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Eighth grade visual art students created digital collages to reinterpret one of "The Four Freedoms." THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH THE FREEDOM OF WORSHIP FREEDOM FROM WANT FREEDOM FROM FEAR LATIN MAGAZINE » SUMMER 2019 7 LATIN MAGAZINE » SUMMER 2019 REINTERPRETING ROCKWELL On January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered the annual State of the Union address during which he presented his reasons for the United States moving away from its isolationist position and entering the war in Europe. Roosevelt's argument included his insistence that all humans shared Americans' entitlement to four essential freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. Surprisingly, Roosevelt's words rang hollow and the four freedoms were not even mentioned in news articles the following day. The concept of "The Four Freedoms" did not gain meaning until Norman Rockwell, an American illustrator, used his immense artistic talents to visualize Roosevelt's words. In 1943, Rockwell created a series of oil paintings representing each of the freedoms. The paintings went on a touring exhibition sponsored by The Saturday Evening Post and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which eventually raised more than $132 million for the war effort and cemented Roosevelt's words into the American psyche. Inspired by Rockwell's work, eighth grade visual art students created digital collages to reinterpret one of the four freedoms for a 21st-century audience whose demographic makeup and family structures differ greatly from the 1940s represented by Rockwell. The students had a choice to either make their reinterpretations a reflection of past times or how they witness these freedoms on display today. Drawing on lessons learned in American Studies class as well as their seventh grade Global Perspectives course, students selected topics and backgrounds that reflect issues of national and global importance in their lives. Using Photoshop, the students manipulated figures and environments to communicate their ideas. Each student also prepared an accompanying artist statement to explain his or her reinterpretation of the freedom.