Pop Art
Andy Warhol – Campbell’s Soup Cans 1962
Andy Warhol – Marilyn Diptych 1962
General Characteristics:
Influence of Technology: New media and materials
● Pop art made use of many techniques derived from the world of mass media
(magazines; newspapers; advertising).
○ Printing images out to build upon the collage technique which the surrealists had
used. Richard Hamilton made use of collage often.
○ The silkscreen print was popularised by Andy Warhol: “a printing technique
where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas
made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is
moved across the screen to fill the open mesh apertures with ink, and a reverse
stroke then causes the screen to touch the substrate momentarily along a line of
contact. This causes the ink to wet the substrate and be pulled out of the mesh
apertures as the screen springs back after the blade has passed. One colour is
printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multi-coloured
image or design.”
○ Mixed media.
○ Ben Day dots to create a sense of depth and shading.
Art as Idea
● Consumerism was the main inspiration behind Pop Art.
● “Young artists felt that what they were taught at art school and what they saw in
museums did not have anything to do with their lives or the things they saw around them
every day. Instead they turned to sources such as Hollywood movies, advertising,
product packaging, pop music and comic books for their imagery.”
● Cheap forms of entertainment, such as comic books, magazines, and advertisements,
were suddenly elevated to the status of high art. Think back to Dada and how
manufactured objects became art – Pop Art took this idea a step further.
● Mimicking adverts and comics, bright colours and bold text were used.
● Richard Hamilton, a famous Pop Artist, listed what he deemed should be the
characteristics of Pop Art in a letter to his friends: “Pop Art is: Popular (designed for a
mass audience), Transient (short-term solution), Expendable (easily forgotten), Low
cost, Mass produced, Young (aimed at youth), Witty, Sexy, Gimmicky, Glamorous, Big
business!”
● Mixed media: artworks no longer had to be made with only a single medium or conform
to its style and restrictions. Pop artists were revolting against traditional art and its strict,
pretentious conventions.
● Just like how advertising was mass-produced, the Pop Artists were creating work which
was made easily and quickly (using the printing techniques). Little skill seemed to be
required. While Dada turned consumer goods into art, Pop Art turned art into a
consumer good.
● They depicted “low” subject matter in ways which often bordered on tackiness.
● Art is a traditionally refined and sophisticated discipline. With the rise of Pop Art, it was
cheaper and more accessible to the general public than ever before.
● Pop Art was often satirical – it made fun of itself, thereby making fun of the consumerist
lifestyle it depicted.
● Warhol was particularly inspired by the layout of big commercial supermarkets and
mimicked the setup of shelves in many of his works.
● While Pop Art was generally fun and shallow (with satirical undertones), works like
Marilyn Diptych are more symbolic as they show how celebrities, and women in
particular, were commodified and made into objects.
● Pop Art both endorses and critiques capitalism simultaneously, leading to interesting
conflicts and ideas.
● Pop Art can be described as kitsch – “art, objects, or design considered to be in poor
taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in
an ironic or knowing way.”
Reflection of Society (historical; political; social; economic and global circumstances)
● Pop Art took off in the mid 1950s. After World War II ended in 1945, the economy had
begun to thrive once again in the USA and Britain. Manufacturing processes were
becoming faster and cheaper, and this overall increase in efficiency led to an increase in
consumerism. People were encouraged to buy more and more objects in the pursuit of
happiness
.
● Both Hollywood and the advertising industry were booming as they were both fueled by
this consumerism and encouraged it.
● Post WWII, America heightened its anti-communist stance and capitalism surged. There
was increased government pressure to create work which was patriotic and promoted
traditional, conservative values.
Art and Psychology
● Pop Art forced consumers to critically think about the content they were ingesting. What
does it say about us when all our forms of entertainment, including high art, are about
buying more physical objects?
● Viewers are forced to question the ethics of consumerism, capitalism, and celebrity
worship.
● Simultaneously, the traditional exclusivity of art is also questioned. Why should art only
appeal to educated or rich people? Why should it not be as accessible and simple to
understand as an advert?
● The viewer and artist confront their fear of impermanence. Pop Art was designed to be
forgotten about quickly and even discarded, so it is quite postmodern and even
existentialist / absurdist. Humans have a desire to be remembered and contribute
meaningfully to their environment, and Pop Art can make viewers uncomfortable as it
reminds them of their own insignificance.
