Influence Of Consumer Culture On Pop Art

It is clear that the hip hop culture plays a huge role in the lives of many people. It has influenced the way people dress, the way they talk, and the way they act. Unfortunately, many big corporations have taken advantage of this and commercialized rap music in order to gain a profit (Blair, 497). Commercialization is a very complex topic; however, it is important to understand. This is because of the fact that when something becomes widely known, such a hip hop and rap have, it is vulnerable to change (Phillips, paragraph 9). An example of this is when author Nicole Phillips states, “Hip-hop became more about edge and less about the content of the message. It became about sales….” (Phillips, paragraph 9). Therefore, in order to prevent any further change, one needs to understand commercialization and how it works. This paper is going to explore the complexities and nuances of commercialization of the hip hop culture. In order to do this, this paper will consider what commercialization of hip hop culture entails. This paper will also discuss how Elizabeth Blair, author of “Commercialization of the Rap Music Subculture,” conceptualized commercialization, as well as how she discusses the situation in general. After discussing these topics, the paper will move on to discussing cultural appropriation. This discussion will include how authors describe cultural appropriation, and a debate regarding this topic.

The feel-good essence of a lot of commercial pop music has the outcome of concealing the reality of structural where a people may not be treated as equals around the world (McKay, 2000, p.2). Therefore, commercial pop music has the triple socialising effect of having listeners forget the environment that they live in, having them believe there is validity in commercial power, and of muting people by mass-producing blaring, fused type of pop music while censoring others. This is concerning since the increasing variety of media controlled by the same corporations. An argument to this is that this feel-good aspect can help consumers feel, that they have escaped the conditions they live in. (McKay, 2000,

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.

Popular music is often one of the best lenses we have through which to view our own cultural orientation. Many of the artistic and experimental shifts in popular music have mirrored changes in our own society. For instance, the emergence of Elvis Presley as a public figure would signal the start of a sexual revolution and the growth in visibility of a rebellious youth culture. Similarly, the folk and psychedelic music of the 1960s was closely entangled with the Civil Rights, anti-war and social protest movements. In this regard, we can view popular music as an artifact through which to better understand the time and place in which it is produced. In light of this, the state of popular music today may suggest troubling things about our society.

The exporting of American pop culture has been going on ever since America has become a big world power along with other countries. Sometimes we don’t know how westernized we are since it’s all around us. There are some positives to this export to other countries, but there is also negatives. Some negatives to the exportation of American pop culture are the misrepresentation of other societies, teachings of extreme beliefs, and the erasing of other cultures around us.

I think Clapp’s assessment of American consumer culture are accurate and insightful. An examination of history and our modern cultural trends reveals the validity of Clapp’s assessment. For example, in the nineteenth century pictographic and flashy advertising taught the consumerism lifestyle to Americans and transformed America into a society of consumerism. “Consumers, in short, were made, not born” (Clapp, 1996, p. 366). From the 1800s to the present day advertisers continue to actively and aggressively sell a lifestyle with their product. [Modern consumerism is] a fun-house world of ever-proliferating wants and exquisitely unsatisfied desire, consumption entails most profoundly the cultivation of pleasure, the pursuit of novelty, and the

Instead of promoting the usual conformed replicated lifestyle they promoted individualism. Advertisers reassured consumers that they would surely find the self-expression they were in search of within their products. This is evident within the “Forever Young” Pepsi commercial where present advertisers are promoting individualism through the image of rock n roll legend, Bob Dylan. In his essay, Frank states, “We consume not to fit in, but to prove, on the surface at least, that we are rock ‘n’ roll rebels, each one of us as rule-breaking and hierarchy-defying as our heroes of the 60’s, who now pitch cars, shoes, and beer” (Frank 153). During the 1960’s Bob Dylan revolutionized what it meant to be an individual. Through his music many people started to express what they were feeling and how it was affecting them and rebelled against the pressures of society. Pepsi using Bob Dylan as the protagonist of the commercial symbolizes the desire for people to explore what it means to be a carefree rock ‘n’ roll legend that lives life on a spectrum outside of the guidelines that society already has set in place. Bob Dylan’s purpose in the Pepsi commercial is to directly represent rebellion and individualism. This advertisement pushes the concept that consumers too have the potential to be as inspiring as said legend if they continue to take apart in whatever is being sold. Pepsi’s commercial expresses that conformity is no longer

In the article “Commodify Your Dissent”, Thomas Frank argues about his point that is based on the American cultural ideas in the 1950s. There are a lot of differences between two lifestyles, such as education, technology, and fashion. I strongly agree with Thomas Frank that marketing no longer promotes conformity, but, rather, promotes “never-ending self-fulfillment” and “constantly updated individualism”. Because humans’ interest and trend are changing over time, humans’ needs gradually increase. Back then, people only use magazines and TV to advertise their products. Nowadays, the technology is developed significantly, so advertisers have to change to match the society’s trends to get customers attention. Moreover, they have a lot of good

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.

The author James B. Twitchell identifies consumerism as being the next evolution of our social behavior. “In our postmodern world we have, it seems, exchanged knowledge of history and science for knowledge of products and how such products interlock to form coherent social patterns” he asserts (Twitchell 321). The implication is that, where we used to rely on crafting items and learning skills for ourselves, we instead find that technological progress has now enhanced the means of production to be so efficient that the value we provide to one another now is not by what we can offer, but by what we decide to buy. These purchase trends are used as a means of forming social connections, and I agree. I have personally observed consumption trends lead to social connections. Certain cultures and sub-cultures have specific styles or looks associated with them. Like-minded or similar interested people can easily identify each other. If an individual is impassioned by rap music, he or she consumes certain brands and types of goods that another person, who’s enthusiastic about country music, would refrain from acquiring.

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.

Pop Art- defined as 'making impersonality a style' by using the imagery of commercial art and other mass media sources. (Hugh Honour and John Fleming, 1991) Pop Art, a movement in the 1950's and 1960's, is based on 'popular culture' and is concerned with such phenomena of modern life as commercial posters, packaged foods,

Today’s society focuses more on the idea of mass media and of things that are portrayed with this. Because of advancements in technology, a person could simply turn on a television set, a computer, or just their phone to find out things that are going on in the world. In dealing with pop culture, one would see that the ideas and objects generated by a society are being promoted by the media. Mcdonald's and other restaurants use this to promote their items.

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.

In this summative essay I would like to explore and analyse the influence that Graphic design has had on popular culture and consumerism. Graphic design can be defined as “the art and practice of planning and projecting ideas and experiences with visual and textual content. The form of the communication can be physical or virtual, and may include images, words, or graphic forms.” (aiga.org) Designers are problem solvers and it is their job to come up with a suitable solution to a problem. They have to find the best suitable means to communicate a particular message. Graphic Designers are at the forefront of advertising and the battle of selling giving the designer even greater responsibility, because of this graphic designers play a big role in consumerism. Consumerism, “as a social and economic order and ideology encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-greater amounts.” (wikipedia.org) Society have been gradually made to believe that they can increase their happiness through buying and spending. Consumerism is an international problem, but has existed for many years, people purchasing goods that exceeded those of their basic needs dates way back to the first civilisations, in the eras of ancient Egypt and Rome. A turn in consumerism arrived just before the industrial revolution, people worked long hours and earned low wages, so they didn 't have the time or the disposable income for excess spending. The industrial revolution welcomed the use of assembly