Popular Art : The Origin Of Pop Art

There have been different art forms that have come and go over the course of time. Hence I will discuss, two significant movements like Post-impressionism and Pop art. Two important artists from these movements are, Vincent Van Gogh and Andy Warhol. There are many differences and very few similarities between these two movements and artists, although more differences. Van Gogh is one of the most captivating artists of post-impressionism. . Throughout his career Van Gogh has painted many works. One of those magnificent paintings is “Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh. In the other hand we will discuss one of the popular paintings “ Gold Marilyn” by Andy Warhol. Warhol is also the most famous of the Pop Artists and played a major role in making the art movement popular.

When we eat a slice of pizza we tend to wash it down with a bottle of Coke when we 're feeling sick we tend to have some Campbell 's chicken noodle soup when we think of rock 'n ' roll the name Elvis Presley comes to mind and for America 's sweetheart and movie actress there is none other than Marilyn Monroe. These for iconic objects and figures all have one thing in common they have stood the test of time and continue to be a part of American culture. Today I 'm going to talk about one man who took these ideas and started a new movement in the early 1960s it movement coined pop art where everyday recognizable images that have stood the test of time and continue to influence and be a part of American culture. This man goes by the name of Andy Warhol.

Pop art got its name from Lawrence Alloway, who was a British art critic in 1950’s. The name “Pop Art” reflected on the “familiar imagery of the contemporary urban environment” (kleiner, 981). This art form was popular for its bold and simple looks plus its bright and vibrant colors. An example of this type of art is the oil painting done by Andy Warhol, “Marilyn Diptych” (Warhol, Marilyn Diptych) in 1962. The Pop art movement became known in the mid-1950 and continued as main type of art form until the late 1960’s. The Pop art movement, was a movement where medium played a huge part in the society, with it reflecting on advertisements, comic strips and even celebrities, like Marilyn. This movement also has a large

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.

When studying artists, styles of art and their respective time period, it is always important to find a few key artists that were responsible for the rise of new art trends. Traditionally, art has often a reflection of the most important elements within its respective time period, such as wars, religions, royalty, culture and expression. This is why the study of art history is needs to look deeper than simply understanding how certain artworks were created. Among the various artists studied in the course, Andy Warhol is definitely one of the most influential. Far ahead of his time in thinking and talented in several media forms, Warhol was a product of his time and defined his era with the use of his artwork, giving rise to other artists within the same time period. This paper will argue that Warhol was not only an influence to modern art, he defined the concept of "pop art", which combined consumerism and pop culture, creating works that questioned the norm of society at the time, while providing a strong influence to future artists. Warhol was hugely successful in his artistic efforts and several of his staple works will be discussed in regards to its significance and representation of its respective period of time, as well as Warhol’s influence on the history of art.

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

One of the most significant decades in 20th-century art, the 1960s saw the rise of Pop Art, Op Art, Minimalism, Conceptual Art, Performance Art, and Feminist Art, among countless other styles and movements. Artists began to notice that American culture was filled with commercial images: on television and billboards, and in magazines and newspapers, commercial art was used to sell everything from dish scrubbers to soup cans to cars to movie stars and their movies. Pop artists used commercial art techniques to create new artistic forms.

Andy Warhol being not simply a Pop artist, but an American artist who was known as the master of Pop Art, and about two of Warhol’s most famous paintings; Coca-Cola and Campbell’s Soup Cans. Andy Warhol was an artist and filmmaker, an initiator for the Pop Art movement in the 1960s. Warhol used mass production techniques to elevate art into the supposed unoriginality of the commercial culture of the United States. Warhol’s early drawings frequently recalls the Anglo-Saxon tradition of nonsense humor, a characteristically childlike exuberance, and the fact that Warhol was successfully earning a living in the advertising industry at the time was sufficient for many to dismiss his entire artistic output during this period as “commercial art”. Fifty years ago, Pop art captured the spirit of Warhol’s young art, but that basic structure has been (to most people) a revealing profitless movement for years. Pop art was a 1960s movement that focused on everyday objects, comic books and mediated images — now seems quaint and playful, but not Warhol. In the first part of Andy Warhol’s career he was an iconoclast, in the second, the artist as businessman. In 1960 Warhol’s graphic works underwent a fundamental change in terms of subject matter, accompanied at about the same time by a change in technique. Warhol’s graphic work covers areas not normally associated with the art of the twentieth century, and which might even be considered unique. In Andy Warhol’s paintings and prints of

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.

One very significant way the “art world” has expanded in recent years as discussed in “The Art World Expands” is the constant rising and falling, expanding and retracting of our nation’s and the global economies. “The rise of neo-expressionism in the early 1980s, for instance, was tied to a boom in the U.S. stock market, whereas an economic recession

Post-war Japanese society is a world where High and Low art is blurred together by otaku, such as anime, and social class. However, Takashi Murakami straddles the line. Murakami spills a mix of Nihanga and Otaku into the canvases, plastic toys, handbags, shoes, etc; endorsing his own theory/style named “Superflat”. Using strategical subject matter such as popular Japanese comic figures combined with ukiyo-e(traditional Japanese block prints), and addressing these contrasting qualities to outside cultures; Murakami intensifies what Pop Art accomplished, art versus material. On other feelings, one could argue that “Superflat” isn’t a unique, Japan-identified style, that “Superflat” is a humiliation to the Contemporary Art world because of its commercialism. Lastly, that is a continuation of the already well developed Pop Art. On the supporting side, Murakami’s “Superflat” is a high-energy, cross-culture style that serves as a new way to represent the high and low of art that is considerably unique to Japan. To support this, Murakami’s past and present artwork will have to be established chronologically to illustrate how the timeline affects his work.

Post World-War II, mass media had a profound impact on European and American artistic practices. As a result of the war, the U.S. was at the center of the international stage, and American visual culture began being consumed worldwide. This made it a relevant, accessible and common ground for international artists. American Pop artists, like Andy Warhol, sought to use common culture eliminate the division between high and low aesthetics. Warhol’s use of high culture and mediums, such as his use of famed icon Marilyn Monroe and his oil paintings, mixed with his use of low culture and mediums, like his imagery of the ubiquitious Campbell’s Soup cans and his factory produced posters, blurred this line, making the once inaccessible high culture,

‘pop art was open to all forms of communication and popular information in its attempt to embody all of reality in its own language’’ (Parmesani, 2012, P: 72).

Lowbrow art is a unique art movement that emerged in the 1970s in the shady corners of Los Angeles, California. Lowbrow art has many labels such as underground, Neo-pop, and Nobrow. Also known as pop surrealism, lowbrow art, was inspired by surf culture, punk music, underground comix, and most importantly, cartoon and comics. Lowbrow art is a movement for the millions of people who share a common culture. The movement has steadily grown since the 1970s and isn’t going anywhere soon. The pop culture prevalent in lowbrow art differs through each artist and is represented through their imagery. In this paper, I am going to elaborate on the characteristics of lowbrow art. Then, compare and contrast two contemporary lowbrow artist’s works, Isabel Samaras and Kenny Scharf (Esaak).

“Modern painting, breaking through old conversation, has released countless suggestions which are still waiting to be used by the practical world.”(Gropius) The birth of modernism and modern art goes back to the Industrial Revolution, a period that lasted from the 18th to the 19th century, in which rapid changes in manufacturing, transportation, and technology profoundly affected the social, economic, and cultural conditions of life in Western Europe, North America, and eventually the world. Before the 19th century, artists created art pieces for wealthy people and institution places like the church where they can create art works about storytelling of religious or mythological scenes . These arts were there to instruct the viewers.However, this changed when during the 19th century many artists began to create works that were about people, places, or ideas that interested them, and of which they had direct experience. With the popularization of the idea of a subconscious mind, many artists began exploring dreams, symbolism, and personal iconography as avenues for the depiction of their subjective experiences.Challenging the notion that art must realistically depict the world, some artists experimented with the expressive use of color, non-traditional materials, and new techniques and mediums.