Pop Art In The 1960s

The decade of the 1960s can be said to be a subversion of the United States. From the civil rights movements, anti-Vietnam war demonstration, Kennedy’s presidency, to the assassination of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, the impact of the surging social movements and political turmoils to the American society is extremely far-reaching. There has been a lot of researches on the various social movements in this period. However, people 's attention seems to be limited to another important cultural phenomenon of this period, that is the prosperity of rock & roll. This paper is intended to analyze the

Lawrence Levine’s “The Folklore of Industrial Society: Popular Culture and it Audience,” examines what popular culture is and how it relates, specifically, to the 1930s. He notes that popular culture is perceived as trash, something for a passive, mindless listener, but rejects this idea completely. Instead, Levine shows how radio, movies, plays, and television unite people, allowing them to feel certain things and relate to the characters. Communities were built around different forms of popular culture, giving individuals the chance to discuss what they heard or saw, take some ideas and reject others, mold the programs into their own lives, and form their own opinions about them. There was nothing passive about these forms popular culture

“The movement's rise was aided by parallel growth in other areas” (ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ART HISTORY). Though after the Pop art movement’s peak during the mid-1960s, the movement took a turn, and found itself losing its popularity; when the Vietnam War was in effect; by the late 1960’s and early 1970’s the pop art movement had ended.

The concept of pop art started to become popular during this time as it was described using simple, bright colors and images to symbolize everyday life.

Pop Art emerged in Britain in the late 50’s and the United States in the early 60’s.(Mamiya 1992) Pop Art is generally known today as a representation of celebrating popular culture and consumerism, however it’s background and origins are far more broad and extensive. There are many factors and influences that lead to the creation of the Pop Art movement such as adjusting to life after World War II, new technological advances that lead to mass cooperate growth, the evolution of Abstract Expressionism and also social issues in the media such as feminism. (Smith 2001; Mamiya 1992) Many of these factors overlap and act as a catalyst in the creation of Neodadaism and eventually Pop Art. (Livingstone 1992) Pop Art does not have a soul distinct style nor just one major influence and this can be proven by looking at key artists of the movement such as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg and James Rosenquist as well as female Pop artists such as Martha Rosler. (Brauer, Edwards, Finch & Hopps 2001) Exploring these artists and the major influences of their work will break down Pop Art and establish the movement’s purpose as well as its evolution.

With the overwhelming amount of Levittown houses, the obsession to obtain the perfect American “ideal family” as seen on TV and the unspoken agreement to fear any and all foreign ideas and values, the 1950s were revealed to be a decade of prosperity, conformity and consensus. Just ten years later the atmosphere in America was shockingly different; the 1960s were a decade of turbulence, protest and disillusionment due to the ongoing struggle for civil rights, arising feminism, and the Vietnam War.

Taking a look back in time, so much has changed, especially in the time period between the 1920’s and 1960’s. The 1920’s and 1960’s are two decades that have really defined the United States’ culture. From flappers to hippies, jazz music to rock, and Civil Rights movements, these two decades have helped shape the beliefs and rights we have today. The 1920s were an age of social and political change that would change the face of history in the United States. The 1960s are considered the most consequential and controversial decade of the twentieth century due to the rise of feminism, the Vietnam War and political and social atmospheres becoming divided. Despite the forty year gap between the two decades, they share a great deal of similarities, many of which have changed history.

For Americans, the 1960’s were a time of both unnerving turmoil and exciting change. Following on the heels of the 1950’s themes of tradition and conformity, the contrasting events and attitudes in the sixties constituted a perfect storm leading to a reconstruction of American social, cultural, and political ideals. Although each decade has experienced identifying features, events occurring during the sixties provided for a definitive coming of age era for the United States. While much of this revolution can be attributed to the events themselves, the medium used for disseminating these ideas bears some of the responsibility. Throughout the decade television replaced radio and newspaper as the primary source of news and entertainment.

The sixties were a time of social and political change in America, and the art world was not left untouched. Early in the decade a new movement focused on popular culture and national icons began to develop. It was aptly named Pop art. "Many critics were alarmed by Pop, uncertain whether it was embracing or parodying popular culture and fearful that it threatened the survival of both modernist art and high culture..." (Stokstad 1101) Pop artists were not the first to make cultural statements with their work, however controversial art always draws criticism and attention. One of the most well known artists of the Pop movement was Andy Warhol, a young commerial illustrator from manhattan. Warhol's use of popular icons and brands as the focus

During the 1950’s art took a major turn in history from traditional styles depicting people and scenes of everyday life to abstract thoughts and ideas that were transformed onto a canvas to express emotions and ideals in society. People, events, and society have always impacted several styles of art, but the consumer culture in the 1950’s impacted art in a new completely unique way. Post WWII society was more industrialized and more focused on developing and selling new products. The postwar generation had more disposable income to spend on the latest and greatest products and the market turned to advertisements in mass media to get their products out there to consumers. With televisions and films increasing in popularity the market flooded these forms of media with catchy flashy ads that showed favorable people like movie stars using products. With the increasing use of mass media, the culture shifted to consumerism which effectively shifted art as well. Art was directly impacted by the consumer culture because of society’s use of advertisements, photographs, and films which artists like Richard Hamilton and Andy Warhol used those elements in their own works to portray the change of societal standards in a new modern style of art called pop art.

In order to discuss pop art I have chosen to examine the work and to some extent lives of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol who were two of the main forces behind the American movement. I intend to reflect the attitudes of the public and artists in America at this time, while examining the growing popularity of pop art from its rocky, abstract expressionist start in the 1950s through the height of consumer culture in the 60s and 70s to the present day.

Optical illusion art was new and interesting and caught people's eye.First, they made op art (optical illusion art) into clothing.Second, there were many op artists that were famous for one art piece or another.Last, op art was very popular in the 1960s and still is today but not by such a great magnitude.

For artist’s fame is a measure of acceptance. However being simultaneously famous and notorious means the individual’s works have carried him or her beyond and into the public eye. This is what Andy Warhol did with pop art. Andy Warhol understood so many aspects of this style, like the allure of celebrities. Andy didn’t have the greatest upbringing, so as he grew older, he used his personality as fuel to his success. For that reason and more he was known as the prince of pop art.

The Pop Art movement “uses elements of popular culture, such as magazines, movies, … and even [brand name] bottles and cans” to convey a message about the artist’s views on society. Using bold coloured paintings, soft sculptures, and printmaking, artists would create facsimiles, similar reproductions of popular merchandise and collages. The purpose was to emphasize the banality of any given mass culture. This was a response the post-war conservative society which focused on consumerism and the consumption of name-brand products. The American economy had significantly risen for the first time in 30 years which lead to the mass consumption of goods and conformity of the majority.

Pop art occurred during the mid 1950s to the early 1970s. It started with four artists: andy warhol, roy lichtenstein, james rosenquist, and claes oldenburg. All four artists took their inspiration from mass media and the pop culture of the time. The term “pop art” possibly came from several different origins, the first used in writing attributed to lawrence alloway and alison and peter smithson, members of the independent group. In fact, the first artwork to incorporate the word pop was created by eduardo paolozzi, a collage titled i was a richman’s plaything. Andy warhol was the figurehead of the movement, with his paintings of campbell soup cans and coca cola bottles being some of his most prevalent works. [include campbells paintings] the gallery owner and interior designer muriel latow gave warhol the idea of painting soup cans, when she suggested to him that he should paint objects that people use every day. He created art that was both easily recognizable but also visually stimulating. The ad imagery that was flooding the lives of americans was part of his pop art style, making consumer goods something that many people can recognize in passing. It is stated on theartstory.com that he recreated on canvas the experience of being in a well-stocked supermarket. He is credited with envisioning a new type of art that glorified, and also criticized, the consumption habits of his contemporaries and consumers