POP Art
Cans and Colorful Still Lifes
What is POP Art?
Pop Art is a distinctive style of art that first “popped” up in post-war Britain and America. Primarily characterized by an interest in popular culture and imaginative interpretations of commercial products, the movement ushered in a new and accessible approach to art. ART for ALL!
Ranging from quirky to critical, the pieces produced by Pop artists in the 1950s and 1960s commented on contemporary life and events.
In addition to the unique iconography itself, the artists' treatment of the subject matter helps to define the style. Renowned for its bold imagery, bright color palette, and repetitive approach inspired by mass production, the movement is celebrated for its unique and recognizable style.
Characteristics
Subjects-Popular Culture, Money, Fame, Products
Bright colors-Intensity
Mass Production-Repetition
Bold Imagery-Contrast
Line -Variety
Simplification -Shape
Value-Repetition of Line for Pattern
What is Appropriation?
Compare the Top by Jerry Grandenetti, and the One Below by Roy Lichtenstein.
WHAAM!
From the TATE Museum:
‘Whaam!’ (1963) is based on an image from ‘All American Men of War’ published by DC comics in 1962. Throughout the 1960s, Lichtenstein frequently drew on commercial art sources such as comic images or advertisements, attracted by the way highly emotional subject matter could be depicted using detached techniques. Transferring this to a painting context, Lichtenstein could present powerfully charged scenes in an impersonal manner, leaving the viewer to decipher meanings for themselves. Although he was careful to retain the character of his source, Lichtenstein also explored the formal qualities of commercial imagery and techniques. In these works as in ‘Whaam!’, he adapted and developed the original composition to produce an intensely stylised painting.
PROJECT DIRECTIONS
Still Life Painting with Tempera and Permanent Marker
2) Draw a 1 inch border on the 9 x 12 paper
3) Draw a composition in pencil from the still life photo filling the entire space of paper
4) Convert the shapes in your drawing to at least 3 line qualities and patterns
5) Paint the solid color areas
6) Use black marker to create the variety of lines using a ruller where necessary
Q--Do you think the Pop Artists were more controversial or creative?
Sketch and Finished Still Life
Vocabulary
UNIT GOALS
- Can recognize POP ART style by characteristics-bold bright color, consumerism and mass media as subject, and repetitive approach inspired by mass production.
- Can design a still life composition sketching from photography of actual life objects.
- Can complete a tempera painting using primary color scheme and repetition of abstract shapes inspired by Roy Lichtenstein and comic book simplicity.
Rubric for Popcorn Drawings
- Realistic observation drawing in pencil has accurate detail
- No loss to contour edges as simplification to abstraction
- Line weight varies in abstrct marker technique