Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997)

Tate

About this resource

This is the final Superpower of Looking History category lesson which focuses on Roy Lichtenstein's 1963 painting, Whaam!

The following resources complete this category:

Lesson 1 – The Adoration of the Kings
Lesson 2 – The Lady of Shalott
Lesson 3 – The Battle of San Romano

You can find out more about The Superpower of Looking including introductory films, teacher guidance and SEND/ASN approach on the Superpower homepage.

National Curriculum for England

Art and design
- Evaluate and analyse creative works using the language of art, craft and design
- Know about great artists, craft makers and designers, and understand the historical and cultural development of their art forms
- Produce creative work, exploring their ideas and recording their experiences
- Become proficient in drawing, painting, sculpture and other art, craft and design techniques

Northern Ireland Curriculum

Art and design
- Look at and talk about the work of artists, designers and craftsworkers from their own and other cultures; appreciate methods used in the resource materials and use their appreciation to stimulate personal ideas and engage with informed art making
- Develop their understanding of the visual elements of colour, tone, line, shape, form, space, texture and pattern to communicate their ideas
- Evaluate their own and others’ work and how it was made, explain and share their ideas, discuss difficulties and review and modify work to find solutions

Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence

Art and design
- I can create and present work that shows developing skill in using the visual elements and concepts (EXA 2-03a)
- Through observing and recording from my experiences across the curriculum, I can create images and objects which show my awareness and recognition of detail (EXA 2-04a)
- Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through activities within art and design (EXA 2-05a)
- I can respond to the work of artists and designers by discussing my thoughts and feelings. I can give and accept constructive comment on my own and others' work (EXA 2-07a)

National Curriculum for Wales (2008)

Art and design
- Describe and make comparisons between their own work and that of others
- Experiment with and examine the methods used by other artists from different periods, places and cultures
- Evaluate the methods and results of their own work and that of their fellow pupils
- Pupils should be stimulated and inspired by: other artists; methods and processes; media; styles; ideas
- Explore, experiment with and apply the elements of the visual, tactile and sensory language of art, craft and design which include: line, tone, colour, pattern, texture, shape and form

New Curriculum for Wales (2022)

Expessive Arts

Exploring the expressive arts is essential to developing artistic skills and knowledge and it enables learners to become curious and creative individuals.

Progression step 3:

– I can explore the effects that a range of creative techniques, materials, processes, resources, tools and technologies have on my own and others' creative work.

– I can explore how creative work can represent, document, share and celebrate personal, social and cultural identities.

– I can explore and describe how artists and creative work communicate mood, feelings and ideas and the impact they have on an audience.

Responding and reflecting, both as artist and audience, is a fundamental part of learning in the expressive arts.

Progression step 3:

– I can give and consider constructive feedback about my own creative work and that of others, reflecting on it and making improvements where necessary.

– I can apply knowledge and understanding of context, and make connections between my own creative work and creative work by other people and from other places and times.

– I can reflect upon how artists have achieved effects or communicated moods, emotions and ideas in their work.

Whaam! (1963)

by Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997)

Medium: acrylic and oil on canvas
Dimensions: H 172.7 x W 406.4 cm

American artist Roy Lichtenstein was a well-known exponent of the Pop Art movement. The composition (arrangement of forms) is borrowed from a comic book and the hard-edged style, with forms outlined in black, gives it a cartoon-strip appearance. The title, Whaam!, is onomatopoeic which heightens the impact of the missile launched from the fighter plane on the left at the enemy plane on the right. Lichtenstein had served in the US Army and, at the time of painting this, the Vietnam War was well underway.

How has Lichtenstein represented war here? Does the simplified style, in two-dimensional (flat) blocks of unmodulated primary colour, affect our interpretation?

Stage 1: look, describe and discuss

Show your students the painting below and ask them: Are they interested or not interested? Why?

Ask them to describe what they see in the painting and how it is arranged.

Don't tell them too much about what the picture represents at this stage. Once you have interpreted an image, or been told what to see, it is difficult to look freshly and critically at it or appreciate each other's views.

Tip: in class, you can view a full-screen version of the image on the Tate website.

Stage 2: nudge questions

Now when looking at the painting, ask more specific ('nudge') questions:

What do you think is going on here? Who or what does the artist want us to look at first? Is there movement in a particular direction?
What difference does it make to see the battle action up close rather than further away?
If this painting could make a sound, what kind of sounds would it make?
In terms of its style, what does it remind you of? Why?

Suggested activity: drawing from memory

Remove the picture from display. Whilst it's not visible, ask your students to redraw the basic elements of the picture from memory. Give them a set time in which to complete their drawing and make it quick!

Now display the picture again and ask your students to compare their drawing with the original. What have they remembered and what have they forgotten? Compare answers. Why do they think they have remembered certain features and not others?

Stage 3: Superpower Kit questions

Now we can start to explore the 'elements' of the painting. Use the Superpower Kit to ask questions of the work and spark a discussion.

We’d suggest focusing on the following areas to help your students 'read' the image (click to open the relevant Superpower Kit section):

Composition (e.g. movement; cropping)

Colour

Line

Ask your students to evidence their points, e.g. where exactly are they looking when they make a statement? Can everybody see what they see?

Final stage: review

Ask your students: how interested are they in the image now? Why?

At this point, you may also want to give your students some time to record and review their observations in a sketchbook on their own or in pairs.

Comparison activity

Compare Whaam! with Paul Nash's 1941 painting, Battle of Britain.

In order to support the discussion, you may wish to focus on the following areas of the Superpower Kit: Composition, Space and Materials & Techniques.

Cross-curricular activity: Art & Design and History

As described in the context box, Whaam! takes the form of a comic book strip, which is clear in the division of the image across two panels, the use of black lines and a minimal colour palette. The picture also reflects on the artist's service in the US Army and was created when the Vietnam War was well underway.

Task your students with depicting a moment from history that they have studied in class reinterpreted as a comic book strip. What key figure(s) and quoted speech might they want to capture? For example: the building of Hadrian's Wall; Vikings sailing across the North Sea; the moon landing in 1969.

If you'd like them to learn something new from history, you may wish to use films on Art UK focused on Emmeline Pankhurst or Walter Tull, or watch inspiring true stories from history on BBC Teach.

Your students may want to work in groups to create a series of panels that narrate one historical moment in parts. Try to limit each pupil to completing a two-panel comic book drawing and to choose only two colours other than black and white to give a retro comic book feel.

For inspiration, you may wish to look at the following sculpture with your students which was created by pupils at a school in Coatbridge alongside sculptors Merlin Currie and Andy Scott. It explores the history of their local area and industry:

If you're looking for a quicker activity, why not follow our negative space paper-cutting activity in Art UK's lesson plan on the 'Titanic Sign' and sculptures that remember, using the historical figure's name or something they said as the text for the artwork.

Tate: 'Whaam!'

Video: Conserving 'Whaam!' | Tate

Video: Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective | TateShots

Video: How 'Whaam!' Became a Monumental Symbol of Pop Art

TES: KS2 Lesson Plan – Pop Art – Roy Lichtenstein's 'Self Portrait'

O say, can you see… American artists in UK collections? 4 July 2018, Andrew Shore
Paul Nash's 'Battle of Britain' 15 September 2021, Kate Clements
Process and pop: how photography influenced British Pop Art 10 March 2018, Louise Weller
Richard Hamilton: the pioneer of British Pop Art 25 January 2021, Chris Mugan
A brief look at Pauline Boty and British Pop Art 8 March 2021, Sarah Jackson