Ridgeland High art exhibit at 6th Cavalry Museum
Propaganda: Ideas, facts or allegations spread deliberately to further one’s cause or to damage an opposing cause (Merriam-webster Dictionary).
With war comes propaganda. This past spring Ridgeland High School students explored the U.S. propaganda posters of World War I and World War II through art, recreating many of them in various forms for a year-long exhibit for the 6th Cavalry Museum in Fort Oglethorpe.
“One thing the students learned,” says Ridgeland art teacher Erika Couey, “is that you can easily tell which posters are from which war. World War I posters are plainer and not as sensational as those from World War II.”
“Students were instructed to root their projects in their research,” Couey says, “but were allowed to react to the research according to their own opinions, belief systems and emotions.” Paintings were produced on recycled canvases and matboards donated by Art Warehouse of Chattanooga, which, says Couey, fell in line with the need to conserve and recycle during the wars.
Couey produced her own piece of art for the exhibit — a depiction of the paper and silk poppies that were made by disabled veterans after World War I and sold to raise money to help veterans trying to adjust to life after war. The poppy movement, which persists to modern times, was started by Moina Belle Michael, a professor at the University of Georgia, Couey’s alma mater.
This makes the third year Couey’s art students have created an exhibit for the