Historical Periods: Pop Art

The historical art movement that spoke to me the most out of all the rest was the Pop Art Era. Described by Richard Hamilton, the father of the Pop Art movement in the mid-1950’s, as: “Popular, transient, expendable, low-cost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous, and big business” (Pop Art, 2021) and is known as the pivotal turning point in the twentieth century art scene and a manifestation of post-Modernism. It’s unique subject matters, like common household items, consumer products, celebrities, foods, and even toilets were all part of what made the movement a thing of it’s very own (Zap!, 2021).

With it’s use of bright colors, like red, yellow, orange, and blue; color blocking techniques, and black lining, Pop Art was made famous in London in 1950’s and in America in the 1960’s by artists like Andy Warhol, Richard Hamilton, and Roy Lichtenstein gave art viewers pieces that they was able to connect with, as it had a huge impact visually with viewers (Getlein, 2020). Although, hated by critics, who said, “it was a big joke without any humor,” the public loved it (Zap!, 2021).

The use of commercial techniques, like silk-screening and printing, helped Pop artists Andy Warhol become well known on the art scene. Before long, Warhol became one of the most popular and influential artists of the movement (Gallery of Art, 2021). With Warhol’s well known master pieces, Art Pop has become one of the most recognized Eras in the history of art (Getlein, 2020). Art pieces, like the one included, Orange Car Crash (5 Deaths, 11 Times, Orange Disaster) show off Warhol’s unique, yet talented artistic skills that very well represent the movement as a whole ( Arts and Culture, 2020).

^References

^{Art Hearty. 2021. Zap! The Pop Art Movement Characteristics, History, and Facts. [online] Available at: https://arthearty.com/pop-art-movement-characteristics-history-facts [Accessed 2 September 2021].}

^{Getlein, M., 2020. Living with art (12th ed.). 12th ed. McGraw-Hill education.}

^{So the bys. 2021. Pop art as a movement. [online] Available at: https://www.sothebys.com/en/art-movements-pop-art [Accessed 2 September 2021].}

^{Warhol, A., 2021. Orange Car Crash (5 Deaths 11 Times in Orange) (Orange Disaster) – Andy Warhol – Google Arts & Culture. [online] Google Arts & Culture. Available at: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/orange-car-crash-5-deaths-11-times-in-orange-orange-disaster/QAFlX9ibChqDMw [Accessed 2 September 2021].}