POP!Art

Popular Art (Pop Art) originated in Great Britain in 1955. Two members of the

Independent Group, Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton are known to have pioneered the movement in London. The movement is said to be based off of the French

Dada movement from the 1920s that satirized the serious nature of the artistic world. In the 1960s, artists

Peter Philips, Patrick Caulfield, Peter Blake, Allen Jones, and David

Hockney carried out Paolozzi and Hamilton’s movement.

The movement is said to have received its name, “pop” art in an

edition of Britain’s Architectural Digest in 1958 by critic Lawrence Alloway. Alloway is quoted describing pop artists as “younger artists who did not view pop culture as relaxation, but as an ongoing part of their lives. They felt no pressure to give up the culture they had grown up in (comics, pop music, movies). There are was not the consequence of renunciation but of incorporation.”

Andy WarholAugust 6, 1928-

February 22, 1987

Artists

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Roy LichtensteinOctober 27, 1923-

September 29, 1997

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“Flowers”By Andy Warhol

1964

Pop!

“Liz”By Andy Warhol1964

POPArtPOPArtThe term “pop” was also incorporated into a collage entitled “I Was a Rich Man’s Plaything” by Paolozzi. The word was portrayed bursting out of a pistol held by a male’s hand in a white cloud. Among the other images are a cherry pie, a World War II fighter plane, a pinup girl, and the Coca-Cola logo. In the same decade, pop art started appearing in the United States in the works of Roy Lichtenstein, Jim Dine, and the more famous Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol. Soon, American artists

became the pioneers of the movement during the prosperous post World War II era where consumerism and materialism were growing in society.

Pop art drew together old fashioned, traditional art and the mass

popular culture of the time in the 1950s

and 1960s. In both America and Great Britain, pop art had a focus on

commercial use. Pop art

was used for comic books, science

fiction, billboards, movies, rock n roll music, and different types of packaging. Examples of famous pop art packaging still in use today are the Coca-Cola logo and Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup cans. Pop art was also used to portray famous celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Jackie Kennedy.

POP Facts• Originated in London in 1950s

• Images based off of “popular” culture of the time

• Uses very bright colors

• Images of celebrities, fictional characters used in comic books and mass media advertisments

Pop art uses irony, satire, clear lines, and sharp paintwork to emphasize the dull elements of a certain culture and society. Many interpret this movement to be a reaction to the ideas of abstract expressionism. Vivid colors used the most by pop artists are yellow, blue, and red. These colors were seen as the colors of popular culture.

Some techniques used or developed during the pop art movement are silkscreen printing, and comic strip design. Warhol started using silkscreen printing in order to mass-produce art work. Pop art was generally seen as inexpensive,

and expendable. Lichtenstein developed the comic strip using bold colors, black outlines, and Benday dots.

Pop art is also found in the form of sculptures. A famous example is the sculpture called Love that is located in Love Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Robert Indiana designed this sculpture during the Vietnam War as a symbol for peace.

Pop art is still everywhere and many artists use it as a form of inspiration for his or her own artwork. Pop art is still seen on posters, T-shirt fashion design, and product advertising on TV and in stores.

POPArtPOPArt

Top:Campbell’s Soup Can

Andy Warhol1961

Left: “LOVE”

Robert Indiana

1958

“Style isn’t really important.”- Andy Warhol

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Top:Coca-Cola AdAndy Warhol

1960s

Right: Roy Lichtenstein

Comic book print1960s