AMERICAN POP ART

Coca-Cola, fast food, superstars, comics; these are the popular images of the sixties, these are Pop Art.

Pop Art was born as an American Art style of the Twentieth Century. Although founded in England in about 1953 it flourished in the United States between 1961 and 1965. Americanism and its popular culture gave new inspiration to the Abstract Expressionists of the fifties. The American Pop artists included: Arman (b. 1928), Richard Artschwager (b. 1924), Billy Al Bengston (b. 1934), Christo (b. 1935), Allan d'Arcangelo (b. 1930), Jim Dine (b. 1935), Öyvind Fahlström (1928-1976), Joe Goode (b. 1937), Red Grooms (b. 1937), Robert Indiana (b. 1928), Jasper Johns (b. 1930), Ray Johnson (b. 1927), Howard Kanovitz (b. 1929), Edward Kienholz (b. 1927), R. B. Kitaj (b. 1932), Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), Richard Lindner (b. 1901), Marisol (b. 1930), Claes Oldenburg (b. 1929), Mel Ramos (b. 1935), Robert Rauschenberg (b. 1925), Larry Rivers (b. 1923), James Rosenquist (b. 1933), Edward Ruscha (b. 1937), George Segal (b. 1924), Richard Smith (b. 1931), Wayne Theibaud (b. 1920), Andy Warhol (1930-1987), Tom Wesselmann (b. 1931) and H. C. Westermann (b. 1922).

Pop Art confronted the public with popular images, movie stars, soft drinks and supermarket items, as symbols of its society, its mass production and depersonalisation. Pop Art aims to turn the popular ordinary items of the modern world into art. This is not ridiculous as much beauty and symbolism concerning man lies in our mass produced items. Pop Art offered its audience a tangible, easy to understand style. It was not just available to art intellectuals, but was accessible by all. Although the objects are not a shock, Pop Art is full of startling surprises for the uninitiated. It addressed a mass audience, much as advertising does, and was a real expression of its time. Pop artists borrowed their imagery from commercial advertising sources, such as magazine illustrations, comics and billboard advertisements rather than earlier fine -art history. Many Pop artists worked in the advertising industry early in their careers. Pop Art addressed the contemporary age, drawing its imagery from items of local popular culture, often expressed through the relatively new invention of television. Pop Art depicted all the great modern things Abstract Expressionists had tried so hard not to notice at all.

It was grounded in Dada, using elements of collage and assemblage (i.e. the collage of pre-existent elements) where the artists contribution is purely in the juxtaposition of the elements. Pop Art used the acrylic paints from the 1950s used to express the excitement and spontaneity of the new age. Pop Art made techniques formerly used in commercial advertising, such as bill board murals and commercial silk-screens, acceptable as legitimate methods of art production. Pop Art used stark simplicity, immensity of scale, repetition and bright colours as devices to direct attention to ordinary things. The American artists' eclecticism and easy access to a wide range of techniques and materials also explain their freedom in exploiting in art history.

Unlike British Pop Art, Americans did not romanticise their imagery. A consequence of US Pop Art is an attempt to re-validate purely realistic painting.

The development of American Pop Art occurred in four phases, marking different responses by artists to the challenge of their times. The first was the pre-Pop phase, in which Johns and Rauschenberg took their leave of Abstract Expressionism. Then came the heyday of Pop Art: this phase saw the emergence of a number of important artists whose work was rooted in the fifties and partly founded on experience acquired in commercial art, design and poster-painting; they were Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist, Tom Wesselmann and Robert Indiana. Quite independently of each other, these artists went about translating objects and human figures into vehicles of generalised statement. In recreating previous artistic achievements as commonplace images, they manage to be entertaining, ironic, serious, playful and naive.

However, Pop Art had its enemies; anti-Pop was developed by the "No" group and rejected the tendency by some Pop artists to cultivate standard images and stereotypes. Formed in 1958 by Boris Lurie, Sam Goodman and Stanley Fisher, this group was supported by the March Gallery, and later by the Gallery Gertrude Stein. Aggressive, chaotic, critical, political and angry, they used shock and horror tactics, environments incorporating handbills, statements, events, street actions and "Happenings" against what they saw as affirmative tendencies in Pop Art.

Pop Art was successful due to the immediately recognisable images presented, that all could relate to, unlike Abstract Expressionism which was too intellectual and very personal.

Essentially, Pop Art is conceptual. Pictures become things, and things become pictures.

Timeline of Pop Art's History

1957 and onwards-
Allan Kaprow organised "Happenings" in New York. It was a form of art "action" in which artistic ideas were confronted with elements of chance. Also attending were Oldenburg, Lichtenstein, Segal, Whitman and Watts.

1961
This year was a major turning point for art - formal techniques had been so consistently and uncompromisingly employed and had attained such a degree of rigour, clarity and precision that Pop Art was able to establish itself for the first time in New York as a direction in art - from then on it was discussed, written about and collected.
Lichtenstein creates 'Girl with Ball'.
Lichtenstein holds his first one man exhibition at the Marlborough New London Gallery and an additional exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery, New York.
Warhol designs Pop Art shop window for Bonwit Teller, New York.
'Art and Assemblage' -an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York which influenced the incorporation of rubbish and organic waste into collage and assemblage (Rauschenberg used this extensively in the sixties).

1962
Warhol produces his famous silk-screens of Marilyn Monroe, Coca-Cola Bottles, Campbell's Soup cans and dollar notes.
Warhol creates his Do-It-Yourself series including 'Do-It-Yourself (Flowers)'.
Warhol creates '129 DIE IN JET (Plane Crash)'.
Warhol overprints Elvis Presley and the Campbells Soup can to create 'Campbell's Elvis'.
Warhol begins working in his 'Factory'; he went on to produce over 2000 pictures between 1962 and 1964.
Lichtenstein creates 'Masterpiece', 'Art', 'Takka Takka' and 'Eddie Diptych'.
Edward Ruscha makes a 'Spam' can the subject of art in 'Actual Size'.
Lichtenstein collaborated with Paolozzi and started using collage.

1963
Lichtenstein moves to New York.
Lichtenstein creates 'Whaam!', 'I know ... Brad', 'Femme d'Algier', 'Magnifying Glass' and 'Drowning Girl'.
Warhol creates his works based on death and disaster 'Tunafish Disaster', 'Double Silver Disaster' and 'Orange Car Crash 10 Times'.
Warhol films his movies 'Sleep' (6 hours long) and 'Empire' (8 hours long).

1964
Warhol creates 'Race Riot' and 'Single Elvis'.
Lichtenstein creates 'As I Opened Fire'.
Lichtenstein was represented at the Venice Biennale and the "documenta 3".
Lichtenstein leaves teaching to paint full-time.
Pop artists (Indiana, Lichtenstein, Chamberlain, Rauschenberg and Warhol) commissioned for the New York World Fair to decorate the New York State Pavilion - Warhol's work 'Thirteen Most Wanted Men' was removed by order.
The "Box Show" was held in the Stable Gallery, Warhol's silk-screens stencils of commercial boxes were displayed as if in a supermarket.
Robert Morris performed in 'Site' wearing a mask by Jasper Johns.
Warhol's 'Flower Pictures' were exhibited at the Galerie Sonnabend, Paris.

1965
Lichtenstein creates 'Explosion No. 1' and 'M-Maybe (A Girls Picture)'.
Warhol exhibits at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia.

1966
The Pop Art play 'Kisses Sweeter than Wine' was performed. It took nine evenings to perform, Robert Rauschenberg made an appearance as an "idiot savant".
Lichtenstein creates his 'Brushstrokes' series including 'Yellow and Green Brushstrokes' and 'Yellow and Red Brushstrokes'.
Claes Oldenburg creates his toilet series including 'Soft Toilet' and 'Toilet (Hard Model)'.

Pop Artists
Information is included on: Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein

This Summary was written by myself.
Please feel free to use this as a resource, not an assignment.
If you have any questions, suggestions or further information please email me.

Bibliography

Hopwood, G., 'Handbook of Art', North Clayton; The Specialty Press, 1979.
Gardner, H., 'Art Through The Ages', New York; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975.
Williams, D. and Wilson B. V., 'From Caves To Canvas, An Introduction To Western Art', Sydney; McGraw-Hill, 1992.
Lucie-Smith, E., 'Movements in Art Since 1945', London; Thames and Hudson, 1983.
Osterwold, T., 'Pop Art', Berlin; Taschen, 1990.

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