Essay On Pop Art

The concept of pop art started to become popular during this time as it was described using simple, bright colors and images to symbolize everyday life.

The purpose for this piece is to start introducing the new form of realism, Pop art. The influence of mass production inspired the pop art movement in American Culture. The audience viewed pop art as advertisement. Viewers who repeatedly

After the World War II, the United States went through a time were economic and political growth. This was time when Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe were the peak of their fame and television had replaced the radio. In the 1950’s and the 1960’s there was a new cultural revolution. This new cultural revolution of activists, thinkers, and artists. This was the time were new generation of artists were appeared in Britain and in the United States. During the late 1950’s the pop artists began to look for inspiration in everyday things. They were getting inspiration from consumer goods and mass media. They began with bold colors, and they also adopted the silk-screening. They also established and idea were there work had its own originality. Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein were very aware of the past however there idea was to connect fine art with pop culture. There ideas came straight from the televisions, advertisements, films, and cartoons. Nevertheless the famous creations of Warhol and Lichtenstein and other artist, managed to stamp the 1950 and 1960 as the pop art era.

This piece was created during a time of political and social change. Increased political awareness and a focus on celebrity demanded art that was more

Post-war Japanese society is a world where High and Low art is blurred together by otaku, such as anime, and social class. However, Takashi Murakami straddles the line. Murakami spills a mix of Nihanga and Otaku into the canvases, plastic toys, handbags, shoes, etc; endorsing his own theory/style named “Superflat”. Using strategical subject matter such as popular Japanese comic figures combined with ukiyo-e(traditional Japanese block prints), and addressing these contrasting qualities to outside cultures; Murakami intensifies what Pop Art accomplished, art versus material. On other feelings, one could argue that “Superflat” isn’t a unique, Japan-identified style, that “Superflat” is a humiliation to the Contemporary Art world because of its commercialism. Lastly, that is a continuation of the already well developed Pop Art. On the supporting side, Murakami’s “Superflat” is a high-energy, cross-culture style that serves as a new way to represent the high and low of art that is considerably unique to Japan. To support this, Murakami’s past and present artwork will have to be established chronologically to illustrate how the timeline affects his work.

Even though the use of encaustic paint reflects the gestural paint work of abstract expressionism, the choice of familiar motif, the things that “ the mind already knows” , he challenged the abstract expressionists’ rhetoric, macho style and autobiographic gestures and brought in new qualities such as ambiguity , satire that was absent in the works of his predecessors. The reproduction nature of the painting is closely linked to Marcel Duchamp’s the concept of ready-made, as well as his claim that the meaning of an art work is determined by the interpretation of viewers. However, unlike the Dadaists’ intention of deconstruct the modern society, Neo-Dadaists sought to extend the boundary of art through various approaches and mediums suited to its time. Its turn towards mass culture in the later years laid the foundation for the Pop Art

In order to discuss pop art I have chosen to examine the work and to some extent lives of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol who were two of the main forces behind the American movement. I intend to reflect the attitudes of the public and artists in America at this time, while examining the growing popularity of pop art from its rocky, abstract expressionist start in the 1950s through the height of consumer culture in the 60s and 70s to the present day.

Pop Art was a 20th century art movement that utilized the imagery and techniques of consumerism and popular culture as well as mass media and advertising

Pop Art emerged in Britain in the late 50’s and the United States in the early 60’s.(Mamiya 1992) Pop Art is generally known today as a representation of celebrating popular culture and consumerism, however it’s background and origins are far more broad and extensive. There are many factors and influences that lead to the creation of the Pop Art movement such as adjusting to life after World War II, new technological advances that lead to mass cooperate growth, the evolution of Abstract Expressionism and also social issues in the media such as feminism. (Smith 2001; Mamiya 1992) Many of these factors overlap and act as a catalyst in the creation of Neodadaism and eventually Pop Art. (Livingstone 1992) Pop Art does not have a soul distinct style nor just one major influence and this can be proven by looking at key artists of the movement such as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg and James Rosenquist as well as female Pop artists such as Martha Rosler. (Brauer, Edwards, Finch & Hopps 2001) Exploring these artists and the major influences of their work will break down Pop Art and establish the movement’s purpose as well as its evolution.

The Pop Art movement “uses elements of popular culture, such as magazines, movies, … and even [brand name] bottles and cans” to convey a message about the artist’s views on society. Using bold coloured paintings, soft sculptures, and printmaking, artists would create facsimiles, similar reproductions of popular merchandise and collages. The purpose was to emphasize the banality of any given mass culture. This was a response the post-war conservative society which focused on consumerism and the consumption of name-brand products. The American economy had significantly risen for the first time in 30 years which lead to the mass consumption of goods and conformity of the majority.

Color field painters used a different abstract strategy and focused on controlled shapes rather than a randomized effect. Abstractism in the 1940’s paved the way for Pop Art in the 1950’s by challenging traditional values and definitions of art work. Abstract Expressionism inspired the entire creative community, including sculptors, poets, photographers, and film-makers.

Joe Hill became known to writers in 1972. Pop art is an art movement that was discovered in the late 1950’s in the US. But in the early 1950’s in Britain. His book “Pop Art” came out in 2001.

However, all of them took elements from Pop Art which is clearly noticeable. To come closer to understanding the artists and their work, we need to look at the movements

Pop art got its name from Lawrence Alloway, who was a British art critic in 1950’s. The name “Pop Art” reflected on the “familiar imagery of the contemporary urban environment” (kleiner, 981). This art form was popular for its bold and simple looks plus its bright and vibrant colors. An example of this type of art is the oil painting done by Andy Warhol, “Marilyn Diptych” (Warhol, Marilyn Diptych) in 1962. The Pop art movement became known in the mid-1950 and continued as main type of art form until the late 1960’s. The Pop art movement, was a movement where medium played a huge part in the society, with it reflecting on advertisements, comic strips and even celebrities, like Marilyn. This movement also has a large

The art of this era falls under the category of “psychedelic art.” Psychedelic can be defined as “of or noting a mental state characterized by a profound sense of intensified sensory perception, sometimes accompanied by severe perceptual distortion and hallucinations and by extreme feelings of either euphoria or despair,”8 and was usually influenced by the use of drugs. This kind of art was characterized by bright colors and unusual contrasts. Op art and pop art fall under this category of psychedelic art. “Op art, short for Optical art, is a style of abstraction that relies on geometric shapes, lines, and color juxtapositions to create optical illusions for the viewer.”9 Often looking at Op art makes one feel dizzy or disillusioned, which is the goal of the artist. Pop art was popular for commercial use, often seen in advertisements or on