![]() ![]() ![]() The essence and complete elements of pop art are found in Roy Lichtenstein’s TAKKA TAKKA a piece done in the style of a cartoon with the sound effect “takka takka” resonating with the firing of a machine gun.Ĭartoons of the time, especially in this style, were meant to be either funny or swashbuckling and heroic. Sometimes it was revealed through the isolation of the item from its usual environment, and sometimes it was more obvious with text or contextual clues. Each piece was infused with clever wit, irony, and a subtle message that became apparent to the observer. Pop-art pieces were not mere reproductions of objects and advertisements. It doesn’t look like a painting of something it looks like the thing itself.” The first pop artist, Richard Hamilton, defined pop art in the irony and wit of pop art itself: “Pop Art is: popular, transient, expendable, low-cost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous, and Big Business. They achieved the look of these works with silk screening and even paint.Īs pop artist Roy Lichtenstein put it, “Pop Art looks out into the world. Though it was an imitation, it was not collage – these were seasoned artists whose talents for more detailed work were previously known. Pop artists worked in imitation, using the graphic styles of the era, the format of popular comics, and the expressions of popular fashion models and celebrities to convey their messages. The effect was poignant, revolutionary, and exposed the fragility of emotional façade. While abstract expressionists used their work to draw out of the viewer an acknowledgment of the tragedies of the post-war, post-depression era, pop artists were revealing the effects of the trauma of recent decades in the trends of the current time. Whereas abstract artists sought to let the medium control the image, such as in Pollock’s drops of paint, Pop Artists went beyond realism into reality. It was a complete departure and almost the very opposite of the other giant art movement of the day – Abstract Expressionism. The bold primary colors and simple graphics of the era’s packaging designs, and often the packages themselves, were used to create pieces that are well known today, such as Brillo boxes and Campbell’s Soup cans. ![]() Pop Art SimplifiedĪrtists, primarily from Britain and America, started creating art using the very items and mediums that pop culture had been using to manipulate the masses into complacency and mass consumerism. They began to attempt to expose the absurdity of conformity. They saw current trends as homogenization and suffocation of humanity, innovation, and creativity. The avant-garde thinkers, the beatniks, and social activists in the nation’s cultural hubs took notice of the hypocrisy of idealized images, television programs, and adored celebrities that the public was trying so hard to imitate. The result was an undercurrent running through most of the households that were resulting in increased alcoholism in men and nervous breakdowns and dependence on pills in women.Īdults of the era had grown up on hard work and very little comfort during the depression but now they had machines that did work for them and convenience products that seemed to come from abundance they didn’t know what to do with. The world had become so super conformist that every house, yard, and even personal appearance looked the same.Īdvertising was pervasive and marketed to the public false images of lives they were trying so hard to emulate but never could. Lawrence Alloway, a British art critic, did just that when he coined the term POP- art in reference to art that mimicked consumerism and popular culture. How else to describe the visual expression of the era than to use that lingo? With a new world, came new perspectives, new attitudes, and new lingo. ![]() The post-war era seems old fashioned to us now, but at that time, humanity was experiencing life in ways that adults of the time could not have even conceived of as children. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |