Pop Art

Pop Art was a movement in the 1950's in England and the US. It challenged other styles and movements in painting by using popular culture to form the base of the image.

Robert Rauschenberg,
Retroactive I, 1964
A year after the assasination of JFK Rauschenberg creates a collage of the late president along with images of the Space Race. This here is the modest beginnings of pop art where we begin to see current subject matters made out of a compilation of images taken from numerous sources. It hasn't quite got that artificial feel about it yet that defines pop art: bright and cartoon like colours.

Roy Lichtensein, 
Whaam!, 1962

Oh Jeff, 1964

James Rosenquist,

President Elect, 1960-1

The president is having his cake and eating it.

I Love you with my Ford, 1961

Cars supposedly link to pleasure, and now that everyone could afford them thanks to the product line back in the 20's, they were just like a can of mass produced spaghetti....

Andy Warhol,

Brushtroke, 1964

Poking fun at the fact that the abstract expressionists believed they used an 'expressive brushstroke'. The drips coming from the squiggly line are meant to be a reference to the artist Pollock.

Marilyn - Orange, 1965
He said that he produced these images with the idea of Marilyn as a person without identity, because all she is is a media entity.

Marilyn Diptych, 1962
As if a religious image. Idea of the celebrity as a demi god.

Double Elvis, 1963

Double Disaster: Silver Car Crash, 1963
These were images of a horrific car accident. Considering they didn't have seatbelts the results were pretty disgusting. Here Warhol is easily producing these images with no reference to any thought of feelings that have been provoked by it. He is saying that we'd entered an age where we can look at an image as if it wasn't real even if it is.