Download pop art

Gruenburg 1
Gretchen Gruenburg
Muecke 1020
14 April, 2011
Pop Goes the Art World
Art was typically reserved for the elite and highbrow categories until about the
1950’s. The ‘50’s in America symbolized hope, growth, advancement, and the
quintessential “American Dream”. The world was still recovering from a major world
war. The need for resources and goods was so high during the war, that after it ended, a
huge boom in consumer goods occurred. Americans became obsessed with having or
obtaining material things, products or goods. This obsession was extremely hard to
escape; with the invention of the television, and the radio still very popular,
advertisements were increasing and inescapable. By 1960, America had somewhat
morphed into a different society; one of nice cars, a single-family home in the suburbs,
and a Suzy-homemaker in every kitchen using the latest and greatest cleaning and
cooking supplies for her household. This transition in the average American lifestyle did
not go unnoticed in the art world. In fact, it also affected it by taking part in a major shift
of postmodern art.
This shift was both a reaction to and a commentary of the growing obsession with
material goods in America. A trend in the art world began in America in the mid fifties
and forever changed contemporary art. This trend encompassed commentary and possibly
a criticism of the politics of that time, and the new American lifestyle: one centered on
material goods, money and celebrities. Popular art was no longer intended specifically for
Gruenburg 2
abstract expression of one’s own personal feelings, art morphed into a social commentary
of the modern world. Using the very means of production as the subjects they were
criticizing, some Pop artists even mass-produced their pieces, completely going against
the former notion of making one-of-a-kind pieces. Displaying images of popular
products, celebrities, politicians, and forms of communication and entertainment, the Pop
art movement exposed the modern American lifestyle as obsessed with material objects
and false idols.
The most notable figure from the American Pop art scene is, without a doubt,
Andy Warhol. Whether you’ve seen his images time and time again, know his
memorable quotes or appearance, or have only simply heard his name once or twice, it’s
likely most Americans know at least something about him. Warhol broke a barrier in the
art world and became wildly famous in the New York art and music scene of the 60’s and
70’s. Due to his personal obsession with fame, Warhol’s art was the most obviously fame
and material obsessed of all the key proponents of the Pop art movement.
Some of Warhol’s most notable pieces include simple silk-screenings of
Campbell’s Soup cans or Marilyn Monroe portraits. The journal Pop Art and Genre
quotes Otto Hahn in response to a show of Warhol’s in Paris in May 1965, he says, “The
true subject is not the flowers, or Marilyn Monroe, but the very process of erosion, the
anonymity of an empty obsession, the mechanical flattening which ceaselessly repeats the
same image emptied of all substance” (Bann 118) This statement exemplifies the
meaning behind this art movement, in that it was simply a response to the growing
obsession with materials and celebrities.
Gruenburg 3
When regarding the Pop art movement, there is much mention of a duality
between high and low images and standards. Being that Pop art typically broke all of the
rules of conventional aesthetics, it was considered, even by the artists themselves, as
“low” imagery. Justin Wolf, writing for The Art Story Foundation’s website explains the
Pop art’s historical relevance and reiterates:
It would be one of the goals of the Pop art movement to blur the boundaries
between ‘high’ art and ‘low’ popular culture. The notion that there is no hierarchy
of culture, and that art may borrow from any source and mix it with other,
regardless of their context and history, has been one of the most important
characteristics of Postmodernism as a cultural movement. (Wolf 1)
The Pop art movement brought about many major changes to the art world. Art had
progressed from the obscure, elite or natural to the mundane and ordinary through this
movement.
The art world during the 20th century went through many phases; in fact, never
before in history were so many different periods of popular artistic style condensed into
such a small amount of time. Many critics and art scholars considered the Pop art
movement as the next step in progression behind Cubism and Dadaism, both abstract
commentaries on political and social happenings. Although these other movements were
recognizable and important in their own ways, the Pop art movement was the most
notable and famous of any art period of the 20th century. This accelerated pace of the
evolution of art was most likely due to the vast changes during that time period. The
Industrial Revolution brought about many changes to the world, especially during the 20th
Gruenburg 4
century. Technology was changing at a more rapid rate than the world had ever seen.
These changes brought about revolutions in many aspects of life.
The 1950’s brought about a lot of “firsts” in American culture and technology.
The first Peanuts comic strip was published in 1950; just one year later the first live
national television broadcast took place. The 50’s were considered the Golden Age of
Television and most notably, the time period of the Baby Boomers. Progress was
occurring; industry was growing almost as fast and large as families at that time. Due to
the affects of the Second World War still so fresh on the minds’ of many Americans,
none of this growth and expansion would have ever seemed to have a negative affect to
the average American.
The 50’s solidified the idea that America was the Land of Opportunity, and the
American Dream was very real to many Americans. So why was the next major art
movement to shake the world one that criticized this way of life? Were the artists
criticizing the people themselves or the industries that were taking advantage of their
eagerness to succeed? Whether the Pop art movement meant to actually criticize the
mindset of the time, or to simply bring it to light as an obvious factor of American life is
still left up to debate in the scholarly art world.
Due to the factors at play during the time period of the Pop art movement, it is
understandable that American’s were excessively materialistic and celebrity-obsessed.
Many people were still reeling from the devastating years prior: the Great Depression and
the Second World War. However, it is also understandable that this mindset would be
criticized. It is very likely that the major advocates and components of the Pop art
movement were simply pointing out the fact that Americans were seemingly more
Gruenburg 5
interested in temporary fixes (materials and celebrities) than their own personal lives and
endeavors. A certain sense of personality and character can get lost easily in massproduction and consumption.
Although the Pop art period in art history lasted only about twenty years, its
affects are still seen today in the art and commercial advertisement worlds. The fusion
between the two mediums has had a lasting impact on contemporary art. The aspect of
this art movement that did not have such a lasting affect, however, was the overall
message. Seemingly some viewers and critics have understood the message in regards to
American mass-consumption and production, but this realization has not been shocking
enough to make any lasting impressions.