Pop Art- Andy Warhol - Research Paper Example

Introduction Andy Warhol was an American leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. In pop art, the artists included imagery of the popular cultures, with the material used in the pop culture sometimes removed from the original known context, isolated or combined to give a different perspective of the fine art. The work of Andy Warhol explored the relationship between advertisement, celebrity and expression that thrived in the 1960’s. Some of the core works of Andy Warhol are preserved in the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. To understand the concepts and techniques employed in the pop art, this paper will analyze Andy Warhol through the period of his work. This will include the techniques and themes he employed in his work the origin and the implication of the art movement as well as the work of Andy Warhol through analysis of literature and internet sources in the form of annotated bibliography. Freeman, Z. (2009). Pop-Art Project = Pride. Arts & Activities, 144, 37. According to Freeman, (2009, P. 145) pop art originated in Britain much earlier than it did in North America, but their origins were independently motivated. The beginning of pop art in the United States marked the reemergence of the hard-edged composition of art and the use of representational art. The representational nature of art was achieved through pop art by the artists using mundane reality, impersonal, parody and irony to mask the personal symbolism. “The works of pop artists were at their greatest high in America in 1960’s and the term pop art was introduced in December of 1962 during a Symposium on pop art that was organized by the museum of modern art” (Freeman, 2009, P. 144). Freeman, (2009, P 145), asserts that the generation of American pop artists in its prime duration of the 1960’s had to search deeply for dramatic styles that would help in the creation of a demarcation between the art and the well-designed commercial material. The prime period of the pop art was known as the pop art movement that was marked by a new level of fascination with the popular culture that was meant to influence and reflect the post-war society. Pop art employed the use of familiar objects of art such as a flag or a bottle and manipulating their representation in a manner that the imagery would have a symbolic meaning to the society. These helped in curving the position of the form of art, as it was in high demand in the commercial industry as the form of art had an increased level of appeal to the psychology of the post-war society in America. The pop art movement purposed to blur the boundary between the high art and the low culture through the creation of paintings and sculptures that portrayed mass cultural objects and media stars. Pop art movement believed that everything in nature is interconnected thus attempted to discover the connections through the artwork. In as much as the pop art in cooperated a wide variety of attitude and posture in the work, the industry’s main target was the post-world war two advertisements of the manufacturing companies and the media boom. Small, S. (2006). What’s eating Andy Warhol? Food and identity in Pop Art. Appetite. According to Small (2006, P. 72), the evolution of pop art was as a result of growing interest in popular culture. The artists who were the original initiators and among the best in the industry employed the technique of having their work in the form of screen prints of the normal and daily objects. The techniques however required that these objects were manipulated beyond their normal imagery to include colorful presentations. Pop art used simple techniques such as the silk green process to create their work. The techniques used by the pop art contrasted the earlier ones used by the established artists of, the earlier centuries. “The use of the simple techniques in the production of the pop art meant that these works could be reproduced in masses thus making the art viable for large commercial advertisement for the manufacturing companies” (Small, 2006, P. 73). The employment of the technique of commercial art and popular illustration thus worked to a great extent in motivating the pop artist to participate in the industry. The simple techniques of designing the pop arts were often amusing as it employed the simple materials that are culturally dominated and used it to represent an advanced ideology that was acceptable to all classes of the society, ranging from the rich to the poor. Among the most common materials, the form of art employed was the use of cock tins, dollar bills or comic strips among other simple and available materials as well as the faces of celebrities. These helped to boost the imagery representation that was required of the form of the art as it applied the use of imagery of materials and the portraits the society was familiar with. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=QpHFBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA28&dq=pop+art+-+adult+literature&hl=en&sa=X&ei=G6YJVe3pNonooASp74KwDQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=pop%20art%20-%20adult%20literature&f=false The pop art movement explored the themes of mass production, mass culture and popular icons of the time to influence their structural designs. The artists realized that an increased number of sale of their products demanded that the art could be reproduced in mass to enable them to tap into the growing industry of manufacturing and advertisement. A depiction of the theme of mass production could be derived from the work of Andy Warhol through his Campbell’s soup cans. “The form with which the can was depicted encouraged mass productivity of the artwork, which could be used by the tomato industry in the advertisement of its products”. Mass productivity of such kind of work could be used both in print and electronic media to appeal to the potential customers of the products depicted in the artwork. Mass culture was yet another theme that was employed in the pop art. Inferring from the comic book inspired paintings by Roy Lichtenstein used the imagery of the cultural events that were within the common knowledge of the people as a means of directing the peoples thoughts towards their paintings. Additionally, a theme of using the popular icons of the time were developed through the artworks of the pop artists. An example could be the Monroe portrait of Andy Warhol that was developed from the portrait of a well-known celebrity. The use of familiar themes that can be mass-produced and appeal to a large number of people is important to the pop artist as a means of enhancing the sale capacity as well as making relevant their artwork. http://www.worldcat.org/title/women-artists-in-the-20th-and-21st-century/oclc/439668236 Pop art has tremendously influenced the form of art in the 21st century. Eye captivating graphics are common sights in the modern museums and public galleries, which are a depiction of the influence pop art, have had on the artists of the 21st century. Nevertheless, the form of art in this century is viewed as one that entails a lot of critical analysis and in cooperation of ideas to get the meaning of the artwork. This is mainly because pop art in cooperates the use of many colors in a single painting that may portray different meanings from different contextual analysis. In the 21st century, pop art production is seen as a special kind of art since it no longer rely on the use of the simple materials, “but relies on the common materials within the public discussion to create an imagery painting that would suit the level of the public imagination”. The modern pop art could in cooperate visual items that are not necessarily real but are believed to be in existence by a good quorum of the public. The discussion on the existence of the extra-terrestrial life has been one area where the modern pop artists have attempted to depict. Portrayal of the existence of an imaginary extra-terrestrial life through paintings are not from of known objects, but are imaginations of what many believe to be the facial appearance of the aliens. It is thus an indication that the 21-century pop artist have attempted to diversify to add intellectuality and a range of public topics to spice their work. Pop art is common in the modern world in the newspapers, magazines, nonacademic journals as well as in the electronic media as a means used by various companies to portray some information that are intended to reach the public in a neutral manner. The use of pop art in advertisements of the modern age is still common as a means of relating the goods being advertised and the cultural atmosphere it is meant to serve. The works of the early pop artists like Andy Warhol have helped to shape the nature of the modern pop art by giving an insight into the basic rules of need for reproductively, mass production and the use of simplicity in depiction of complex circumstances. Borrowing from the knowledge of the early pop artist, the modern pop art has been instrumental in shaping the decor of most modern rooms, hotels and galleries all over the world. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=hRsFjSHBuKUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=modern+pop+art&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QW3sVKfpO5XYav3VgOAE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=modern%20pop%20art&f=false The pop art movement of the 1960’s especially the work of Andy Warhol has helped in molding and influencing the works of the modern pop artists. “Johnny Taylor is a modern day pop artist who bases his approach on a keen and careful observation of the contemporary world”, thus in cooperating the images from the daily life, consumer culture and the city streets to make his work. The artist has been greatly influenced by the notion of using simple ideas that are present in everybody as encouraged by Andy Warhol to depict his work. Another of the 21st century artist whose work has been modulated by the earlier works of Andy Warhol is Gerdine Duijsens. The artist captivates the viewers of her pop work by making the viewer relate to the art personally through the use of popular culture or celebrity in her canvas paintings. As done by Andy Warhol in his paintings, the use of popular events, cultural practice or personality makes an art to be more appealing to the psychology of the viewers. Work cited Freeman, Z. (2009). Pop-Art Project = Pride. Arts & Activities, 144, 37. This article focuses on the evolution of pop art and the challenges that were met in the initiation of pop art movemet. It covers the origin of pop art both in britain and in the united states giving provision for the difference in each circumstance. This article was important to my research in giving a clear overviwe of the structure and development of pop art. Small, S. (2006). What’s eating Andy Warhol? Food and identity in Pop Art. Appetite. This book portrays the works of Andy Warhol as one of the key pop artists of the 1960s. Through developing its themes on the work of Andy Warhol, the source has been significant for my reseacrch in provision of the themes, style and techniques used in pop art. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=QpHFBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA28&dq=pop+art+-+adult+literature&hl=en&sa=X&ei=G6YJVe3pNonooASp74KwDQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=pop%20art%20-%20adult%20literature&f=false. This book emphasizes on the simplicity of the materials used in pop art. It eqully portrays the cultural influence on pop art by provission of ilustrational models like the Campbell’s soup cans as culturally influenced art. The article is well researched and clearly articulates the significance of pop art in the society. http://www.worldcat.org/title/women-artists-in-the-20th-and-21st-century/oclc/439668236. This book looks at the influence of pop art in the 21st century. It depicts how the works of early pop artists have helped to modulate the works of the current pop artists. This book is important to my research in helping to understand the effects of pop art to the modern society. https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=hRsFjSHBuKUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=modern+pop+art&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QW3sVKfpO5XYav3VgOAE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=modern%20pop%20art&f=false. This book emphasizes on the evolution of pop art as one of the populer form of arts in the 21st century. It explains the maintainance of core structural values of pop art like simplicity and populer cultire. The article compares the work of modern pop artsts like Johnny Taylor to those of the early artists. This book is well researched and has been important to my research in comparison of the modern and the early pop artists. Read More