Pop Art

Began in the mid-1950s and ended approximately in the early 1970s.

Pop art is an art movement invented by a British curator Lawrence Alloway, in 1955, pop art is a shorter way of saying “popular art”. This art movement was characterized by the imagery of consumerism and popular culture. Pop Art emerged in both New York and London during the mid-1950s.

The movement was characterized by bold, simple everyday imagery and vibrant block colours, it was very interesting to look at and had a vibrant feel. The bright colour scheme that is used in Pop Art was to enable the formation of the avant-garde to emphasize certain elements of contemporary culture, and this helped to narrow the division between the commercial arts and the fine arts.

Pop Art was the first Post-Modernist movement (where the medium is as important as the message), as well as the first school of art to reflect the power of film and television. Pop Art was seen/advertised in consumer product packaging, photos of film stars, pop stars and other celebrities and comic strips. (Pop Art: History, Characteristics)

Popular Pop Art artists


Eduardo Paolozzi, Richard Hamilton, James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Sigmar Polke, Ed Ruscha and David Hockney.

Images created

Figure 1: James Rosenquist, President Elect, 1960-61, Oil on masonite.

Rosenquist was fascinated by the popularization of political and cultural figures in mass media. In the artwork above Rosequist depicted John F. Kennedy’s face, amongst a combination of consumer items of a yellow Chevrolet and a piece of cake. Rosenquist created a collage with the three elements cut from their original mass media context, and then photo-realistically recreated them on a monumental scale.

During the time Rosenquist created these posters he was very interested in people who advertised themselves. The large-scale work explains Rosenquist's technique of combining discrete images through techniques of blending, interlocking, and juxtaposition, as well as his skill at including political and social commentary using popular imagery. (Pop Art Movement, Artists And Major Works)

Figure 2: Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Soup Cans, 1968, Synthetic polymer paint on thirty-two canvases.

The work above resembled the mass-produced, printed advertisements, which inspired Warhol. In this work, Warhol mimicked the repetition and uniformity of advertising by carefully reproducing the same image across each individual canvas. He varied only the label on the front of each can, distinguishing them by their variety. (Moma | Andy Warhol. Campbell's Soup Cans. 1962)

Campbell Soup is the most well-known American modern art artwork, the idea of painting the Campbell Soup cans next to one another was the idea of making the cans look like they were packed in a grocery store. 

Figure 3: Eduardo Paolozzi, I was a Rich Man’s Plaything, 1947, collage.

Paolozzi was a Scottish sculptor and artist and was a member of the British post-war. The collage above created a sense of important foundational work for the Pop Art movement, by combining pulp fiction novel cover, a Coca-Cola advert and a military recruitment advertisement.


Paolozzi emphasized the impact of technology and mass culture on high art. His use of collage demonstrates the influence of surrealist and Dadaist photomontage, which Paolozzi implemented to recreate the barrage of mass media images experienced in everyday life. ("Pop Art Movement, Artists And Major Works")

Modern pop art

Figure 4: Sandra Chevrier, Modern day Pop Art beauty, 2013, collage.

Chevrier portraits are brought to life by combining familiar iconic comic book characters with strong brush work. The refreshing use of collage techniques mixed with the multicoloured comic book art gives real impact in these illustrations. (Modern Day Pop Art Beauty - Sandra Chevrier | Patternbank)

Chevrier’s artwork is inspired by the Pop Art movement, by using the technique of combining mass production elements with other materials and concepts. Chevrier combined strips from a comic book with her bold use of brushstrokes, she illustrates beauty in her art pieces, which is conveyed by the use of her brushstrokes and covering the facial part of the woman she paints, beacuse theat is where the beauty is.

Bibliography

"Pop Art: History, Characteristics." Visual-arts-cork.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 12 Oct. 2017.

"Pop Art Movement, Artists And Major Works." The Art Story. N.p., 2017. Web. 12 Oct. 2017.

"Moma | Andy Warhol. Campbell's Soup Cans. 1962." Moma.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 12 Oct. 2017.

"Pop Art Movement, Artists And Major Works." The Art Story. N.p., 2017. Web. 12 Oct. 2017.

"Modern Day Pop Art Beauty - Sandra Chevrier | Patternbank." Patternbank. N.p., 2017. Web. 12 Oct. 2017.