Many people ask what pop art is; in simple terms it’s a art movement, which aimed to replace the abstract mode of artistic expression with messages that are easier to understand than words.
Pop art is a art movement that started around the 1950’S, it is known as one of the major art movements in the twentieth century. Pop art was made of interest to a large number of artists during this time in media terms such as advertising and consumer goods. This included big brands such as Coca Cola and the Campbell’s soup can, these are only a few examples but there are many more. Pop art is focused on everyday objects rendered through an adoption of commercial art techniques. This was done through everything around us as everyday objects where used for media by the use of movies, comic books, advertising, and especially television.
During the 1960’s pop art travelled from Britain to the USA where the American artists developed how pop art was an art movement and not just something that was used for advertising. Many artists developed the understanding of pop art in America such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. These two artists were the key players in how pop art developed during this time.
Pop art further developed in the USA through the response to the wealth of the post World War II era and the growing materialism and consumerism in society during this time. Pop art was mainly focused on consumerism which was done by using popular images and icons and then incorporating and re-defining them into the art world such as Coca Cola. Often subjects for pop art are taken from advertising and product packaging, celebrities and comic books. Example of artists who did this was Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein in particular. The images that were created are presented with a combination of humour, criticism and irony. In doing so, the movement puts art into terms of everyday, contemporary life. It also helped to decrease the gap between “high art” and “low art” and eliminated the distinction between fine art and commercial art methods.
Pop art was getting very popular with people around this time, as it was something that was completely different compared to what people where used to seeing in art. It was new, bold and different. One of pop arts main advantages was its ability to appeal to a wide range audience. Its bright vibrant colours made pop art stand out and made it interesting to look at. These bright colours also gave pop art the capability to emphasise certain elements in its culture and it also eliminated the divide between the commercial arts and the fine arts. Another main element of pop art was the way that it was able to use popular images and icons and re-define them.