source discusses the work of the American artist Peter Saul during the Vietnam War, describing how Saul incorporated elements of cartoons and comic books into his drawings condemning the actions of Americans during the Vietnam War in order to point out how inherently violent American pop culture was. This source is useful to scholars as it dives deep into the techniques and creative choices used by Peter Saul and how they were influenced by his perception of American pop culture.

McCarthy, D. (2009). Dirty freaks and high school punks: Peter Saul’s critique of the Vietnam War. American Art, 23(1), 78–103. https://doi.org/10.1086/599065

 

"A Foreign Artist and a Russian War: Peter von Hess, a Case Study in Imperial Patronage and National Identity." Written by Andrew M. Nedd.

This source discusses the work of the German artist Peter Von Hess, an artist who was commissioned by the Russian government to produce a series of paintings depicting notable events of the French invasion of Russia. The source discusses the role Hess’s paintings, and other war art made around this time, took part in shaping the Russian National Identity. This source is useful as it discusses an important part of war art, government-commissioned war art, and how its connection to a government affects how an artist portrays war. This could be an excellent resource if your studies end up focusing on propaganda and government-approved war art.

Nedd, A. M. (2023). A foreign artist and a Russian war: Peter von Hess, a case study in imperial patronage and national identity. Arts, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/arts12040171 

 

The Hiroshima Panels Visualize Violence: Imagination Over Life." Written by Yukinori Okamura.

This source discusses the work of Iri and Toshi Maruki, a married couple of Japanese artists who witnessed the aftermath of the Hiroshima atomic bomb firsthand. This source delves into how the Marukis' focus in their art shifted over time, starting off by only portraying the perspectives of Japanese people affected by the Hiroshima bomb, but later on portraying the perspectives of many peoples affected by the violence of war including American P.O.W.s, survivors of the Holocaust, and survivors of the Rape of Nanking. This source is useful as it discusses two important ideas in war art, the work of Iri and Toshi Maruki, and the theme of war artists using their art to portray the pain of those affected by war.

Okamura, Y. (2019). The Hiroshima Panels visualize violence: Imagination over life. Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, 2(2), 518–534. https://doi.org/10.1080/25751654.2019.1698141

 

"Triptychs at War: Violet Oakley's Victory." Written by Jeffery Richmond-Moll.

This source discusses the work of the American artist Violet Oakley and how she reacted to the events of the Second World War. The source discusses how Oakley was motivated by a belief in the power of art as a means of ending conflict. This source is useful as it discusses one of the most famous female muralists of all time and the theme of how religion influences war art. It also delves into how Oakley was motivated to make art by her pacifist principles and belief in art as a tool to end violence, which ties into the trend of war artists being politically motivated to make art, which could be a potential focus of your research.

Richmond-Moll, J. (2018). Triptychs at war: Violet Oakley’s victory. Archives of American Art Journal, 57(1), 22–43. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26566649 

 

"Children's Art of the Holocaust." Written by Nicholas Stargardt.

This source discusses the work made by several Jewish Children in the Theresienstadt concentration camp during the start of the Holocaust. The source discusses how the work made by the children reflects their idealization of pre-ghetto life and simultaneous but disconnected acceptance of their present reality. This source is useful as it discusses what is, in my opinion, a very underexplored aspect of war art, that being art made by children who have been impacted by war. This source might be a good start to further research on children's war art, however, the scarcity of material on the subject might make it harder than if you chose to focus on a different aspect of war art.

Stargardt, N. (1998). Children’s art of the Holocaust. Past & Present, 161, 191–235. http://www.jstor.org/stable/651076

 

"The Artist as Soldier: Howard Cook's Self-Portrait in a Foxhole." Written by Sara Woodbury.

This source discusses the work made by the American Artist Howard Cook during his time in the short-lived U.S. War Art Unit during the Second World War. The source discusses the discrepancy in the way Howard Cook portrayed himself in his art, stagnant and vulnerable to attack, and the way he portrayed his fellow soldiers, heroic and masculine. This source is useful as it discusses the idea of contradictions in how artists portray some aspects of war and how they choose not to depict other ones, which is a very common theme in war art. 

Woodbury, S. (2020). The artist as soldier: Howard Cook’s self-portrait in a foxhole. Arts Basel, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/arts9010037 

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