Pop Art

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Pop Art
"Marylin" by Andy Warhol.
Decade of origin	1950s
Creator/s	Richard Hamilton, Andy Warhol, Roy Liechtenstein, James Rosenquist, Claus Oldenburg
Key motifs	Bold lines, dotted painting, simplicity, everyday objects, cultural idols
Key colours	Saturated colors, primary colors
Key values	Reflecting the trends and culture of the time, pop culture, opposing the seriousness of fine art and Abstract Expressionist art, fun
Related aesthetics	Art Academia Art Hoe Avant-garde Chicha Figuration Narrative Four Colors Internet Awesomesauce Memphis Design Modernism Neo-Pop Nouveau Réalisme LOLcore Lowbrow Pastel Gore Precisionism Sots Art Superflat Superflat Pop Yé-yé

Pop Art is an art movement that emerged in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1950s. The movement challenged the conventions of fine art by including imagery from popular and mass culture, such as advertising, comic books and mundane cultural objects.

The name "Pop art" is short for "Popular art". Pop art is known for portraying simple household items and cultural idols in bright and eye catching colors. Common aspects of pop art include saturated colors, bold outlines, boldness and dotted painting.

The Pop art movement arose in response to the Abstract Expressionist style of the era. Young artists felt that their arts education and the artwork they saw in museums were detached from their everyday lives. As such, these artists began painting ordinary objects found throughout their lives; a famous example is Andy Warhol's 1962 work "Campbell's Soup Cans". Pop artists saw Abstract Expressionism as too serious and strove to create a style that was fun, lighthearted, and even childlike; they wanted the masses to find fine art more relevant and relatable.

Pop art is known today for commenting on current world events and consumerist culture. The popularity of Pop Art decreased drastically around the early 1970s, with the attempted assassination of Andy Warhol considered an important factor in the movement's decline.

Some key figures in pop art include Richard Hamilton, Andy Warhol and Roy Liechtenstein. While female pop artists are less well-known and discussed, they played a crucial role in its development. Notable female pop artists include Rosalyn Drexler, Marisol and Evelyne Axell.

Visuals

The visuals of Pop art are bright and colorful, emphasizing fun as opposed to the strictness of Abstract Expressionist Art. Pop art is characterized by vibrant, bright colors. The primary colors red, yellow, and blue appeared prominently in many famous works, particularly in Roy Lichtenstein’s body of work.

Pop art utilized images and icons from popular media and products. This included commercial items like soup cans, road signs, photos of celebrities, newspapers, and other items popular in the commercial world, including brand names and logos.

Humor was one of the main components of Pop art. Artists used the subject matter to make a statement about current events, poke fun at fads, and challenge the status quo.

Related Movements

Neo-Pop

Neo-Pop, also called New Pop, was a broad postmodern art movement that surged in the 1980s and 1990s. It is a resurgent, evolved and modern version of the ideas of Pop Art artists from the 50s, capturing some of its commercial ideas and Kitsch aspects.

Fashion

Although Pop art was originally an artistic movement, its ideas and aesthetics inspired many fashion designs. A notable piece of Pop art fashion is The Souper Dress, manufactured by Campbell Soup and inspired by Andy Warhol's art. Pop art themed fashion included many key motifs of pop art: saturated colors, imagery of every day objects or celebrities, bold lines and even polka dot patterns. Pop art themed clothes are still produced today, and can often be found on sites such as Etsy and Redbubble.

Gallery