Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the

United States.[1] Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art. Pop removes the material from its context and isolates the object, or combines it with other objects, for contemplation.[1][2] The concept of pop art refers not as much to the art itself as to the attitudes that led to it.[2] Pop art employs aspects of mass culture, such as advertising, comic books and mundane cultural objects. It is widely interpreted as a reaction to the then-dominant ideas of abstract expressionism, as well as an expansion upon them.[3] And due to its utilization of found objects and images it is similar to Dada. Pop art is aimed to employ images of popular as opposed to elitist culture in art, emphasizing the banal or kitschy elements of any given culture, most often through the use of irony.[2] It is also associated with the artists' use of mechanical means of reproduction or rendering techniques. Much of pop art is considered incongruent, as the conceptual practices that are often used make it difficult for some to readily comprehend. Pop art and minimalism are considered to be art movements that precede postmodern art, or are some of the earliest examples of Postmodern Art themselves.[4] Pop art often takes as its imagery that which is currently in use in advertising.[5] Product labeling and logos figure prominently in the imagery chosen by pop artists, like in the Campbell's Soup Cans labels, by Andy Warhol. Even the labeling on the shipping carton containing retail items has been used as subject matter in pop art, for example in Warhol's Campbell's Tomato Juice Box 1964, (pictured below), or his Brillo Soap Boxsculptures.

Andy Warhol, Campbell's Tomato Juice Box, 1964, Synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on wood, 10 inches 19 inches 9 inches (25.4 48.3 24.1 cm),Museum of Modern Art, New York City

Contents

[hide]

o o

1 Origins 2 In Great Britain: The Independent Group 3 In the United States 3.1 Early exhibitions 3.2 Proto-pop 4 In Spain 5 In Japan 6 In Italy 7 In The Netherlands 8 Painting and sculpture examples 9 Notable artists 10 See also 11 Notes and references 12 Further reading 13 External links

[edit]Origins The origins of pop art in North America and Great Britain developed differently.[2] In America, it marked a return to hard-edged composition and representational art as a response by artists using impersonal, mundane reality, irony and parody to defuse the personal symbolism and "painterly looseness" of Abstract Expressionism.[3][6] By contrast, the origin in post-War Britain, while employing irony and parody, was more academic with a focus on the dynamic and paradoxical imagery of American popular culture as powerful, manipulative symbolic devices that were affecting whole patterns of life, while improving prosperity of a society.[6] Early pop art in Britain was a matter of ideas fueled by American popular culture viewed from afar, while the American artists were inspired by the experiences, of living within that culture.[3] Similarly, pop art was both an extension and a repudiation of Dadaism.[3] While pop art and Dadaism explored some of the same subjects, pop art replaced the destructive, satirical, and anarchic impulses of the Dada movement with detached affirmation of the artifacts of mass culture.
[3]

Among those artists seen by some as producing work leading up to Pop art are Pablo Picasso, Marcel

Duchamp, Kurt Schwitters, and Man Ray.

[edit]In

Great Britain: The Independent Group

Eduardo Paolozzi. I was a Rich Man's Plaything (1947) is considered the initial standard bearer of "pop art" and first to display the word "pop". Paolozzi showed the collage in 1952 as part of his groundbreaking Bunk! series presentation at the initial Independent Group meeting in London.

The Independent Group (IG), founded in London in 1952, is regarded as the precursor to the pop art movement.[1][7] They were a gathering of young painters, sculptors, architects, writers and critics who were challenging prevailing modernist approaches to culture as well as traditional views of Fine Art. The group discussions centered on popular culture implications from such elements as mass advertising, movies, product design, comic strips, science fiction and technology. At the first Independent Group meeting in 1952, co-founding member, artist and sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi presented a lecture using a series of collages titled Bunk! that he had assembled during his time in Paris between 19471949.[1][7] This material consisted of 'found objects' such as, advertising, comic book characters, magazine covers and various mass produced graphics that mostly represented American popular culture. One of the images in that presentation was Paolozzi's 1947 collage, I was a Rich Man's Plaything, which includes the first use of the word "pop, appearing in a cloud of smoke emerging from a revolver.[1][8] Following Paolozzi's seminal presentation in 1952, the IG focused primarily on the imagery of American popular culture, particularly mass advertising.[6] Subsequent coinage of the complete term "pop art" was made by John McHale for the ensuing movement in 1954. "Pop art" as a moniker was then used in discussons by IG members in the Second Session of

the IG in 1955, and the specific term "pop art" first appeared in published print in an article by IG members Alison and Peter Smithson in Arc, 1956.[9] However, the term is often credited to British art critic/curator, Lawrence Alloway in a 1958 essay titledThe Arts and the Mass Media, although the term he uses is "popular mass culture".[10] Nevertheless, Alloway was one of the leading critics to defend the inclusion of the imagery found in mass culture in fine art. [edit]In

the United States

Roy Lichtenstein's Drowning Girl(1963) on display at the Museum of Modern Art, New York

Although the movement began in the late 1950s, Pop Art in America was given its greatest impetus during the 1960s. By this time, American advertising had adopted many elements and inflections of modern art and functioned at a very sophisticated level. Consequently, American artists had to search deeper for dramatic styles that would distance art from the well-designed and clever commercial materials.[6] As the British viewed American popular culture imagery from a somewhat removed perspective, their views were often instilled with romantic, sentimental and humorous overtones. By contrast, American artists being bombarded daily with the diversity of mass produced imagery, produced work that was generally more bold and aggressive.[7] Two important painters in the establishment of America's pop art vocabulary were Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.[7] While the paintings of Rauschenberg have relationships to the earlier work of Kurt Schwitters and other Dadaists, his concern was with social issues of the moment. His approach was to create art out of ephemeral materials and using topical events in the life of everyday America gave his work a unique quality.[7][11] Johns and Rauschenbergs work of the 1950s is classified as Neo-Dada, and is visually distinct from the classic American Pop Art which began in the early 1960s.[12]
[13]

Of equal importance to American pop art is Roy Lichtenstein. His work probably defines the basic premise of pop art better than any other through parody.[7]Selecting the old-fashioned comic strip as subject matter, Lichtenstein produces a hard-edged, precise composition that documents while it parodies in a soft manner. The paintings of Lichtenstein, like those of Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann and others, share a direct attachment to the commonplace image of American popular culture, but also treat the subject in an impersonal manner clearly illustrating the idealization of mass production.[7] Andy Warhol is probably the most famous figure in Pop Art. Warhol attempted to take Pop beyond an artistic style to a life style, and his work often displays a lack of human affectation that dispenses with the irony and parody of many of his peers.[14][15] [edit]Early

exhibitions

Claes Oldenburg, Jim Dine and Tom Wesselmann had their first shows in the Judson Gallery in 1959/60. In 1960 Martha Jackson showed installations and assemblages, New Media - New Formsfeatured Hans Arp, Kurt Schwitters, Jasper Johns, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Jim Dine and May Wilson. In 1961 Oldenburg created a store for Martha Jackson's spring showEnvironments, Situations, Spaces. In December he showed The Store at his studio.[16][17] In London, the annual RBA exhibition of young talent in 1960 first showed American Pop influences. In January 1961, the most famous RBA-Young Contemporaries of all put David Hockney, the American R B Kitaj, Allen Jones, Derek Boshier, Patrick Caulfield, Peter Phillips and Peter Blake on the map. Hockney, Kitaj and Blake went on to win prizes at the John-Moores-Exhibition in Liverpool in the same year. Opening October 31, 1962, Willem de Kooning's New York art dealer, the Sidney Janis Gallery, organized the groundbreaking International Exhibition of the New Realists, a survey of new to the scene American Pop, French, Swiss, Italian New Realism, and British Pop art. The fifty-four artists shown included Richard Lindner, Wayne Thiebaud, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg,James Rosenquist, Jim Dine, Robert Indiana, Tom Wesselmann, George Segal, Peter Phillips and Peter Blake (his large The Love Wall from 1961) and Yves Klein, Arman, Daniel Spoerri, Christo,Mimmo Rotella. Martial Raysse, Niki de Saint-Phalle and Jean Tinguely saw the show in New York and were stunned by the size and the look of the American work. Also shown were Marisol, Mario Schifano, Enrico Baj and yvind Fahlstrm. Janis lost some of his abstract expressionist artists, but gained Dine,Oldenburg, Segal and Wesselmann.[18] A bit earlier, on the West-coast, Roy Lichtenstein, Jim Dine and Andy Warhol from NYC, Phillip Hefferton and Robert Dowd from Detroit; Edward Ruscha and Joe Goode from Oklahoma City, and Wayne Thiebaud from California were included in the New Painting of Common Objects show. This first Pop Art museum exhibition in America was curated by Walter Hopps at the Pasadena Art Museum [1].

Pop Art now was a success and was going to change the art world forever. New York followed Pasadena in 1963 when the Guggenheim Museum exhibited Six Painters and the Object, curated by Lawrence Alloway. The artists were Jim Dine, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol.[19] By 1962, the Pop artists began to exhibit in commercial galleries in New York and Los Angeles, for some it was their first commercial one-man show. The Ferus Gallery presented Andy Warhol in Los Angeles and Ed Ruscha in 1963. In New York, the Green Gallery showed Rosenquist, Segal, Oldenburg, and Wesselmann, the Stable Gallery R. Indiana and Warhol (his first New York show), the Leo Castelli Gallery presented Rauschenberg, Johns, and Lichtenstein, Martha Jackson showed Jim Dine, and Allen Stone showed Wayne Thiebaud. By 19651966 after the Green Gallery and the Ferus Gallery closed the Leo Castelli Gallery represented Rosenquist, Warhol, Rauschenberg, Johns, Lichtenstein and Ruscha, The Sidney Janis Gallery represented Oldenburg, Segal, Wesselmann and Marisol, while Allen Stone continued to represent Thiebaud, and Martha Jackson continued representing Robert Indiana.[20] [edit]Proto-pop It should also be noted that while the British pop art movement predated the American pop art movement, there were some earlier American proto-Pop origins which utilized 'as found' cultural objects.[3]During the 1920s American artists Gerald Murphy, Charles Demuth and Stuart Davis created paintings prefiguring the pop art movement that contained pop culture imagery such as mundane objects culled from American commercial products and advertising design.[21][22][23] [edit]In

Spain

In Spain, the study of pop art is associated with the "new figurative", which arose from the roots of the crisis of informalism. Eduardo Arroyo could be said to fit within the pop art trend, on account of his interest in the environment, his critique of our media culture which incorporates icons of both mass media communication and the history of painting, and his scorn for nearly all established artistic styles. However, the Spaniard who could be considered the most authentically pop artist is Alfredo Alcan, because of the use he makes of popular images and empty spaces in his compositions. Also in the category of Spanish pop art is the Chronicle Team (El Equipo Crnica), which existed in Valencia between 1964 and 1981, formed by the artists Manolo Valds and Rafael Solbes. Their movement can be characterized as Pop because of its use of comics and publicity images and its simplification of images and photographic compositions. Filmmaker Pedro Almodovar emerged from Madrid's "La Movida" subculture (1970s) making low budget super 8 pop art movies and was subsequently called the Andy Warhol of Spain by the media at the time. In the book "Almodovar on Almodovar" he is quoted saying that the 1950s film "Funny Face" is a central inspiration for his work. One

Pop trademark in Almodovar's films is that he always produces a fake commercial to be inserted into a scene. [edit]In

Japan

Pop art in Japan is unique and identifiable as Japanese because of the regular subjects and styles. Many Japanese pop artists take inspiration largely from anime, and sometimes ukiyo-e and traditional Japanese art. The best-known pop artist currently in Japan is Takashi Murakami, whose group of artists, Kaikai Kiki, is world-renowned for their own mass-produced but highly abstract and unique superflat art movement, a surrealist, post-modern movement whose inspiration comes mainly from anime and Japanese street culture, is mostly aimed at youth in Japan, and has made a large cultural impact. Some artists in Japan, like Yoshitomo Nara, are famous for their graffiti-inspired art, and some, such as Murakami, are famous for mass-produced plastic or polymer figurines. Many pop artists in Japan use surreal or obscene, shocking images in their art, taken from Japanese hentai. This element of the art catches the eye of viewers young and old, and is extremely thought-provoking, but is not taken as offensive in Japan. A common metaphor used in Japanese pop art is the innocence and vulnerability of children and youth. Artists like Nara and Aya Takano use children as a subject in almost all of their art. While Nara creates scenes of anger or rebellion through children, Takano communicates the innocence of children by portraying nude girls. [edit]In

Italy

In Italy, Pop Art was known from 1964, and took place in different forms, such as the "Scuola di Piazza del Popolo" in Rome, with artists such as Mario Schifano, Franco Angeli, Giosetta Fioroni, Tano Festa and also some artworks by Piero Manzoni, Lucio Del Pezzo and Mimmo Rotella. Italian Pop Art originated in 50s culture, to be precise in the works of two artists: Enrico Baj and Mimmo Rotella, who have every right to be considered the forerunners of this scene. In fact, it was around 195859 that Baj and Rotella abandoned their previous careers which might be generically defined as a nonrepresentational genre despite being run through with post-Dadaism to catapult themselves into a new world of images and the reflections on them which was springing up all around them. Mimmo Rotellas torn posters gained an ever more figurative taste, often explicitly and deliberately referring to the great icons of the times. Enrico Bajs compositions were steeped in contemporary kitsch, which was to turn out to be a gold mine of images and stimuli for an entire generation of artists. The novelty lies in the new visual panorama, both inside the four domestic walls and out: cars, road signs, television, all the "new world." Everything can belong to the world of art, which itself is new. In this respect, Italian Pop Art takes the same ideological path as that of the International scene; the only thing that changes is the iconography and, in some cases, the presence of a more critical attitude to it. Even in

this case, the prototypes can be traced back to the works of Rotella and Baj, both far from neutral in their relationship with society. Yet this is not an exclusive element; there is a long line of artists, from Gianni Ruffi to Roberto Barni, from Silvio Pasotti to Umberto Bignardi and Claudio Cintoli who take on reality as a toy, as a great pool of imagery from which to draw material with disenchantment and frivolity, questioning the traditional linguistic role models with a renewed spirit of let me have fun la Aldo Palazzeschi.[24] [edit]In

The Netherlands

While in the Netherlands there was no formal Pop Art movement, there was a group of artists who spent time in New York during the early years of Pop Art and drew inspiration from the international Pop Art movement. Key representatives of Dutch Pop Art are Gustave Asselbergs, Woody van Aamen, Daan van Golden, Rik Bentley, Jan Cremer, Wim T. Schippers and Jacques Frenken. They had in common that they opposed the Dutch petit bourgeois mentality by creating humorous works with a serious undertone. Examples include Sex O'Clock by Woody van Amen and Crucifix / Target by Jacques Frenken.[25] [edit]Painting

and sculpture exam

Art History: Pop Art: (1958 - 1975)

Abbreviation of Popular Art, the Pop Art movement used common everyday objects to portray elements of popular culture, primarily images in and television. The term Pop art was first used by English critic, Lawrence Alloway in 1958 in an edition of Architectural Digest. He was describ post-war work centered on consumerism and materialism, and that rejected the psychological allusions of Abstract Expressionism. An attempt back into American daily life, it rejected abstract painting because of its sophisticated and elite nature. Pop Art shattered the divide between t commercial arts and the fine arts.

The Pop Art movement originated in England in the 1950s and traveled overseas to the United States during the 1960s. Richard Hamilton and Paolozzi, both members of the Independent Group, pioneered the movement in London in the 1950s. In the 1960s, the movement was carried Blake, Patrick Caulfield, David Hockney, Allen Jones, and Peter Phillips. In the early sixties, Pop art found its way to the United States, seen in Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, and Robert Rauschenberg. It developed in the United States as a response to the wealth of the post World War II growing materialism and consumerism in society. The most recognized Pop Artist, Andy Warhol, used a photo-realistic, mass production printm technique called seriagraphy to produce his commentaries on media, fame, and advertising.

Pop Art made commentary on contemporary society and culture, particularly consumerism, by using popular images and icons and incorporati defining them in the art world. Often subjects were derived from advertising and product packaging, celebrities, and comic strips. The images presented with a combination of humor, criticism and irony. In doing this, the movement put art into terms of everyday, contemporary life. It to decrease the gap between "high art" and "low art" and eliminated the distinction between fine art and commercial art methods. The movement inspired a later related style named Capitalist Realism, led by German artist Gerhard Richter.

Artists: (biography & artworks)

Art based on Popular Culture

By Charles Moffat - November 2007.

Pop Art was a visual art movement that emerged in the 1950s in Britain and the United States. The origin of the term Pop Art is unknown but is often credited to British art critic Lawrence Alloway in an essay titled "The Arts and the Mass Media", although he uses the words "popular mass culture" instead of "pop art". Alloway was one of the leading critics to defend Pop Art as a legitimate art form. It was one of the biggest art movements of the twentieth century and is characterized by themes and techniques drawn from popular mass culture, such as television, movies, advertising and comic books. Pop art is widely interpreted as either a reversal or reaction to Abstract Expressionism or an expansion upon it. Pop Art aimed to employ images of popular culture as opposed to elitist culture in art, often emphasizing kitsch and thus targeted a broad audience. It was easy to understand, easy to recognize because it was iconic and accessible to the mass public. Pop art is sometimes considered to be very academic and unconventional, but it was always easy to interpret. Pop Art and Minimalism (which is difficult to interpret in comparison) are considered to be the last modern art movements and are on the cusp of postmodern art. The movement was marked by clear lines, sharp paintwork and clear representations of symbols, objects and people commonly found in popular culture. It allowed for large scale artworks like Abstract Expressionism, but drew upon more DADAist elements. DADAism explored some of the same topics, but pop art replaced the destructive, satirical, and anarchic elements of the Dada movement with a reverence for mass culture and consumerism. Pop artists also liked to satirize objects, sometimes enlarging those objects to gigantic porportions (see the giant spoon and cherry at the bottom of this page). Food was a common theme, but so were household objects such as chairs and toilets being made of squishy plastic instead of the materials you would normally expect. See Claes Oldenburg's "Soft Toilet". The 1950s were a period of optimism and a consumer boom as more and more products were mass marketed and advertised. Influenced by American artists such as

Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, British artists such as Richard Hamilton and the Independent Group aimed at creating art that drew upon symbols and images found in the media. Hamilton helped organize the 'Man, Machine, and Motion' exhibition in 1955, and 'This is Tomorrow' with its landmark image "Just What is it that makes today's home so different, so appealing?" in 1956 is considered by some historians to be the first example of Pop Art.

Pop Art coincided with the youth and pop music phenomenon of the 1950s and 1960s, frequently appearing in advertisements for musical bands and on record covers, becoming very fashionable. Afterwards Pop Art came in a number of waves, but all its adherents shared some interest in the urban, consumer, modern experience. See also: Neo-Pop Art

Important Pop Artists and their Influences

David Hockney Jasper Johns Roy Lichtenstein Claes Oldenburg Robert Rauschenberg Andy Warhol Tom Wesselmann

Important Wo

Pop art (1950s-1970s) was the first post-war art movement to embrace mass-media photographic imagery.
Popular culture, consumer products, and photos of media stars provided the subject matter and the materials for artists who, no longer satisfied with abstract painting, were looking for a more playful and ironic strategy than the modernist insistence on heroic stances and deep spiritual references. Richard Hamilton's (b. 1922) $he (1958-61) was sourced from photographs found in American adverts, the epitome of desirability in post-war Britain. His Swingeing London 67 (1968-9), based on a newspaper photograph of the singer Mick Jagger and Hamilton's dealer Robert Fraser being arrested on drug charges, was produced using photomechanical processes in a variety of different versions. For Cosmetic Studies (1969), fragments of fashion photographs were collaged to make a single facial image. Robert Rauschenberg's (b. 1925) Combine Paintings of the 1950s and 1960s mixed painted surfaces with various objects, including photographs, in a practice alluding to Duchamp's use of ready-mades: everyday objects presented as art by being recontextualized in a gallery. Important shows for defining the movement were This is Tomorrow, organized by the Independent Group at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, in 1956; and The New Realists, held at New York's Sidney Janis Gallery in 1962, which included works by Warhol. They articulated the claim that the hierarchy of high and low art was outmoded in a democratic society, and that the various arts should coexist as different but of equal value.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/pop-art#ixzz1QNdpNPGQPop art (1950s-1970s) was the first post-war art movement to embrace mass-media photographic imagery. Popular culture, consumer products, and photos of media stars provided the subject matter and the materials for artists who, no longer satisfied with abstract painting, were looking for a more playful and ironic strategy than the modernist insistence on heroic stances and deep spiritual references. Richard Hamilton's (b. 1922) $he (1958-61) was sourced from photographs found in American adverts, the epitome of desirability in post-war Britain. His Swingeing London 67 (1968-9), based on a newspaper photograph of the singer Mick Jagger and Hamilton's dealer Robert Fraser being arrested on drug charges, was produced using photomechanical processes in a variety of different versions. For Cosmetic Studies (1969), fragments of fashion photographs were collaged to make a single facial image. Robert Rauschenberg's (b. 1925) Combine Paintings of the 1950s and 1960s mixed painted surfaces with various objects, including photographs, in a practice alluding to Duchamp's use of ready-mades: everyday objects presented as art by being recontextualized in a gallery. Important shows for defining the movement were This is Tomorrow, organized by the Independent Group at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, in 1956; and The New Realists, held at New York's Sidney Janis Gallery in 1962, which included works by Warhol. They articulated the claim that the hierarchy of high and low art was outmoded in a democratic society, and that the various arts should coexist as different but of equal value.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/pop-art#ixzz1QNdpNPGQPop art (1950s-1970s) was the first post-war art movement to embrace mass-media photographic imagery. Popular culture, consumer products, and photos of media stars provided the subject matter and the materials for artists who, no longer satisfied with abstract painting, were looking for a more playful and ironic strategy than the modernist insistence on heroic stances and deep spiritual references. Richard Hamilton's (b. 1922) $he (1958-61) was sourced from photographs found in American adverts, the epitome of desirability in post-war Britain. His Swingeing London 67 (1968-9), based on a newspaper photograph of the singer Mick Jagger and Hamilton's dealer Robert Fraser being arrested on drug charges, was produced using photomechanical processes in a variety of different versions. For Cosmetic Studies (1969), fragments of fashion photographs were collaged to make a single facial image. Robert Rauschenberg's (b. 1925) Combine Paintings of the 1950s and 1960s mixed painted surfaces with various objects, including photographs, in a practice alluding to Duchamp's use of ready-mades: everyday objects presented as art by being recontextualized in a gallery. Important shows for defining the movement were This is Tomorrow, organized by the Independent Group at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, in 1956; and The New Realists, held at New York's Sidney Janis Gallery in 1962, which included works by Warhol. They articulated the claim that the hierarchy of high and low art was outmoded in a democratic society, and that the various arts should coexist as different but of equal value.

Pop Art refers to the paintings, sculpture, assemblages, and collages of a small, yet influential, group of artists from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. Unlike abstract expressionism, pop art incorporated a wide range of media, imagery, and subject matter hitherto excluded from the realm of fine art. Pop artists cared little about creating unique art objects; they preferred to borrow their subject matter

and techniques from the mass media, often transforming widely familiar photographs, icons, and styles into ironic visual artifacts. Such is the case in two of the most recognizable works of American pop art: Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup Can (1964), a gigantic silkscreen of the iconic red-and-white can, and Roy Lichtenstein's Whaam! (1963), one of his many paintings rendered in the style of a comic book image. American pop art emerged from a number of converging interests both in the United States and abroad. As early as 1913, Marcel Duchamp introduced "ready made" objects into a fine-art context. Similarly Robert Rauschenberg's "combine-paintings" and Jasper John's flag paintings of the mid-1950s are frequently cited as examples of proto-pop. However, the term "pop art" originated in Britain, where it had reached print by 1957. In the strictest sense, pop art was born in a series of discussions at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts by the Independent Group, a loose coalition of artists and critics fascinated with postwar American popular culture. The 1956 "This Is Tomorrow" exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery introduced many of the conventions of pop art. Its most famous work, Richard Hamilton's collage Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956), uses consumerist imagery from magazines, advertisements, and comic books to parody media representations of the American dream. By the early 1960s, American pop artists were drawing upon many of the same sources as their British counterparts. Between 1960 and 1961, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Mel Ramos each produced a series of paintings based on comic book characters. James Rosenquist's early work juxtaposed billboard images in an attempt to reproduce the sensual overload characteristic of American culture. As the decade progressed, and a sense of group identity took hold, pop artists strove even further to challenge long-held beliefs within the art community. The work of such artists as Tom Wesselmann, Ed Ruscha, Claes Oldenburg, and Jim Dine introduced even greater levels of depersonalization, irony, even vulgarity, into American fine art. Not surprisingly, older critics were often hostile toward pop art. Despite the social critique found in much pop art, it quickly found a home in many of America's premiere collections and galleries. Several pop artists willingly indulged the media's appetite for bright, attention-grabbing art. Andy Warhol's sales skyrocketed in the late-1960s as he churned out highly recognizable silk screens of celebrities and consumer products. By the decade's end, however, the movement itself was becoming obsolete. Although pop art was rapidly succeeded by other artistic trends, its emphasis on literalism, familiar imagery, and mechanical methods of production would have a tremendous influence on the art of the following three decades.

Bibliography
Alloway, Lawrence. American Pop Art. New York: Collier Books, 1974. Crow, Thomas E. The Rise of the Sixties: American and European Art in the Era of Dissent 1955 1969. London: George Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1996. Livingstone, Marco. Pop Art: A Continuing History. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000. Columbia Encyclopedia:

pop art
Top

pop art, movement that restored realism to avant-garde art; it first emerged in Great Britain at the end of the 1950s as a reaction against the seriousness of abstract expressionism. British and American pop artists employed imagery found in comic strips, soup cans, soda bottles, and other commonplace

objects to express formal abstract relationships. By this means they provided a meeting ground where artist and layman could come to terms with art. Incorporating techniques of sign painting and commercial art into their work, as well as commercial literary imagery, pop artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol attempted to fuse elements of popular and high culture, erasing the boundaries between the two. Bibliography See L. Alloway, ed. Modern Dreams: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Pop Art (1988).

Random House Word Menu: categories related to 'pop art'

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For a list of words related to pop art, see:

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/pop-art#ixzz1QNeD56OJPop Art refers to the paintings,

sculpture, assemblages, and collages of a small, yet influential, group of artists from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. Unlike abstract expressionism, pop art incorporated a wide range of media, imagery, and subject matter hitherto excluded from the realm of fine art. Pop artists cared little about creating unique art objects; they preferred to borrow their subject matter and techniques from the mass media, often transforming widely familiar photographs, icons, and styles into ironic visual artifacts. Such is the case in two of the most recognizable works of American pop art: Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup Can (1964), a gigantic silkscreen of the iconic red-and-white can, and Roy Lichtenstein's Whaam! (1963), one of his many paintings rendered in the style of a comic book image. American pop art emerged from a number of converging interests both in the United States and abroad. As early as 1913, Marcel Duchamp introduced "ready made" objects into a fine-art context. Similarly Robert Rauschenberg's "combine-paintings" and Jasper John's flag paintings of the mid-1950s are frequently cited as examples of proto-pop. However, the term "pop art" originated in Britain, where it had reached print by 1957. In the strictest sense, pop art was born in a series of discussions at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts by the Independent Group, a loose coalition of artists and critics fascinated with postwar American popular culture. The 1956 "This Is Tomorrow" exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery introduced many of the conventions of pop art. Its most famous work, Richard Hamilton's collage Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956), uses consumerist imagery from magazines, advertisements, and comic books to parody media representations of the American dream. By the early 1960s, American pop artists were drawing upon many of the same sources as their British counterparts. Between 1960 and 1961, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Mel Ramos each produced a series of paintings based on comic book characters. James Rosenquist's early work juxtaposed billboard images in an attempt to reproduce the sensual overload characteristic of American culture. As the

decade progressed, and a sense of group identity took hold, pop artists strove even further to challenge long-held beliefs within the art community. The work of such artists as Tom Wesselmann, Ed Ruscha, Claes Oldenburg, and Jim Dine introduced even greater levels of depersonalization, irony, even vulgarity, into American fine art. Not surprisingly, older critics were often hostile toward pop art. Despite the social critique found in much pop art, it quickly found a home in many of America's premiere collections and galleries. Several pop artists willingly indulged the media's appetite for bright, attention-grabbing art. Andy Warhol's sales skyrocketed in the late-1960s as he churned out highly recognizable silk screens of celebrities and consumer products. By the decade's end, however, the movement itself was becoming obsolete. Although pop art was rapidly succeeded by other artistic trends, its emphasis on literalism, familiar imagery, and mechanical methods of production would have a tremendous influence on the art of the following three decades.

Bibliography
Alloway, Lawrence. American Pop Art. New York: Collier Books, 1974. Crow, Thomas E. The Rise of the Sixties: American and European Art in the Era of Dissent 1955 1969. London: George Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1996. Livingstone, Marco. Pop Art: A Continuing History. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000. Columbia Encyclopedia:

pop art
Top

pop art, movement that restored realism to avant-garde art; it first emerged in Great Britain at the end of the 1950s as a reaction against the seriousness of abstract expressionism. British and American pop artists employed imagery found in comic strips, soup cans, soda bottles, and other commonplace objects to express formal abstract relationships. By this means they provided a meeting ground where artist and layman could come to terms with art. Incorporating techniques of sign painting and commercial art into their work, as well as commercial literary imagery, pop artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol attempted to fuse elements of popular and high culture, erasing the boundaries between the two. Bibliography See L. Alloway, ed. Modern Dreams: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Pop Art (1988).

Random House Word Menu: categories related to 'pop art'

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For a list of words related to pop art, see:

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/pop-art#ixzz1QNeD56OJPop Art refers to the paintings,

sculpture, assemblages, and collages of a small, yet influential, group of artists from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. Unlike abstract expressionism, pop art incorporated a wide range of media, imagery, and subject matter hitherto excluded from the realm of fine art. Pop artists cared little about creating unique art objects; they preferred to borrow their subject matter and techniques from the mass media, often transforming widely familiar photographs, icons, and styles into ironic visual artifacts. Such is the case in two of the most recognizable works of American pop art: Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup Can (1964), a gigantic silkscreen of the iconic red-and-white can, and Roy Lichtenstein's Whaam! (1963), one of his many paintings rendered in the style of a comic book image. American pop art emerged from a number of converging interests both in the United States and abroad. As early as 1913, Marcel Duchamp introduced "ready made" objects into a fine-art context. Similarly Robert Rauschenberg's "combine-paintings" and Jasper John's flag paintings of the mid-1950s are frequently cited as examples of proto-pop. However, the term "pop art" originated in Britain, where it had reached print by 1957. In the strictest sense, pop art was born in a series of discussions at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts by the Independent Group, a loose coalition of artists and critics fascinated with postwar American popular culture. The 1956 "This Is Tomorrow" exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery introduced many of the conventions of pop art. Its most famous work, Richard Hamilton's collage Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956), uses consumerist imagery from magazines, advertisements, and comic books to parody media representations of the American dream. By the early 1960s, American pop artists were drawing upon many of the same sources as their British counterparts. Between 1960 and 1961, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Mel Ramos each produced a series of paintings based on comic book characters. James Rosenquist's early work juxtaposed billboard images in an attempt to reproduce the sensual overload characteristic of American culture. As the decade progressed, and a sense of group identity took hold, pop artists strove even further to challenge long-held beliefs within the art community. The work of such artists as Tom Wesselmann, Ed Ruscha, Claes Oldenburg, and Jim Dine introduced even greater levels of depersonalization, irony, even vulgarity, into American fine art. Not surprisingly, older critics were often hostile toward pop art. Despite the social critique found in much pop art, it quickly found a home in many of America's premiere collections and galleries. Several pop artists willingly indulged the media's appetite for bright, attention-grabbing art. Andy Warhol's sales skyrocketed in the late-1960s as he churned out highly recognizable silk screens of celebrities and consumer products. By the decade's end, however, the movement itself was becoming obsolete. Although pop art was rapidly succeeded by other artistic trends, its emphasis on literalism, familiar imagery, and mechanical methods of production would have a tremendous influence on the art of the following three decades.

Bibliography
Alloway, Lawrence. American Pop Art. New York: Collier Books, 1974.

Crow, Thomas E. The Rise of the Sixties: American and European Art in the Era of Dissent 1955 1969. London: George Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1996. Livingstone, Marco. Pop Art: A Continuing History. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000. Columbia Encyclopedia:

pop art
Top

pop art, movement that restored realism to avant-garde art; it first emerged in Great Britain at the end of the 1950s as a reaction against the seriousness of abstract expressionism. British and American pop artists employed imagery found in comic strips, soup cans, soda bottles, and other commonplace objects to express formal abstract relationships. By this means they provided a meeting ground where artist and layman could come to terms with art. Incorporating techniques of sign painting and commercial art into their work, as well as commercial literary imagery, pop artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol attempted to fuse elements of popular and high culture, erasing the boundaries between the two. Bibliography See L. Alloway, ed. Modern Dreams: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Pop Art (1988).

Random House Word Menu: categories related to 'pop art'

Top

For a list of words related to pop art, see:

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/pop-art#ixzz1QNeD56OJPop Art refers to the paintings,

sculpture, assemblages, and collages of a small, yet influential, group of artists from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. Unlike abstract expressionism, pop art incorporated a wide range of media, imagery, and subject matter hitherto excluded from the realm of fine art. Pop artists cared little about creating unique art objects; they preferred to borrow their subject matter and techniques from the mass media, often transforming widely familiar photographs, icons, and styles into ironic visual artifacts. Such is the case in two of the most recognizable works of American pop art: Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup Can (1964), a gigantic silkscreen of the iconic red-and-white can, and Roy Lichtenstein's Whaam! (1963), one of his many paintings rendered in the style of a comic book image. American pop art emerged from a number of converging interests both in the United States and abroad. As early as 1913, Marcel Duchamp introduced "ready made" objects into a fine-art context.

Similarly Robert Rauschenberg's "combine-paintings" and Jasper John's flag paintings of the mid-1950s are frequently cited as examples of proto-pop. However, the term "pop art" originated in Britain, where it had reached print by 1957. In the strictest sense, pop art was born in a series of discussions at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts by the Independent Group, a loose coalition of artists and critics fascinated with postwar American popular culture. The 1956 "This Is Tomorrow" exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery introduced many of the conventions of pop art. Its most famous work, Richard Hamilton's collage Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956), uses consumerist imagery from magazines, advertisements, and comic books to parody media representations of the American dream. By the early 1960s, American pop artists were drawing upon many of the same sources as their British counterparts. Between 1960 and 1961, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Mel Ramos each produced a series of paintings based on comic book characters. James Rosenquist's early work juxtaposed billboard images in an attempt to reproduce the sensual overload characteristic of American culture. As the decade progressed, and a sense of group identity took hold, pop artists strove even further to challenge long-held beliefs within the art community. The work of such artists as Tom Wesselmann, Ed Ruscha, Claes Oldenburg, and Jim Dine introduced even greater levels of depersonalization, irony, even vulgarity, into American fine art. Not surprisingly, older critics were often hostile toward pop art. Despite the social critique found in much pop art, it quickly found a home in many of America's premiere collections and galleries. Several pop artists willingly indulged the media's appetite for bright, attention-grabbing art. Andy Warhol's sales skyrocketed in the late-1960s as he churned out highly recognizable silk screens of celebrities and consumer products. By the decade's end, however, the movement itself was becoming obsolete. Although pop art was rapidly succeeded by other artistic trends, its emphasis on literalism, familiar imagery, and mechanical methods of production would have a tremendous influence on the art of the following three decades.

Bibliography
Alloway, Lawrence. American Pop Art. New York: Collier Books, 1974. Crow, Thomas E. The Rise of the Sixties: American and European Art in the Era of Dissent 1955 1969. London: George Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1996. Livingstone, Marco. Pop Art: A Continuing History. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000. Columbia Encyclopedia:

pop art
Top

pop art, movement that restored realism to avant-garde art; it first emerged in Great Britain at the end of the 1950s as a reaction against the seriousness of abstract expressionism. British and American pop artists employed imagery found in comic strips, soup cans, soda bottles, and other commonplace objects to express formal abstract relationships. By this means they provided a meeting ground where artist and layman could come to terms with art. Incorporating techniques of sign painting and commercial art into their work, as well as commercial literary imagery, pop artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol attempted to fuse elements of popular and high culture, erasing the boundaries between the two.

Bibliography See L. Alloway, ed. Modern Dreams: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Pop Art (1988).

Random House Word Menu: categories related to 'pop art'

Top

For a list of words related to pop art, see:

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/pop-art#ixzz1QNeD56OJPop Art refers to the paintings,

sculpture, assemblages, and collages of a small, yet influential, group of artists from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. Unlike abstract expressionism, pop art incorporated a wide range of media, imagery, and subject matter hitherto excluded from the realm of fine art. Pop artists cared little about creating unique art objects; they preferred to borrow their subject matter and techniques from the mass media, often transforming widely familiar photographs, icons, and styles into ironic visual artifacts. Such is the case in two of the most recognizable works of American pop art: Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup Can (1964), a gigantic silkscreen of the iconic red-and-white can, and Roy Lichtenstein's Whaam! (1963), one of his many paintings rendered in the style of a comic book image. American pop art emerged from a number of converging interests both in the United States and abroad. As early as 1913, Marcel Duchamp introduced "ready made" objects into a fine-art context. Similarly Robert Rauschenberg's "combine-paintings" and Jasper John's flag paintings of the mid-1950s are frequently cited as examples of proto-pop. However, the term "pop art" originated in Britain, where it had reached print by 1957. In the strictest sense, pop art was born in a series of discussions at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts by the Independent Group, a loose coalition of artists and critics fascinated with postwar American popular culture. The 1956 "This Is Tomorrow" exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery introduced many of the conventions of pop art. Its most famous work, Richard Hamilton's collage Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956), uses consumerist imagery from magazines, advertisements, and comic books to parody media representations of the American dream. By the early 1960s, American pop artists were drawing upon many of the same sources as their British counterparts. Between 1960 and 1961, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Mel Ramos each produced a series of paintings based on comic book characters. James Rosenquist's early work juxtaposed billboard images in an attempt to reproduce the sensual overload characteristic of American culture. As the decade progressed, and a sense of group identity took hold, pop artists strove even further to challenge long-held beliefs within the art community. The work of such artists as Tom Wesselmann, Ed Ruscha, Claes Oldenburg, and Jim Dine introduced even greater levels of depersonalization, irony, even vulgarity, into American fine art. Not surprisingly, older critics were often hostile toward pop art. Despite the social critique found in much pop art, it quickly found a home in many of America's premiere collections and galleries. Several

pop artists willingly indulged the media's appetite for bright, attention-grabbing art. Andy Warhol's sales skyrocketed in the late-1960s as he churned out highly recognizable silk screens of celebrities and consumer products. By the decade's end, however, the movement itself was becoming obsolete. Although pop art was rapidly succeeded by other artistic trends, its emphasis on literalism, familiar imagery, and mechanical methods of production would have a tremendous influence on the art of the following three decades.

Bibliography
Alloway, Lawrence. American Pop Art. New York: Collier Books, 1974. Crow, Thomas E. The Rise of the Sixties: American and European Art in the Era of Dissent 1955 1969. London: George Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1996. Livingstone, Marco. Pop Art: A Continuing History. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000. Columbia Encyclopedia:

pop art
Top

pop art, movement that restored realism to avant-garde art; it first emerged in Great Britain at the end of the 1950s as a reaction against the seriousness of abstract expressionism. British and American pop artists employed imagery found in comic strips, soup cans, soda bottles, and other commonplace objects to express formal abstract relationships. By this means they provided a meeting ground where artist and layman could come to terms with art. Incorporating techniques of sign painting and commercial art into their work, as well as commercial literary imagery, pop artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol attempted to fuse elements of popular and high culture, erasing the boundaries between the two. Bibliography See L. Alloway, ed. Modern Dreams: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Pop Art (1988).

Random House Word Menu: categories related to 'pop art'

Top

For a list of words related to pop art, see:

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/pop-art#ixzz1QNeD56OJPop Art refers to the paintings,

sculpture, assemblages, and collages of a small, yet influential, group of artists from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. Unlike abstract expressionism, pop art incorporated a wide range of media, imagery, and subject matter hitherto excluded from the realm of fine art. Pop artists cared little about creating unique art objects; they preferred to borrow their subject matter and techniques from the mass media, often transforming widely familiar photographs, icons, and styles into ironic visual artifacts. Such is the case in two of the most recognizable works of American pop art: Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup Can (1964), a gigantic silkscreen of the iconic red-and-white can, and Roy Lichtenstein's Whaam! (1963), one of his many paintings rendered in the style of a comic book image. American pop art emerged from a number of converging interests both in the United States and abroad. As early as 1913, Marcel Duchamp introduced "ready made" objects into a fine-art context. Similarly Robert Rauschenberg's "combine-paintings" and Jasper John's flag paintings of the mid-1950s are frequently cited as examples of proto-pop. However, the term "pop art" originated in Britain, where it had reached print by 1957. In the strictest sense, pop art was born in a series of discussions at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts by the Independent Group, a loose coalition of artists and critics fascinated with postwar American popular culture. The 1956 "This Is Tomorrow" exhibition at the Whitechapel Art Gallery introduced many of the conventions of pop art. Its most famous work, Richard Hamilton's collage Just What Is It That Makes Today's Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956), uses consumerist imagery from magazines, advertisements, and comic books to parody media representations of the American dream. By the early 1960s, American pop artists were drawing upon many of the same sources as their British counterparts. Between 1960 and 1961, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Mel Ramos each produced a series of paintings based on comic book characters. James Rosenquist's early work juxtaposed billboard images in an attempt to reproduce the sensual overload characteristic of American culture. As the decade progressed, and a sense of group identity took hold, pop artists strove even further to challenge long-held beliefs within the art community. The work of such artists as Tom Wesselmann, Ed Ruscha, Claes Oldenburg, and Jim Dine introduced even greater levels of depersonalization, irony, even vulgarity, into American fine art. Not surprisingly, older critics were often hostile toward pop art. Despite the social critique found in much pop art, it quickly found a home in many of America's premiere collections and galleries. Several pop artists willingly indulged the media's appetite for bright, attention-grabbing art. Andy Warhol's sales skyrocketed in the late-1960s as he churned out highly recognizable silk screens of celebrities and consumer products. By the decade's end, however, the movement itself was becoming obsolete. Although pop art was rapidly succeeded by other artistic trends, its emphasis on literalism, familiar imagery, and mechanical methods of production would have a tremendous influence on the art of the following three decades.

Bibliography
Alloway, Lawrence. American Pop Art. New York: Collier Books, 1974. Crow, Thomas E. The Rise of the Sixties: American and European Art in the Era of Dissent 1955 1969. London: George Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1996. Livingstone, Marco. Pop Art: A Continuing History. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2000. Columbia Encyclopedia:

pop art

Top

pop art, movement that restored realism to avant-garde art; it first emerged in Great Britain at the end of the 1950s as a reaction against the seriousness of abstract expressionism. British and American pop artists employed imagery found in comic strips, soup cans, soda bottles, and other commonplace objects to express formal abstract relationships. By this means they provided a meeting ground where artist and layman could come to terms with art. Incorporating techniques of sign painting and commercial art into their work, as well as commercial literary imagery, pop artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol attempted to fuse elements of popular and high culture, erasing the boundaries between the two. Bibliography See L. Alloway, ed. Modern Dreams: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Pop Art (1988).

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For a list of words related to pop art, see:

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/pop-art#ixzz1QNeD56OJ

Popart

Pop-art s-a nascut din nevoia de a face din nou vizibila lumea materiala Dore Ashton,A view of Contemporary Art,Boston,1962.

A Mov eme i n th nt e Sixt

Pop-art , prescurtare a termenului popular art ,lansat in anul 1955,de criticul englez Lawrence Alloway;consemnat,in 1957,in Dictionarul Oxford al limbii engleze. Initial Alloway a folosit termenul (si o data cu el cel de cultura populara) referindu-se la produsele mass-mediei si nu la operele de arta care se inspira din cultura populara,sens pe care il va capata la inceputul anilor 60.

Reprezentanti ai miscarii pop-art: In Marea Britanie : -Eduardo Paolozzi -Peter Blake -Richard Hamilton -Allen Jones -Peter Philips Reprezentanti ai miscarii pop-art: In S.U.A. : -Roy Lichtenstein -Andy Warhol -Claes Oldenburg -Jasper Johns -Tom Wesselmann -Robert Rauschenberg -George Segal -Duane Hanson

Benzile desenate,reclamele comerciale,ambalajele,imaginile televiziunii si cinematografului erau elementele constitutive ale iconografiei promovate de aceasta miscare,deopotriva,in Anglia si in S.U.A. O alta trasatura a pop-art - respingerea oricarei distinctii intre bun gust si prost gust: a fost provocata o tensiune intre doua tendinte aceea de a desfiinta frontierele intre marea arta si cultura populara,pe de o parte,si,pe de alta de a introduce elemente ale culturii populare pentru a comenta ironic societatea moderna.

Pop-art nu poate fi despartit de atmosfera epocii de prosperitate de dupa al doilea razboi mondial.America devenise o lacoma societate de consum,ambaland arta ca pe orice alt produs, complacanduse in tot felul de manipulari comerciale, incurajand exhibitionismul,autopublicitatea si succesul imediat. Jonathan Law,European Culture:A Contemporary Companion,1993.

In Marea Britanie, pop-art a aparut intr-o epoca de prosperitate,urmand anilor de austeritate de dupa razboi.Miscarea a fost pregatita aici de The Independent Group si prima imagine care i-a fost atribuita lui Richard Hamilton. Ce anume face caminele noastre de astazi,atat de diferite,atat de atragatoare? 1956. Adevarata afirmare a miscarii s-a produs la expozitia Young Contemporariesdin 1961,simultan cu aparitia miscarii in S.U.A.Printre artistii expozanti: David Hockney , Allen Jones , Peter Philips ,cu totii fosti studenti la Royal College of Art. In general curentul pop-art englez e mai putin brutal decat cel american si reflecta o stare de spirit romantica , nostalgica. Cu toate acestea in anii 60 , sursa directa a imagisticii pop-art era cultura populara americana,exprimand: un imn romantic lipsit de orice fel de inhibitii,inaltat unei civilizatii pe jumatate reala,pe jumatate imaginara,un paradis al fotografiilor erotice si al jocurilor mecanice Edward Lucie-Smith. In S.U.A., pop-art a fost privit la inceput ca o reactie impotriva expresionismului abstract,pentru ca exponentii lui se intorceau la figurativ si introduceau intr-o maniera impersonala a desenului si a pensulatiei.Unii au interpretat pop-art ca pe un descendent al dadaismului era numit frecvent: neodada,fiindca isi propunea sa dinamiteze seriozitatea artei si sa foloseasca reproducerea obiectului celui mai banal : benzile,cutiile de supa conservata,semnele de circulatie intr-un stil asemanator cu cel al celebrelor ready-mades ale lui Duchamp.Jasper Johns si Robert Rauschenberg exercita o influenta puternica asupra artei newyorkeze,pe la mijlocul anilor 50. Ei le-au revelat artistilor americani un repertoriu vast de subiecte cutii de bere,colaje si picturi combinate cu sticle de cocacola,pasari impaiate si fotografii decupate din reviste sau ziare. Desi au preluat in mare parte aceste subiecte,artistii pop au preferat tehnicile comerciale in locul celor picturale ale lui Johns si Rauschenberg.Nu exista, spunea Rauschenberg,materiale care introduse in pictura,provoaca emotia,si altele care nu-l misca pe privitor din inertie. Totul depinde,fara indoiala de tensiunea launtrica a artistului, de dramatismul lucrurilor pe care el vrea sa le spuna O pereche de ciorapi se potriveste la fel de bine comunicarii artistice ca si lemnul,cuiele,uleiul si panza.Nu exista subiecte inexpresive prin ele insele. Pictura se afla in relatie deopotriva cu arta si cu viata.Doua lucruri au fost atribuite acestor steaguri pictate de mine. Unul e:el a pictat un steag, deci nu trebuie sa te gandesti la el ca la un steag,ci doar ca la o pictura. Celalalt e:ai posibilitatea ,prin felul in care a fost pictat,sa vezi ca este un steag si nu o pictura.Jasper Johns.Cel mai important exponent american a fost Andy Warhol,cu serigrafiile reprezentand cutii de supa,portrete a celei mai iubite vedete a vremii : Marylin Monroe ,Liz Taylor , Elvis Presley.

Ce este maret in aceasta tara,e ca America a dat startul unei bune traditii,in care cei bogati cumpara aceleasi lucruri ca si cei saraci. Poti privi la televizor,sa vezi Coca-Cola,si stii ca presedintele bea CocaCola,Liz Taylor bea Cola,si gandeste-te,si tu poti bea Cola. Nici o suma de bani nu-ti poate oferi o Cola mai buna decat poti cumpara de la chioscul din colt.Toate Cola sunt la fel si toate au acelasi gust. Liz Taylor stie asta,Presedintele stie,si tu stii asta.Roy Lichtenstein picteaza in maniera benzilor desenate,personaje stereotipe,figuri interpretate in stilul graficii comerciale,a graficii de ambalaj, prin folosirea unor tehnici grafice in care alterneaza puncte asezate intr-o trama ordonata ce aminteste de

principiul autotipiei rasterul fotografiilor de ziar,si pata de culoare plata,in tonuri saturate.Claes Oldenburg sculpteaza cornete de inghetata,hamburgheri,carnaciori,reamintind banalitatea rituala a mancarii in America,sculpturi de vinil umplute cu iarba de mare.Richard Hamilton reia limbajul pictural al cotidianului ,asa cum apare in grafica publicitara si in cartile postale ilustrate.Inca din anii 20,arta si grafica publicitara se influenteaza reciproc,ceea ce se regaseste,in anii 60 si la reprezentantii americani ai pop-art. Richard Hamilton definea pop-art ca fiind popular,efemer,ieftin,produs de masa,tanar,spiritual,sexy,capabil sa atraga atentia oamenilor din comert,de efect,foarte rentabil catalogul expozitiei British Art in the 20th Century,Royal Academy,Londra,1987.James Rosenquist comenteaza visul american al vacantei,reconstituit din afise strident colorate, ale agentiilor de voiaj si a celor de inchirieri automobile,impartaseste bucuria americanului de rand care crede intr-o viata mai buna,prin aparitia curcubeului datator de speranta ca motiv plastic. In ultimii ani opera sa a devenit maiprotestatara: scene din razboiul din Vietnam,in care sunt amestecate simboluri ale inconstientei domestice bigudiuri,rujuri de buze,bete de golf.Pop-art ul a reprezentat un mare succes financiar,ajungand la public pe cai pe care putine miscari ale artei moderne au mers,si in acelasi timp,i-a cucerit pe colectionarii bogati. Cu toate acestea,multi critici l-au inregistrat cu foarte mari rezerve.- Harold Rosenberg,il descrie ca fiind o gluma lipsita de umor,repetata intruna,pana cand ajunge sa sune ca o amenintare.Pop-art explica Warhol vrea sa dea cuvantul lucrurilor insele,fara vreo iluzie. Cotidianul devine obiect estetic prin intermediul graficii publicitare,al benzii desenate,al graffitiurilor,al modei si designului,si depaseste superficialitatea privirii obisnuite prin marire,stilizare si transformare indirecta,ceea ce poate face dintr-un obiect uzual,un obiect de arta,care isi va gasi locul intr-un muzeu sau intr-o galerie de arta. Prea direct ancorat in realitate, pop-art ului i lipseste perspectiva viitorului. Explozia tehnologica,nu poate fi interpretata ca un pericol in sine,tot asa cum crearea unei forme inteligibile nu poate reprezenta un pacat al civilizatiei moderne. Problema este de atitudine,in fata acestor procese:ca invazia de informatie computerizata,arta produsa in serie sa nu inabuse ce e autentic.Pop-art ul a semnalat pericolul,dar nu a creat valorile care sa-i reziste.Dan GrigorescuO arta a reclamei care isi face reclama ca detesta reclama.(The De-definition of Art:Action Art to Pop to Earthworks,1972). Cu toate ca in general,e asociat cu arta celei de-a doua jumatati a sec.XX din Anglia si S.U.A., pop-art a avut aderenti si printre artistii importanti din alte tari italianul Valerio Adami sau islandezul Erro. Pop-art are legaturi cu alte miscari nouveau realismedin Franta.Unii artisti pop au continuat sa exploateze imagistica pop-art si mult timp dupa epoca de glorie a miscarii.