What is Pop art? | Origin, characteristics, artists and works

What is pop art?Do you have a little idea what it could be? Perhaps a play on words, a lifestyle, a generic term or a new artistic concept? At we are lovers of art history, which is why we have told you about some of the most beautiful paintings in the world, or the curiosities of famous paintings. Nevertheless, Art, like history, is centuries and centuries old, and it is not an easy task to write it! So once again, join us and let’s learn a little more about the enigmatic art of the 20th century: pop art.

What is pop art?

Consumer culture, mass media and technological euphoria have a double face: development and decadence, progress and catastrophe, luxury and misery. All this in the 60s became trivial. Little by little, celebrities, advertising, the objects became the content of art and thus, objects collected by museums. This was just the beginning of pop art…No one knew what pop art was, but all the artists relentlessly pursued the maximum expression of the industrialized and chaotic city.

To define what pop art is, we must locate ourselves geographically in the United States, because this was the scene of the success of pop art, where young artists, almost simultaneously (and even if they did not know it) fed the language of art with the intense slang of the street. . To be more exact, pop art emerged in New York, even more precisely, in Manhattan.. Names like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist and Clases Oldenburg already had the shine of the stars. In his paintings and sculptures he was discovering what pop art is; They celebrated the language of urban culture in big cities, advertisements, comics, photography and design.. But let’s start at the beginning:

1. What is the origin of pop art?

Pop art emerged from the new consciousness developed in the 1950s with which American art reaffirmed itself from Europe. As we told you, progress, the media and the cult of stars flourished in Hollywood and New York, It was precisely that that inspired artists to create a new artistic trend.

With the support of numerous galleries and museums, the pop art It was promoted as a new trend towards experimentation. In addition to the ‘usual’ works of art such as paintings or sculptures, The development of what is pop art was successful thanks to activities such as Happenings, plays, anti-demonstrations and street events. The music and phrases of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were part of a revolution; artists like Peter Blake, Richard Hamilton and Andy Warhol designed album covers for music groups.

A New York art movement was coming to life! Supported by Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, he opposed a new objectivity to the obsessive movement of abstract expressionism. Pop art modified the world of shapes and color to give way to capitalism and advertising. By the mid-60s, Pop art was widespread, its themes had been modified and expanded, artistically and stylistically.. As pop art was spreading in America, the same thing happened in Europe…

2. European aspects of Pop Art

In the United States, popular cultures and the mass media had already promoted pop art. Elvis Presley, the beatnicks and the hippies launched a revolutionary cultural movement, there it was already clear what pop art is. However, in Europe, “Americanization” trends were seen in which advertising strategies and development were imposed in the media.; Even so, pop art was articulated in a less radical way. Because? The Second World War also affected the creative processes of pop art.

While the United States was experiencing a phase of economic prosperity, the economy in Europe had been affected by the war. However, as the glitter and glare of advertising took over the streets of London and Paris, pop art was felt more strongly than ever. For art historian Lucy Lippard, Pop art focused on: “artists who devoted all their strength to serious painting. All of them were trying to leave behind those beautiful and carefree advertisements, with their imitation of modern art.«.

3. Characteristics of pop art

  • Pop art exerts its influence on advertising, design and the trinket industry. Return to daily life, everyday life and consumption.
  • The technical aspect of the production processes changed, methods such as screen printing and collage were introduced to produce artistic works in series, en masse. Even one of Andy Warhol’s most famous phrases was: «I want to be a machine.» The works of art were (mostly) mechanically reproduced according to photographic models.
  • In pop art anyone could worship bad taste, collect trinkets, read comics, eat sausages and drink Coca-Cola. The pictorial themes of pop art are influenced by daily life; The breaking of taboos and the end of “prudishness” were part of that counterculture.
  • The general themes of pop art were subculture, popular culture, media images, new technologies, design, the consumer industry and the mechanical industry, everything was looked at from the perspective of how this influenced people.

3. Recognized artists

Andy Warhol

One of the most enigmatic artists of the 20th century was this artist who, among other things, revolutionized the way in which the pop art for the artistic practices he used. He was a controversial character for being one of the first artists to enter the world of fame. Warhol’s artistic work is in many media: painting, sculpture, screen printing, film and advertising, some of the most famous works are: Campbell’s Soups, Marilyn Monroe, Mao and Brillo Soap Boxes.

Roy Lichtenstein

Born in New York City in 1923, he was a real estate broker and later a great artist. He was a very prolific person, some historians establish his busiest period in his last years of life. He used to use figures from commercial advertisements and gave them a new meaning. One of his most praised works in the media is Barcelona’s Head, which is currently exhibited on Barcelona’s Paseo Colón.

James Rosenquist

Another of the movement’s notable artists was James Rosenquist, who was born in North Dakota. This artist mostly worked on large advertising posters with fluorescent colors. Unlike other artists of the pop art, Rosenquist worked on large formats using the sign painting technique.. He exhibited in museums around the world, however, perhaps the most important work was F-111: a mural made for the New York State pavilion in 1965, measuring 3 x 26 in length.

Richard Hamilton

Hamilton was one of the great references of British pop art. His career began in a similar way to Warhol’s, as his first approach to his art was in an advertising agency. He, unlike other artists of the movement, was strongly influenced by Pablo Picasso, Cézanne and the futurist movement.. His most famous work is titled «Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Home So Different, So Appealing? which would become the manifesto of British pop art.

Tell us, which artists of the pop art do you like them more? We read you!. And if you want to continue learning more about art, we invite you to discover the secrets hidden in works of art.