pop art thesis ideas

An Analysis of Pop Art: Origins, Styles and Legacies Dissertation

Introduction, the origins of pop art, styles and themes, legacies of pop art, reference list.

The growth of art has been characterized by the emergence of various movements, proponents of which have fuelled the growth of the industry, through provision of pieces that attract the interest of certain groups of society. This essay seeks to analyze the movement known as Pop Art. To this end, a brief history of the movement shall be given, before the discussion delves into the themes and styles that characterize the movement, as well as the legacies that the movement is associated with. Art Research, like any other topical research only attains academic credibility once it provides reference to other written works, as well as provides detailed exemplification of ideas emerging in the discussion. In this regard, the research for the current essay shall be guided by various literature, on the topic. These include books, journals and published articles, collected from both physical and online libraries. By the end of the discussion, the essay aims to comprehensively cover the subject of pop art, in such a way that readers are able to narrate the history and origins of the art form, list a number of artists associated with the movement as well as explain the themes and styles they used to pass their message across.

The phrase Pop Art can be traced to art critic Lawrence Alloway, in 1958, in his evaluation of the exhibition titled This is Tomorrow (Tansey, 1980, p.113). Studying the works of Richard Hamilton, Peter Blake and David Hockney, Alloway pointed out that there was a uniquely new approach to their styles, which he linked to the popular art that had taken prominence in American mass media (McCarthy, 2002, p.7). As a result the form of art was for a while referred to as popular art, much later adopting the shortened form of the word popular, to simply remain as pop art.

Pop art is an art movement that sprung up in the 1950s in the United Kingdom and the United States. This is form of art set itself apart from the traditional forms of art by the usage of lifted images from areas of popular culture including advertisements (Tansey, 1980, p.76). The material used in this form of art is more often than not taken from its usual context and paired up with other material, which is sometimes unrelated, in order to pass a specific message. Because of this apparent incongruence, most pieces of pop art are not generally easily comprehensible. As such, sometimes pop-art may not just sell as a piece of visually-appealing art, but as a package of a given message (McCarthy, 2002 p.77). This form of art tends try and express certain elements of a particular culture, and it distinctively uses irony to get this message across. Another key distinction of pop art from most other forms of art is the utilization of mechanical methods of reproduction and rendering (Jurgen, 2009, p. 96).

The origins of pop art were characterized by uniquely specific characteristics, depending on the region. In the United States for example, it developed as a form of abstract expressionism, which at the same time drew from hard-edged composition to deliver a message. In this regard, a lot of irony and parody was put into use in the development of pieces. In Britain, the development of pop-art took an academic stance and it used irony to try and illustrate how the popular culture in America had a profound effect on the rest of the world (Jurgen, 2009, p.3). As such, most of the modern forms of British pop art drew inspiration from the USA’s popular culture, but from an outsider’s perspective. The main differences between works by American and British artists, which eventually reflected in their works, was that while the Americans lived the experiences they put into their art, the British were simply observers (Tansey, 1980, p. 217). To some extent, pop art was seen as a form of developed Dadaism. This is because both forms of art in some instances studied the same subjects. However, pop art tended to be less destructive and unlike the Dada movement, it paid credence to the art present in mass culture (Gopnik and Varnedoe, 1990, p.65).

The Independent Group, a conglomeration of artists in the UK formed in 1952, was seen as one of the groups that triggered the emergence of pop art (Tansey, 1980, p.33). This group comprised artists as well as critics who went out to offer insight the modernist reception of culture. They also met regularly to challenge traditional opinion on art. During the group’s meetings, discussions went around popular American culture and how it was shaped by elements such as film, advertisements and technology (Haskell, 1984, p.117). The scholars in the group studied the culture in America and offered direction to the artists themselves, especially regarding the subject content and the materials to use. This group, by virtue of its varied constituency was instrumental in the development of pop art during the period, because their activities ended up giving undue attention to the movement.

Pop art in America, started towards the end of the 1950s but got its fire in the 1960s (Osterwold, 2007, p.6). During this period, advertising in industry in the USA had started picking ideas from modern art and ended up coming up with products that were of exciting standards. As such the Americans, unlike their British counterparts, had to use a consented effort in order to distinguish their work from the highly-artistic advertisements (Irving, 1978, p.255). The American artists, by virtue of living the culture, also produced pieces that had sentimental and humorous effects. Their works were bolder and more impactful than that of their British counterparts. This was shown by the ways in which they played around with their subjects of interests to come up with messages that were sometimes provocative, but mostly interesting to analyze.

At the beginning, Pop art had simultaneous movements that were happening in England and America, and the most successful (of these movements) was in America. In New York names such as Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, Tom Wesselmann and Roy Lichtenstein were already being sung about by those in the art world (Osterwold, 2007, p.167). It was these artists – their paintings and sculptures which celebrated the style of urban culture. Comic strips, design, photography and advertising more often than not with critical and ironical intent sent shock waves through the elitist art scene of New York (Honnef, 2004, p.52). Pop art has generated enthusiasm since its beginnings, and has continually grown in popularity. The works that were produced still garnish an undiminished appeal for young generations.

In Japan, pop art draws its inspiration from anime and other forms of tradition Japanese expression. This makes pop art from the regional uniquely identifiable (McCarthy, 2002, p.18). Many followers of this art movement in Japan borrow ideas from Japanese Hentai, which is fundamentally sexually explicit material. As such, their works end up being easily catching the eye, while at the same time provoking a lot of discussion. Some of the most famous pop artists from Japan include Kaikai Kiki, Yoshitomo Nara and Aya Takano, all of whom produced works that when put on the global pedestal, have the distinct Japanese look on them (Honnef, 2004, p.24).

Pop art, being a movement that has been in existence for over 60 years, has distinguishing characteristics that set it apart from other forms of art. These characteristics have been explained in detail below. With depersonalization in mass society Pop art reacted to the phenomenon with styles that were just as impersonal. Its pictures had an equally objectifying effect. The media had altered the relationship of mass consciousness and individual subjectivity. Lichtenstein has said that he owes his particular style to comics, but does not owe his themes. The typography, pictorial vocabulary along with the arrangement of texts and visuals in the comic are taken from the aggressive language of advertising.

In its initial forms, pop art assumed stances associated with paintings. However, as it developed into a uniquely independent style of art, it became more and more liberal, using material associated with popular trends bringing out pieces that not only depicted reality, but also went ahead to leave an unprecedented impact on society (Gopnik and Varnedoe, 1990, p.56). Like with most other forms of art, the development of styles pop art was by far and large experimental. Artists who delved into the style did not have a particular manual to follow, nor specifics on the kinds of materials that they could use. As a result, the pieces created were unique in their own specific rights, especially when it came to the style of presentation and the thematic backgrounds. Below are some of the notable styles used by the fathers of pop art. Some of their techniques have been adopted by their successors even though latter-day pop-artists have the considerable advantage of having a varied choice of materials to work with.

Richard Prince followed established Pop systems with his appropriation of existing images. He was associated with Metro Pictures, a gallery in New York that showed only representational work derived from the mass media (Phillips, 1992, p.17). In his first solo exhibition at the Metro he exhibited photographs of people and ordinary goods taken straight from advertising images. He later elaborated that he took the motifs out of their original context and deprived them of their intended purpose while stressing the stereotyped similarity of the various excerpts by showing them together (Irving, 1978, p.181). By this move, Prince not only showed that art does not have to be created from scratch, but also confirmed that any material could be turned into a piece of art, as long as it is in the right hands. The exhibition, made the viewers take time to critically assess the personalities and items that had previously been parts of a detailed composition (Gopnik and Varnedoe, 1990, p.79). As such the individuals who attended the exhibition could easily tell more about the persons, in ways that they could not when they were surrounded by text and other items in the body of the posters.

Jasper Johns, one of the names associated with pop art in the 1950s developed a distinct style that say him incorporate real objects into his paintings (Weiss, 2007, p.93). He initially set out by including plaster relief into his works and later went bold to use found objects in his compositions. Johns’ most renowned work is the painting titled Flag , whose inspiration came from a dream of the USA flag (Weiss, 2007, p.213). His other pieces also bore witness to consideration of the irony associated with pop art. Most of his work composed of flags, letter cut-outs and relief plasters (Weiss, 2007, p.12). His style was more elaborate and more labor intensive, compared to Prince’s style, primarily because he had to use multiple techniques in his works. For instance, aside from paintwork, Johns needed to understand, how to work with plaster, as well as come up with a better way of combining the two, without one overshadowing the other (Livingstone, 2000, p.56). The eventual product was very difficult to replicate and individuals who tried to do so ended up producing works that were uniquely different. In this way Johns joined other artists in confirming that it is virtually impossible to come with a standardized style of producing pieces that qualify as pop art.

Painters such as Keith Haring, Lee Quinones and John Matos appropriated the New York City street culture language: that of graffiti – drawn, sprayed or painted on the walls of public buildings and subway systems (McCarthy, 2002, p.78). They eventually transferred these techniques onto canvas so that the works could be bought and sold as commodities. Their initial decision to place their work in the public arena from which it was drawn was essential both in capturing a transient moment and in effecting a genuine convergence between their images as art and as signs of popular culture. Their works found favour in the eyes of the public because they were driven by issues that were of public interest (Livingstone, 2000, p.54). Their techniques were also both simple and visually-appealing, such that by the time they transferred them onto the canvas, they had already picked up a decent amount of following. On canvas, they still retained their spay-on styles, but combined them with cut-outs and other improvised techniques to create uniquely popular art pieces (Tomkins, 1980, 13). The three artists are among the most influential as far as the development of pop-art styles is concerned.

Robert Rauschenberg, a New York City artist first made an impression as a pop artist in the 1950s through his work, referred to as Painting Combines, which saw the use of non-traditional material, innovatively put together to form artworks (McCarthy, 2002, p.13). He made it a point to use material that was readily available, including items picked from trash and other items picked from the streets. Much later, he started using images, alongside photographs, which he transferred to the canvas using silkscreen techniques. The artist has been quoted as saying that while developing his art pieces, his inspiration came from the fact that he intend to come up with an item that he wanted to use material that he could not develop himself (Haskell, 1984, p.136). According to him, this approach had the element of surprise that was associated with the items he collected. He is one of the artists whose works were a cross between paintings and sculptures. His technique was also among the most complex of all the ones used by pop artists. This is because for one to effectively implement, it, a thorough knowledge of screen printing was needed as well as a good hand in traditional painting (Livingstone, 2000, p.59). The delicate nature of this style has made it one of the least favorite in the field of pop art, with most artists choosing to the less tactful methods of sticking found items on a base. However, individuals that have managed to study the technique agree that it yields pieces that are more visually exciting and bearing even stronger messages.

Warhol produced a series of Marilyn’s in 1962 to reveal the authenticity of her image. He repeated a photograph of her face – or her lips – in rows (Warhol, 1975, p.77). With this he translated the inflationary character of her image into a mechanical and meaningless form. He used a silk-screen technique he arranged the designs in random sequence and transfers them to canvas in an imprecise way. Her face is then made up with various colors. This lack of subtly of her makeup looks like a mask in which the viewer is enticed to imitate and identify with. Warhol is able to in-still a quality which is unpredictable and alienating. Compositions appear off balance and full of tension (Warhol, 1975, p.93). Within the context of art the content gives a strikingly innovative quality. They are unfamiliar and feel like something new, but the reality is that they are commonplace. Like Rauschenberg, Warhol took time in the creation of his pieces, eventually coming up with techniques that only he could replicate effectively (Livingstone, 2000, p.47). His style was a complex combination of traditional paint on canvas with collages, with the final product being a well packaged message, which viewers could decipher at first glance. Warhol’s silk-screen technique, by its complexity clearly indicates that pop art is not necessarily an easy form, as it may appear from the final product (Michelson, 2001, p.57). His works are actually testimony of mature artistry, giving them the prominence that they have in the world of art.

Lichtenstein was able to identify and corner contemporary stereotypes of reality while at the same time keeping a distance as an artist, from both himself and his subjects (Hapgood, 1994, p.66). Lichtenstein pictures aim to objectify gestures and emotions. His paintings have a look as if they were produced mechanically, appearing perfect and quite anonymous. Any record of imprecision, alteration or error was erased. The comic strip has a number of other artistic processing techniques. Lichtenstein reduces the medium down to its basic elements, tightens the pictorial coherence and simplifies the production process of cartoon drawing (Hapgood, 1994, p.119). In the compositions the relationships between the characters to one another and also to their environment is made absolutely plain, while at the same time delineation of coloring, which include blue, red, yellow, green and black and white. As Lichtenstein’s Drowning Girl shows individuals cannot escape the sentimentalism and stylization of the media. Society has become a champion of personal catastrophes (Gopnik and Varnedoe, 1990, p.52). Without disclosing what has led to them the media sensationalize catastrophes. Individual fate is far too insignificant to dampen the optimism of the times. Lichtenstein’s systematic approach leads to the leveling of all content. His subjects are stereotypical with abstraction so as to conform to a popular taste. Pop art conceptions of style come from the central them in art itself: art about art, the work of art as an object, the act of painting, art history, painting materials, composition (Gopnik and Varnedoe, 1990, p.67). Pop artists considered their work as anti-art, in relation to the traditional art. In Lichtenstein’s painting Art the concept of art is brought into question. The words which made the term Pop Art implies that art was to become pop.

Outside America comic strips were also enjoying a revival. In France rather than using established characters, artists used their inventions against the viewers’ knowledge of the comic strip art form. Artists such as Francois Boisrond painted flat outlined motifs in canvas and cardboard so that he could highlight their spontaneous and ephemeral look (Madoff, 1997, p.123). The most consistently pop in aspect, of all the paintings that were produced in England during the 1980s were made by the Canadian artist Lisa Milroy. Through her arrangement of painted images of objects that are usually laid out in rows in accordance to a grid system and sometimes in a more organic manner we are invited to direct our gaze at these manufactured items (Arnason, 1968, p.159). Items such as various types of metal hinges, rows of identical gramophone records, postage stamps, Roman coins and even Greek pottery were well utilized in these artworks.

Barbra Kruger would combine printed slogans with borrowed photographic images in a way that at first glance could be confused with posters of printed advertisements. With her subliminal association with the mass media she was determined to decode and render ineffective printed advertisements. Another artist, Jenny Holzer integrated her inverted versions of advertising into the public domain by printing provocative messages on paper that she then fly posted around the East Village in New York City. She also began to incorporate the new technology of the diode message board to broadcast her messages (Madoff, 1997, p.68). The uniqueness of her style drew from the fact that she did not go the extents of developing a complex technique, in the conveyance of her message. The incorporation of new technologies in her art work was also a first in the world of pop-art. This was a possibility that could not have been envisioned before her and even though her initial attempts were not received with acclaim, her later works received the kind of respect given to unique pieces of art (Michelson, 2001, p.37). Kruger opened the world of art to more possibilities as far as experimentation with style was concerned, and that is why she has been made a person of reference, in the study of pop art.

Keith Haring was a survivor and developed a cartoon like pictographic into a style that looked anonymous. It just happened that in functioned as his personal signature (Gopnik and Varnedoe, 1990, p.88). The boldness of the marks and simplistic linear motifs, fluorescent color along with humor were used to offset the sometimes violent and sexually provocative subject matter of his work. He adapted his work to use as badges, and set up his own shop in the East Village to sell merchandise. Andy Warhol, who purchased work by Haring and also became his friend, had said in 1975 that “making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art” (Michelson, 2001, p.117 ). It was in Haring’s commercialization of his work that Haring turned himself into a Pop Artist during the 80s.

Pop art in both its traditional and modern forms covered a vast range of themes. These included mass production, mass culture and popular icons, as well as abstraction. The inspiration of pop art came from by everyday living (Lucy, 1966, p.89). This form of art, however, comes with the twist of advocating for cultural change, in terms of societal elements like anti-authoritarian education, women liberation and an objective approach to sexuality. This emergence of new attitudes about life and culture came with new approaches to self expression, which was well represented in the art world, appearing as pop-art (Livingstone, 2000, p.285). For instance, it was during this period that women’s fashion was getting into the limelight. The Hollywood effect had started getting into society, with habits such as smoking appearing elite and fashionable. All these aspects had found their way into the advertising industry, which subsequently saw them end up in pop-art, in the form of cuttings and screen prints.

During the course of the 1960s themes such as murder, the death of the individual and “scum” of the crime world became prominent in Warhol’s work (Michelson, 2001, p.112). His art portrays the fact tragedy may make a person famous for fifteen minutes, but that it is soon forgotten. “Life is cheapened by a repetitive stream of banal Hollywood clichés. For a person to become famous as a result of personal tragedy is a rare enough event, and yet our society expects such events as part of its daily diet.”

Pop art, in its wake impacted the society and art scene in remarkable ways. First, it came out as an inclusive and relevant style of art (Livingstone, 2000, pp.21, 298). Its predecessors, such as abstract expressionism did not leave as big a legacy in American and British societies, primarily because the chosen subjects and media of expression did not resonate well with the general public. Pop art on its part picked on material and topics that were of interest and easily-relatable to by each and every member that had come in contact with items of mass appeal such as product packaging (Livingstone, 2000, p.158). As such, pop art drew away from the elitist brand that had been tagged with traditional forms of art and adopted a more populist stance. Pop art was credited for opening up the world of art to ordinary individuals. These were individuals who appreciated art depending on how easily recognizable it was. Pop art brought works that felt the average person on the street feel less intimated to attend an art gallery.

Pop art also had an impact of giving society a chance to look at itself from deep within. In this regard, instead of trying to undermine the bourgeois community, like Dada did, it lay focus on the material items of obsession that were distinguishable in American society (Irving, 1978, p.244). These were consumer items such as food, vehicles and sex. By use of satire and irony, artists in the pop art era were in a position to make critical commentaries to the society (Livingstone, 2000, p.38). Pop art, like many other forms of art that came before it, brought about certain legacies that had hitherto not found prominence. This impact was in the meaning, the choice of material and the message conveyed. The three items are explained in detail below:

The earliest proponents of Pop art wanted to convey a message that was instantly recognizable (Castleman, 1986, p.27). This is because the artists of the day had seen how difficult it had been for art lovers to get the message that artists in abstract expressionism were trying to convey. To this end, the artists made their works as simple and visually-appealing as possible (Lucy, 1966, 147). This was achieved by the use of materials from advertisements and posters of public figures, as well as cuttings from magazine pages. These items, combined with material from traditional forms of art, ended up producing art pieces that were both interesting to look at, as well as extremely thought provoking. The presentations also made it easier for persons, not keen on the traditional forms of elitist art forms to lift messages from visits to the museums and art galleries. Modern forms of pop art also strive to give emphasis to meaning even though the art piece themselves may sometimes appear like haphazard collection of unrelated materials.

Until the emergence of pop art, art could only be made from select materials. These included paint, for paintings and bronze and wood for sculptures. The subjects of inspiration were also limited to human and landscapes. Later, the art movement known as Dadaism came to the fore, to insist that art could be made from any type of material including items that are deemed trash. Immediately after, came pop art which furthered the idea of art being easily made from available material, irrespective of how low it appeared in terms of quality (Lucy, 1966, p.76). The usage of low-brow material is one of the distinguishing characteristics of pop art. In most instances, the artists who specialize in this form of artistic expression tend to use materials that are readily available, such as broken grass, scrap metal and beads in their compositions (Jamie 1996, p.11). It is under very few circumstances that pop artists would walk into a shop and buy each and every item they will use in their art work. This is one of the unique elements that make pop art stand out even in the midst of heated criticism, stemming from the perceived quality of art pieces (Harrison, 2001, 18).

Until the emergence of Dadaism and Pop-art, the items that made people flock the galleries were the art works themselves (Irving, 1978, p.132). Individuals from traditional forms of art concentrated on making the finished product as visually appealing as possible. Pop-art in contrast, did not particularly focus on the fine touches. Instead, the strength of any select piece of art was seen to come from the message and inspiration behind it (Jamie 1996, pp. 42, 50). Most if not all pieces of pop art, are made using a combination of items, which in their typical context are unrelated. For instance, some the famous pieces have had magazine cut-outs, paired with oil paints and found objects such as bottle tops, combined together into a single unit, bearing a particular message. In this regard, the uniformity and cleanliness that is traditionally associated with forms of art such as paintings and sculptures. This leaves the idea behind the art work to drive its popularity as exemplified by the works of some of the most popular pieces from the genre.

This is the summation of this essay. The project had set out to analyze pop art in both an in-depth and exhaustive manner. Starting with the origins the discussion continued into the styles and themes of pop art before concluding with the legacies associated with the style. It has been found that pop art is one of the youngest movements of art, and which is gradually evolving. The research has also revealed that pop art’s main focus is on the message conveyed, as opposed to the packaging, something that has made the approach receive its fair share of criticism. As per earlier plans, the research was primarily guided by available literature on the topic. Both physical and online libraries were visited, and material to comprehensively cover the discussion picked. In conclusion, it has been found that pop art is a post-modern art movement, which gives artists the room to experiment, with all approaches they find useable. However, the research also revealed that the subject has not been well studied by most scholars, with the available literary pieces mainly focusing on the artists themselves and their art works. This, therefore, leaves a lot of room for exploration into the topic, though it is also modest to note that no single discussion can cover each and every element of a particular item.

Arnason, H 1968, History of Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture , Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York.

Castleman, R 1986, Japser Johns: A Print Retrospective, The Museum of Modern Art, USA.

Gopnik, A and Varnedoe, K 1990, High & Low: Modern Art & Popular Culture , The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Hapgood, S 1994, Neo-Dada: Redefining Art, 1958-62 , Universe Books, New York.

Harrison, S 2001, Pop Art and the Origins of Post-Modernism , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Haskell, B 1984, BLAM! The Explosion of Pop, Minimalism and Performance 1958-1964 , W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. in association with the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Honnef, K 2004, Pop Art : Taschen GmbH, Toronto.

Irving, S 1978, The New York School: The Painters and Sculptors of the Fifties, Harper & Row, New York.

Jamie, J 1996, Pop Art , Phaidon Press Ltd, Australia.

Jurgen, D 2009 , Lichtenstein Posters , Prestel, UK.

Livingstone, M 2000, Pop Art: A Continuing History , Thames & Hudson, United States.

Lucy, R, 1966, Pop Art, with contributions by Lawrence Alloway, Nancy Marmer, Nicolas Calas, Praeger, New York.

Madoff, S 1997 , Pop Art: A Critical History: Documents of Twentieth- Century Art, University of California Press, California.

McCarthy, D 2002, Pop Art: Movements in Modern Art series , Tate Publishing, Oklahoma.

Michelson, A 2001, Andy Warhol , MIT Press, Massachusetts.

Osterwold, T 2007, Pop Art , Taschen, Toronto.

Phillips, L 1992, Richard Prince , USA, Whitney Museum of American Art.

Tansey, R 1980, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages , Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., New York.

Tomkins, C 1980, Off the Wall: A Portrait of Robert Rauschenberg, Calwin Tomkins, New York.

Warhol, A, 1975, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, from A to B and back again , Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York.

Weiss, J 2007, Jasper Johns: An Allegory of Painting, 1955-1965 , Yale University Press, Connecticut.

• Family Legacies
• Andy Warhol's Pop Art
• Abstract Expressionism and Post-War Art Movements
• Time Capsule Assignment: Baroque & Renaissance
• Leonardo Da Vinci and Galileo Galilei: Art and Science
• Works of Literature, Painting, and Music United by the Idea of Arabesque
• Music, Cosmology and Architecture in the Renaissance
• The National Centre for Popular Music in Sheffield
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2022, July 24). An Analysis of Pop Art: Origins, Styles and Legacies. https://ivypanda.com/essays/an-analysis-of-pop-art-origins-styles-and-legacies/

"An Analysis of Pop Art: Origins, Styles and Legacies." IvyPanda , 24 July 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/an-analysis-of-pop-art-origins-styles-and-legacies/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'An Analysis of Pop Art: Origins, Styles and Legacies'. 24 July.

IvyPanda . 2022. "An Analysis of Pop Art: Origins, Styles and Legacies." July 24, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/an-analysis-of-pop-art-origins-styles-and-legacies/.

1. IvyPanda . "An Analysis of Pop Art: Origins, Styles and Legacies." July 24, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/an-analysis-of-pop-art-origins-styles-and-legacies/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "An Analysis of Pop Art: Origins, Styles and Legacies." July 24, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/an-analysis-of-pop-art-origins-styles-and-legacies/.

Pop Art – The Fusion of High Art and Popular Culture

In the 1950s, international art did a sudden and unexpected 180-degree turn. In the United States and the United Kingdom, a new art movement, pop art, began to grow in popularity. This new art movement took inspiration from the often mundane, consumerist, slightly kitschy, and mass-produced parts of popular culture. Pop artists like Andy Warhol, Richard Hamilton, and Roy Lichtenstein instigated a shift in our conception of high and low art forms. These artists drew attention to the growing consumerism in the markets and our art consumption.

Table of Contents

• 1.1.1 What Makes Art Fine?
• 1.1.2 Shocked Withdrawal or Cool Acceptance?
• 1.1.3 How Does Pop Art Explore Cultural Trauma?
• 1.1.4 Capitalist Critique or Enthusiastic Endorsement?
• 2.1 Proto-Pop Art
• 2.2.1 Finding a Pop Art Definition
• 2.3.1 Establishing American Modern Pop Art
• 2.4 American Pop Art versus British Pop Art
• 3.1 The Tabular Image: Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton
• 3.2 Pulp Culture: Roy Lichtenstein
• 3.3 The Monumental Image: James Rosenquist
• 3.4 Repetition: Andy Warhol and Repetition
• 3.5 Pop Sculpture: Claes Oldenburg
• 3.6 Pop Art in Los Angeles
• 3.7 Signage: Ed Ruscha
• 3.8 French Nouveau Réalisme
• 3.9 German Capitalist Realism
• 4.1 Eduardo Paolozzi: I was a Rich Man’s Plaything (1947)
• 4.2 Richard Hamilton: Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? (1956)
• 4.3 James Rosenquist: President-Elect (1960-61)
• 4.4 Claes Oldenburg: Pastry Case, I (1961-62)
• 4.5 Roy Lichtenstein: Drowning Girl (1963)
• 4.6 Sigmar Polke: Bunnies (1966)
• 4.7 Ed Ruscha: Standard Station (1966)
• 4.8 David Hockney: A Bigger Splash (1967)
• 4.9 Andy Warhol: Campbell’s Soup I (1968)

A Brief Summary of the Pop Art Movement: What Is Pop Art

Many of us know artists like Andy Warhol, but what is Pop Art as a movement? When it comes to creating a Pop Art definition, we need to consider the type of Pop Art. There is some contention surrounding the original birthplace of pop art. Similar trends began appearing in England and America in the early 1950s. Pop art was a real 180-degree turn in the development of modernism from the Abstract Expressionist movement that came before it.

The Pop Art definition turned to tangible and accessible parts of popular culture as inspiration, replacing the traditional “high art” themes of classic history, mythology, morality, and abstraction. Pop art elevated the more mundane parts of popular culture to fine art, and today it is one of the most recognized modern art styles.

Key Pop Art Ideas

Pop Art may appear more trivial and superfluous than other traditional fine art movements. The bright colors, use of popular imagery, basic shapes, and thick outlines may suggest a more playful form of art, but the Pop Art movement is packed with underlying intricacies and social commentaries. Here is a little Pop Art background.

What Makes Art Fine?

The most prominent idea within the Pop Art movement was to blur the lines between what had previously been considered fine art and the more kitschy, mundane parts of popular culture. Pop artists celebrated items of consumerist value, insisting that there is no cultural hierarchy when it comes to worthy subjects of artistic creation. Pop artists borrowed inspiration from any source, regardless of cultural value.

Shocked Withdrawal or Cool Acceptance?

The works of Abstract Expressionist artists are typically highly emotive. In contrast, Pop Art paintings and collages tend to be more removed and distant. Although Pop artworks often explore diverse cultural attitudes and integral parts of social life, they do so in a cool and relatively unemotional way. Art historians have hotly debated whether this distance is a shocking withdrawal from the cultural themes that Pop Art explores or whether it is the opposite. Perhaps the coolness reflects an acceptance of popular culture.

How Does Pop Art Explore Cultural Trauma?

An integral part of the Abstract Expressionism that preceded Pop Art was the search for trauma within the soul. Pop artists searched for the same soul trauma, but on a cultural level. In Pop Art, the worlds of popular imagery, cartoons, advertisement, and cultural phenomena like the boom of fast-food restaurants would mediate this social trauma.

In Pop Art, all these manifestations of a cultural trauma are significant, and they give the artist unmediated access to the deeper concerns of humankind.

The modern world is characterized by unmediated access to almost everything. From the built environment to the personal lives of celebrities, everything is available for consumption and critique. Pop Art reflects this access, drawing together various cultural elements to demonstrate that everything is connected.

Capitalist Critique or Enthusiastic Endorsement?

In England in particular, Pop Art artists embraced the media and manufacturing boom of the Second World War. Many view the wide use of commercial advertisement in Pop artworks as an endorsement of the capitalist marketplace. Some critics believe that Pop Art celebrates the growing consumerism of the modern age.

Others find an element of cultural critique buried within these multi-layered works. Pop artists elevated commonplace commercial objects to the status of fine art. By equating commercial goods with fine art, Pop artists draw our attention to the fundamental fact that art itself is a commodity.

Many Pop Art artists began as commercial artists. Ed Ruscha was a graphic designer, and Andy Warhol was also an incredibly successful magazine illustrator. Thanks to these early beginnings, these artists demonstrate fluency in the visual vocabulary of popular culture. These skills eased the ability of these artists to blend fine art and commercial culture seamlessly.

The Origins of the Pop Art Movement

The Pop Art movement is interesting because it developed simultaneously in the United States and England. The first sparks of the Pop Art movement were vastly different in each of these countries. As such, it is essential to begin considering them separately.

In the United States, Pop Art was a return to more representational art that used the irony of mundane reality to neutralize the personal symbolism of Abstract Expressionism. In contrast, early British Pop Art was more academic. British Pop artists used irony to explore and critique the explosive consumerism of post-war American popular culture.

Proto-Pop Art

While the 1950s saw the beginning of American and British Pop Art, some European artists like Marcel Duchamp , Many Ray, and Francis Picabia predate the movement in their exploration of capitalist and modernist themes and styles.

Some American artists hinted at the development of modern Pop Art as early as the 1920s. Artists like Stuart Davis, Gerald Murphy, Patrick Henry Bruce, and Charles Demuth created works that explored imagery from popular culture, including mundane commercial objects and advertising design.

The Independent Group: Pop Art in Great Britain

In London, the Independent Group of Artists was formed in 1952, and many consider this group to be the precursor to the new Pop movement. This gathering of young painters, sculptors, writers, architects, and critics hailed in the new Pop Art movement. This group of artists began meeting regularly in the 1950s and their discussions would center around developments in technology and science, the found object, and the place of mass culture in fine art.

Some notable members included the architects Peter and Alison Smithson, Richard Hamilton, Eduardo Paolozzi, and the critics Reyner Banham and Lawrence Alloway. As these creatives began meeting in the 1950s, England was still gradually recovering from the post-war years, and much of the population were ambivalent about the popular culture in America.

The Independent Group shared this hesitancy towards the commercial character of American popular culture, but they were enthused about the rich world of pop culture, discussing science fiction, car design, Western movies, rock and roll music, billboards, and comic books at length.

1960 saw the first influences of American Pop in the Royal Society of British Artists’ annual young talent exhibition. By January of 1961, R. B. Kitaj, David Hockney , Joe Tilson, Billy Apple, Dereck Boshier, Peter Blake, Patrick Caulfield, Allen Jones, and Peter Phillips were planted firmly on the Pop Art map.

Billy Apple was responsible for designing the invitations and posters for the following two annual Young Contemporaries exhibitions. In the same year, Blake, Kitaj, and Hockney won prizes in Liverpool at the John-Moores Exhibition. During the 1961 summer break at the Royal College, Hockney and Apple visited New York together.

Finding a Pop Art Definition

When it comes to deciding who was the first to use the term “Pop Art”, there is a great deal of contention. In Britain, there are several possible sparks that led to the actual “Pop Art” term. Peter and Alison Smithson used the term in a 1956 article published in Ark Magazine. The article was called “But Today We Collect Ads.”

Richard Hamilton defined Pop in a letter he wrote, and Paolozzi also used the word Pop in his I   Was a Rich Man’s Plaything (1947) collage. John McHale’s son also believes that his father first used the term while conversing with Frank Cordell in 1954.

Lawrence Alloway is also often credited with first using the term in his 1958 essay, The Arts and the Mass Media. In this essay, however, he only uses the phrase “popular mass culture,” and he was referring to popular culture as products of mass media rather than works of art. In 1966, Alloway clarified these terms, but by this time, Pop Art had already made its way into schools and galleries.

America Pop Art Background

New York City was the birthplace of American Pop Art. In the middle of the 1950s, New York artists approached a significant crossroads in the development of modern art. In America Pop Art Artists could either follow in the footsteps of the Abstract Expressionists, or they could rebel against the formalism of modernist schools of thought. Naturally, many artists chose rebellion, and they began to experiment with non traditional forms and materials.

At this time, Jasper Johns was already causing a commotion with his abstract paintings referencing objects that “the mind already knows.” These objects included numbers, handprints, flags, letters, and targets. Other Pop Art artists like Robert Rauschenberg were using found images and objects alongside traditional oil paints. In the same way, the Fluxus movements and Allan Kaprow chose to include elements of the world around them in their artworks. Alongside others, these artists would later form the Neo-Dada movement.

Although Pop Art began emerging in the United States in the early 1950s, it was in the 1960s that the movement gained traction. At the Museum of Modern Art in 1962, Pop Art was introduced at a Symposium on Pop Art. As artists began to use advertising elements in modern art, commercial advertising began to incorporate elements of modern art. American advertising became very sophisticated, and American artists needed to find more dramatic styles to distance themselves from mass-produced materials.

While British Pop Art took a slightly humorous, romantic, and sentimental approach to American popular culture, American artists produced Pop Art that was typically more aggressive and bold. The British were distanced from the realities of American consumerist images, whereas American artists were bombarded with them daily.

Establishing American Modern Pop Art

Robert Rauschenberg took a great deal of influence from Dada artists, including Kurt Schwitters . Rauschenberg believed that painting relates both to the worlds of fine art but also everyday life. This opinion challenged the dominant modernist perspective of the time. Rauschenberg combined pop culture imagery and discarded objects in his work. In this way, Rauschenberg could draw a connection between his work and topical events in American society.

The silkscreen paintings that Rauschenberg completed between 1962 and 1964 combined magazine clippings from National Geographic , Newsweek , and Life with expressive brushwork. Rauschenberg’s early work is often classified as Neo-Dada because it is distinct from the American Pop Art style that flourished in the 1960s.

When it comes to prominent American Pop artists, we cannot forget Roy Lichtenstein . Lichtenstein’s use of parody in his works offers perhaps the best definition of Pop Art’s underlying premise. Lichtenstein produces precise, hard-edged compositions based on old-fashioned comic strips.

Using Magna and oil paints , Lichtenstein would appropriate and alter scenes from DC comics and others. It is easy to recognize the work of Lichtenstein by his use of Ben-Day dots, bold colors, and thick outlines. The artist effortlessly blends popular culture and fine art, integrating irony, popular imagery, and humor into his works.

American Pop Art versus British Pop Art

Pop Art emerged in both America and Britain at around the same time in the 1950s and 60s. The overarching Pop Art style is an amalgamation of the differences between the two nations. Although both countries found inspiration in the same subject matter, there are several distinctions between their styles.

The early British Pop Art found its inspiration in viewing American popular culture from a distance. With this distance came a certain level of romanticism and sentimentalism, as well as a significant amount of disdain.

British Pop artists took an academic approach to American popular culture, dissecting the power of American popular imagery in manipulating the lives of its citizens. The traditionally dry British sense of irony and parody seeped into British Pop Art.

American Pop artists, by contrast, lived and breathed American popular culture, and this lack of distance is apparent. American Pop Art was also, in part, a rebellion against other forms of modern art. Abstract Expressionism was the greatest impetus for American Pop artists, who wanted to move away from the highly emotive and personal symbolism of the style. As a result, American Pop artists use mundane, impersonal imagery in their works.

Trends, Concepts, and Styles in Pop Art

Following the transition from Neo-Dada to Pop Art, artists throughout the world became increasingly interested in using popular culture in their works. While members of the Independent Group were the first to use the term “Pop Art,” American artists quickly gravitated towards this new style.

Although the individual styles of Pop artists vary greatly, there are common underlying themes and concepts to the Pop Art movement. The use of imagery from popular culture is the most prominent feature throughout Pop artworks.

After the Pop Art movement took off in America, several European variants began emerging, including the German Capitalist Realist movement and the French Nouveau Réalisme.

The Tabular Image: Eduardo Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton

European Pop artists maintained mixed feelings towards the popular culture of America, and these feelings are perhaps best conveyed through the Pop Art collages of Hamilton and Paolozzi. The artists simultaneously criticized the excess and exalted the mass-reproduced objects and images.

Members of the Independent Group, including Hamilton, were among the first to use mass media imagery in their works. Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing? , a 1956 collage by Hamilton, combines carefully sourced elements from mass media imagery to convey his belief that American culture was one of excess. Paolozzi dissects the barrage of mass media through his photo montage collages, like his 1947 work, I Was a Rich Man’s Plaything.

Pulp Culture: Roy Lichtenstein

Part of the significance of Lichtenstein’s work is his ability to create stunning compositions despite using comic books as his subject matter. Not only did Lichtenstein appropriate imagery from mass-produced picture books, but he also applied the techniques of comic books, namely Ben-Day dots.

Although he uses popular imagery in his paintings, Lichtenstein’s works are not mere duplicates. Lichtenstein would focus on a single panel from a comic book, often cropping it down to alter the story. Lichtenstein would also add or remove various elements and play around with language and text. Lichtenstein further blurred the line between fine art and mass reproduction by hand painting the traditionally machine-printed dots.

The Monumental Image: James Rosenquist

Rosenquist was another artist who appropriated popular culture images directly in his paintings. However, like Lichtenstein, Rosenquist did not simply produce copies. Instead, Rosenquist juxtaposes various celebrities, products, and images in a Surrealist manner.

Many of Rosenquist’s works also include striking political messages. Rosenquist would begin his works by creating collages of advertisements and photo-spread clippings. He would then transform the simple collage into a cohesive painting.

Rosenquist began his artistic career painting billboards, and he was able to transition perfectly into rendering his collages on monumental scales. Many of Rosenquist’s works were 20 feet wide or bigger. By inflating mundane images from popular culture on such a large scale, Rosenquist was able to elevate the ordinary to the status of fine art.

Repetition: Andy Warhol and Repetition

When you think of Pop Art, Andy Warhol’s name will likely pop into your mind. Warhol is one of the most famous Pop artists, and his style is iconic and instantly recognizable globally. Warhol is perhaps most well-known for his brightly colored celebrity portraits. Warhol experimented with many varied subject matters throughout his illustrious career.

The common thread underlying all of his work is the inspiration of mass consumerism and popular culture. Repetition is another key element of Warhol’s work, commenting on the mass reproduction within the modern age.

Coca-Cola bottles and Campbell’s soup cans feature prominently in many of Warhol’s earliest works. Warhol would reproduce the images of these items ad infinitum, turning gallery walls into supermarket shelves. To further mimic and parody mass-production, Warhol began to screenprint his works, which had previously been hand-painted.

By insisting on creating his works mechanically, Warhol was rejecting the notion of artistic genius and authenticity. In its place, Warhol emphasized the commodification of art in the modern age, equating paintings with cans of soup. Both soup and paintings can be bought and sold as consumer goods, and both have inherent material worth. Warhol went even further, equating mass-produced consumer goods with celebrity figures like Marilyn Monroe.

Pop Sculpture: Claes Oldenburg

Although sculpture seems like a perfect medium for Pop Art, Oldenburg was one of the very few Pop artists to explore it. Today Oldenburg is famed for his soft sculptures, and enormous public replicas of mundane consumerist objects, many of his earlier works were on a much smaller scale. In 1961, Oldenburg created an exhibition called The Store where he rented a storefront in New York that sold his small sculptural replicas of mundane objects.

Shortly after The Store, Oldenburg began to experiment with soft sculptures. Oldenburg would use fabric and stuffing to construct large ice cream cones, slices of cake, mixers, and other consumerist items. These soft sculptures would collapse in on themselves, perhaps commenting on the hollowness of consumerist items.

Throughout his career, Oldenburg focused entirely on commonplace objects. Following his soft sculptures, Oldenburg began to create grand pieces of public art. His 1974 Clothespin sculpture in Philadelphia was 45 feet high. A sense of playfulness towards presenting the mundane in unconventional ways permeates all Oldenburg’s works, regardless of the scale.

Pop Art in Los Angeles

While New York City was the birthplace of American Pop Art, Los Angeles had its own brand. The New York scene was far more rigid than Los Angeles, which did not have the established critics and galleries of East Coast America. This lack of rigidity translates into the Pop artists who worked and lived in Los Angeles.

In 1962, the Pasadena Art Museum held the first Pop Art survey. The New Painting of Common Objects exhibition showcased the works of Lichtenstein, Warhol, and Los Angeles artists Joe Goode, Ed Ruscha, Robert Dowd, and Phillip Hefferton.

There was another Pop Art aesthetic practiced by Los Angeles Pop artists like Billy Al Bengston. The works in this aesthetic referenced motorcycles and surfing, and used new materials like automobile paint. Making the familiar strange was a central theme in much of Los Angeles Pop art.

Using unexpected and new combinations of media and images, and shifting the focus away from consumer goods, Los Angeles Pop artists moved Pop Art beyond pure replication. These artists began to evoke particular attitudes, feelings, and ideas in their works, basing their compositions on experiences and pushing the boundaries between popular culture and fine art.

Signage: Ed Ruscha

Ruscha was one of the leading Los Angeles Pop artists, and he used a variety of media in his works. Most of his works were either painted or printed, and he often used phrases or words as the subjects of his early works, highlighting the omnipresence of Los Angeles signage. Ruscha’s works blur the lines between abstraction, painting, and advertising signage, which undermined the divisions between commerce and aesthetics.

Most of Ruscha’s work is highly conceptual, and he tended to focus on the idea behind the work rather than the image itself. As with many Pop artists, Ruscha’s work went beyond simply reproducing consumerist images and objects. Instead, he examined the interchangeability of experience, text, image, and place.

French Nouveau Réalisme

In 1960, art critic Pierre Restany founded the Nouveau Réalisme movement by drafting the “Constitutive Declaration of New Realism.” This document claimed that Nouveau Réalisme was a new way of perceiving reality. Nine artists, united in their appropriation of mass culture, signed the declaration in the workshop of Yves Klein. The principle of poetically recycling the reality of the industry, urban life, and advertisement is evident in the decollage techniques of Villegle. New images were created by cutting through layers of posters.

The American Pop Art concerns with commercial culture were echoed in the Nouveau Réalisme movement. However, these artists were more concerned with objects rather than paintings.

German Capitalist Realism

The German counterpart to American and British Pop Art was the Capitalist Realism movement. In 1963, Sigmar Polke founded the movement, which used a mass-media aesthetic to explore objects from commodity culture.

Other artists like Konrad Leug and Gerhard Richter sought to expose the superficiality and consumerism of modern Capitalist societies by using aesthetics and imagery in their own work. Richter scrutinized culture through photography, Polke explored the creative capacity of mechanical production, and Leug explored the imagery of Pop culture.

Famous Pop Art Pieces

As with any movement, there is a great amount of diversity within Pop Art. The movement lays claim to many varied artists, each of whom made valuable contributions to developing modernism. In this section of the article, we explore some of the most famous Pop Art pieces and investigate their contribution to one of the most well-known art movements of the 21st century.

Eduardo Paolozzi: I was a Rich Man’s Plaything (1947)

Eduardo Paolozzi was a Scottish-born artist and sculptor who was a crucial member of the post-war Avant-Garde in England. In 1947 he completed this collage of popular images, a piece which hints at the Pop Art movement that would follow only a few years later. Paolozzi uses a Coca-Cola advert, the cover of a pulp fiction novel, and a recruitment advertisement for the military in this collage.

Like a lot of British Pop Art, this piece reflects a darker, more critical tone. The work is a perfect example of how British Pop Art reflected on the gap between the harsh political and economic reality of post-war Britain and the affluent glamour idealized in popular American culture. Paolozzi became a member of the Independent Group, and much of his work investigates the impact of mass culture and technology on fine or high art.

Paolozzi’s choice of the collage medium nods to the photomontage influences of the Dadaist and Surrealist movements . By physically collating a wide range of popular culture images and Pop Art ideas on a single page, Paolozzi recreates the everyday barrage of mass-media images in the modern world.

Richard Hamilton: Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing?  (1956)

Collage was a popular form of early Pop Art, and this collage by Richard Hamilton is another rich example. Hamilton made this piece for the 1956 This is Tomorrow exhibition. This collage was the advertisement for the exhibit, and it was featured in the catalog. Many critics cite this collage as the very first work of the British Pop Art movement.

In the collage, we can see a modern-day Adam and Eve. Rather than biblical figures, these two are a burlesque dancer and a bodybuilder. These two foundational characters sit within a milieu of modern-day conveniences, including canned ham, a vacuum cleaner, and a television.

Hamilton cut each element from advertisements in magazines. The scene that Hamilton creates both upholds and exploits consumerism. Hamilton also offers a stinging critique of the decadence of the American post-war years.

James Rosenquist: President-Elect (1960-61)

This painting is the first piece on our list that is not a collage, but it did start its life as one. Rosenquist began creating this piece by making a collage with three distinct elements. Each element is cut from various mass-media items. The face of John F. Kennedy, a yellow Chevrolet, and a piece of cake adorn the painting. Rosenquist then transformed the amalgamation of consumerist objects into a monumental, photo-realistic painting.

Rosenquist stated that he had chosen to use the face of John F. Kennedy from one of his campaign posters alongside other elements taken from advertisements because he was interested in the sudden trend of people advertising themselves like consumer goods.

Rosenquist skilfully blends the juxtaposing elements of a collage in painting, proving his artistic talent and ability to offer striking cultural and political commentary through popular imagery.

Claes Oldenburg: Pastry Case, I (1961-62)

Although the sculpture was not the most common medium in the Pop Art movement, Oldenburg was the most notorious Pop sculptor. If you have ever seen any large, playfully absurd sculptures of inanimate objects or food, they were likely created by Oldenburg.  

Pastry Case, I is a collection of works that Oldenburg exhibited at his 1961 The Store installation. The Store was a shop on the Lower East Side in New York, where Oldenburg created and displayed sculptural objects. Oldenburg’s plaster candied apples, strawberry shortcakes, and other consumer items were displayed in his shop-like installation.

Not only were Oldenburg’s pieces commercial products, but he also sold them from The Store at very low prices. The installation and the Pastry Case I collection comment on the relationship between commercial goods and art as commodities. Although Oldenburg sold these pieces as if they were mass-produced consumer goods, they were all delicately hand-made.

Oldenburg includes yet another cultural critique in these pieces through the lavishly expressive brushstrokes he uses to paint each object. Many believe that these brushstrokes mock the work of Abstract Expressionists. Criticism of Abstract Expressionism is a common thread throughout much Pop Art. Oldenburg creates a highly ironic environment as he combines highly commercial items with Expressionist brushstrokes.

Roy Lichtenstein: Drowning Girl (1963)

Towards the beginning of the 1960s, Lichtenstein was growing in fame. Lichtenstein specialized in paintings that drew on popular comics, and this is one of his most well-known pieces. Before Lichtenstein, no Pop artist had ever focused exclusively on cartoon imagery. Other artists like Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg had both used popular imagery in their works previously, but Lichtenstein was the first to focus on cartoons.

It was the work of Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol which hailed the beginning of the Pop Art movement. While Lichtenstein worked exclusively with comics, he did not copy them directly from their sources. Instead, he used intricate techniques, cropping comic images to create novel and exciting compositions. Lichtenstein would also alter the writing in each of his paintings, condensing it and pointing to the visual significance of writing in the comic genre.

Drowning Girl is a good example of this technique because the original source image included the girl’s boyfriend standing above her on a boat. In his paintings, Lichtenstein re-appropriates these aspects of commercial art. In doing so, he challenges existing views about the hierarchy of art forms.

As with many Pop art paintings, it is unclear whether Lichtenstein endorses or critiques the comic form in his paintings. Does he approve of the comic style and mimic it to increase its value, or is it a scathing critique? The answer to this question is left up to the interpretation of the viewer.

Sigmar Polke: Bunnies (1966)

Sigmar Polke was a significant figure in German Capitalist Realism, having co-founded the movement in 1963. Alongside other artists like Konrad Leug and Gerhard Richter , Polke began painting images of popular culture. These paintings elicit a cool cynicism about the state of the German economy following the Second World War. These Pop Art paintings also invoke a sense of genuine nostalgia for the images themselves.

As Lichtenstein began replicating Ben-Day dots, Polke began mimicking commercial four-color printing dot patterns. In his painting Bunnies, Polke recreates a Playboy Club image of four of their costumed bunnies. The disruption of the dot printing technique on the canvas interrupts the mass-marketing effects of sexual appeal. The closer the viewer gets to see the scantily clad women, the less they can see.

In most of his paintings, Polke does not invite the personal identification of the viewer. Instead, Polke’s paintings become allegories for losing the self in the torrent of commercial imagery. The dissonance between the heightened sexuality of the Playboy bunnies and the dot patterns echoes the conflict between a yearning for mass-commercial modern life and being simultaneously repelled by the very idea.

In comparison to New York Pop artists, Polke’s work is much more openly critical of the consumerism within popular culture. These views are rooted in the Capitalist Realism movement. Rather than offering shielded and slightly covert critiques of popular culture, Polke tackles it head-on.

Ed Ruscha: Standard Station (1966)

On the West Coast of America, Ed Ruscha was one of the most prominent Pop photographers, printmakers, and painters. Much of Ruscha’s work is a unique and colorful blend of Hollywood imagery, the Southwestern landscape, and commercial culture. The gas station, like the one in Standard Station, is a common motif throughout his work. In fact, in his book called Twentysix Gasoline Stations (1963), Ruscha documents a road trip he took through the Southwestern countryside.

In this painting, Ruscha is able to mold the ordinary and prosaic image of a gas station into an emblem of consumerist American culture. Ruscha screen prints this image, which flattens the perspective and reflects the commercial advertisement aesthetic. It is also possible to see Ruscha’s early experiments with interplaying text and language. In his later works, Ruscha would build on these early experiments and language would become an integral part of his conceptual works.

David Hockney: A Bigger Splash (1967)

Hockney created this considerable canvas of 94 squared inches from a reference photo in a pool magazine. For Hockney, the idea that it was possible to capture a fleeting event from a photograph in a painting was intriguing. While the moment of the splash was brief, the process of painting was much longer. Hockney manages to contrast the static rigidity of the geometric house, palm trees, pool edge, bright yellow diving board with the dynamism of the water splash. The result is an intentionally disjointed feeling.

The artificial stylization of this painting is typical of the Pop Art style.

Andy Warhol: Campbell’s Soup I (1968)

This painting is one of a whole series on Campbell’s Soup Cans by Andy Warhol. Unlike the works of Abstract Expressionists, Warhol never intended for people to celebrate these paintings for their compositional style or form.

Warhol is one of the most famous Pop artists, and he is best known for using universally recognizable popular imagery in a fine art context. In addition to his series on Campbell’s Soup Cans, Warhol also used the face of Marilyn Monroe , Mickey Mouse, and other famous figures.

By presenting these various popular images in a repetitive style, Warhol created a sense of mass-production in the context of fine or high art. For Warhol, it was not a case of emphasizing or celebrating popular imagery, but rather to provide a social commentary about consumerism. In modern times, commodities like celebrities, soup, and cartoons, become identifiable with a single glance.

Although Warhol painted this early series, he quickly turned to screenprinting. Not only was screenprinting far more economical, but he could infuse his mass-produced commodities with an even greater sense of mass-production. In Warhol’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, he presented 100 canvases of Campbell’s Soup Cans. This exhibit at the Ferus Gallery immediately placed Warhol on the world map and flung him to greater heights.

Pop Art is certainly one of the most well-known art movements of the 21st century. In the wake of global war and hardship, the movement was a thoroughly modern examination of the growing consumerism and excess of the modern world. Behind the bright colors, playful compositions, and absurd aesthetic lies a cutting cultural critique.

Isabella studied at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English Literature & Language and Psychology. Throughout her undergraduate years, she took Art History as an additional subject and absolutely loved it. Building on from her art history knowledge that began in high school, art has always been a particular area of fascination for her. From learning about artworks previously unknown to her, or sharpening her existing understanding of specific works, the ability to continue learning within this interesting sphere excites her greatly.

Her focal points of interest in art history encompass profiling specific artists and art movements, as it is these areas where she is able to really dig deep into the rich narrative of the art world. Additionally, she particularly enjoys exploring the different artistic styles of the 20 th century, as well as the important impact that female artists have had on the development of art history.

Learn more about Isabella Meyer and the Art in Context Team .

Cite this Article

Isabella, Meyer, “Pop Art – The Fusion of High Art and Popular Culture.” Art in Context. April 19, 2021. URL: https://artincontext.org/pop-art/

Meyer, I. (2021, 19 April). Pop Art – The Fusion of High Art and Popular Culture. Art in Context. https://artincontext.org/pop-art/

Meyer, Isabella. “Pop Art – The Fusion of High Art and Popular Culture.” Art in Context , April 19, 2021. https://artincontext.org/pop-art/ .

Similar Posts

Aboriginal Art – Preserving Indigenous Australian Culture in Art

1960s Art – Discover the 60s Art Style That Took the World by Storm

Best Art History Books – Our Recommended Reading List

Lowbrow Pop Surrealism – A Look at the Popular Lowbrow Art Movement

Color Field Painting – The History of Color Block Art

Medici Family – Who Were the Medicis, the Famous Art Family?

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

The Most Famous Artists and Artworks

Discover the most famous artists, paintings, sculptors…in all of history! 

MOST FAMOUS ARTISTS AND ARTWORKS

Discover the most famous artists, paintings, sculptors!

If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser.

Modernisms 1900-1980

Course: modernisms 1900-1980   >   unit 11.

• Contemporary Art, an introduction

Popular culture, "popular" art

Genesis of pop, post-war consumer culture grabs hold (and never lets go), irony and iron-ons, want to join the conversation.

• Upvote Button navigates to signup page
• Downvote Button navigates to signup page
• Flag Button navigates to signup page

Home / Essay Samples / Art / Art Movements / Pop Art

Pop Art Essay Examples

The influence of pop art on contemporary art practise: analysis of andy warhol and roy lichtenstein.

Pop Art was an influential movement in the 20th century. There was an idea within the modern movement, that one had to respond to one’s own time. Pop Art was a reaction to the post-war period of mass production and advertisement imagery. The movement of...

Music Today: Noise Versus Art

With the evolution of technology and the advent of digital platforms, the music landscape has undergone significant transformations. As a result, there has been an ongoing debate about the quality and artistic value of modern music. Some critics argue that music today is nothing but...

Music Today is All Noise

In recent times, the landscape of music has undergone a significant transformation. The digital age has brought about unprecedented access to music, allowing artists to reach global audiences with ease. However, this surge in availability has sparked a debate about the quality and essence of...

Investigation of the Relationship Between Pop Art and Postmodern Architecture

Art movements and architecture have throughout history always been ingrained with the time in which they existed, influenced by it and/or challenging the norms of their society. They affect the world around them as much as they are a mirror of it. Perhaps no art...

The Role of Andy Warhol in Shaping What Pop Art Truly is

Pop art was one of the most important art movements in history. The art movement was believed to project optimism during the post-war periods. It was a movement that connected fine art with masses such as mass-production, mass-media, and mass-culture and included imagery that society...

The Use of Appropriation in Andy Warhol's Artwork the Last Supper

Postmodernism is a broad movement that developed in the mid-to late-20th century across philosophy, the arts, architecture, and criticism that marked a departure from modernism. Appropriation is a Postmodern characteristic, and is fundamentally the act of taking something from somewhere else and placing it into...

Andy Warhol's Art of Reproduction

Pop Art is one of the most influential arts of the 20th century. It appeared in the mid-1950s. After World War II, with the rapid development of the American economy, new merchandises and shopping ways emerged. At the same time, new kind of media were...

New York’s Underground Art: the Velvets

“New York has never been a utopian place. It’s grittier, more crowded, less pleasant. People who come here don’t come to be comfortable. They come to be excited.” -Robert Christgau. It was the early 1960s when New York’s underground art scene sprouted from the ground....

Trying to find an excellent essay sample but no results?

Don’t waste your time and get a professional writer to help!

• Modernism Essays
• Impressionism Essays
• Symbolism Essays
• Selfie Essays
• Art History Essays
• Creativity Essays
• Photography Essays
• Frida Kahlo Essays

samplius.com uses cookies to offer you the best service possible.By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .--> -->