The most famous representative of pop art. Abstract pop art as an art direction. When did the style emerge?

(English pop art, short for popular art popular, publicly accessible art; the second meaning of the word is associated with the onomatopoeic English pop abrupt blow, clap, slap, i.e. producing a shocking effect) art direction of the late 1950s early 1970s; arises as an opposition to non-objective abstractionism; marks the transition to the concept of a new avant-garde.

Representatives of pop art declared their goal to be “a return to reality,” but a reality already mediated by the mass media: glossy magazines, advertising, packaging, television, and photography became their source of inspiration. Pop art returned the subject to art, but it was a subject that was not poeticized artistic vision, and the subject is deliberately everyday, associated with modern industrial culture and, in particular, with modern forms information (print, television, cinema).

New technical techniques, borrowed from industrial design and advertising: photo printing, the use of an overhead projector, the inclusion of real objects, contributed to both the “depersonalization” of individual creative manner the artist, and the “revelation aesthetic value» samples of mass products.

Pop art originated in England; American and French artists. Similar trends appeared in Italy, Germany, and even in the USSR, which at that time was separated from the rest of the world by the “Iron Curtain”.

Kuzmina M. Pop Art. In the book: Modernism. 3rd ed., M., 1980
Katalin Keserü. Variations on POP ART. Budapest, 1994
Obukhova A., Orlova M. Painting without borders. From pop art to conceptualism. 19601970s. History of painting. XX century. M., Galart, 2001

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POP ART from English. popular art - publicly available, popular art - a movement in art from the 1950s to the present. 1970s It arose as an opposition to non-objective abstractionism and marked an appeal to the concept of a new avant-garde.

Representatives of pop art declared their goal - “a return to reality,” however, a reality that is already mediated by the mass media.

The sources of their inspiration were: advertising, glossy magazines, television, photography and packaging. The pop art movement brought the subject back into art. However, this was not a subject that was poeticized by artistic vision, but a subject that was associated with modern industrial culture, especially with modern forms of information (cinema, television, print).

The latest technical techniques, which were borrowed from industrial advertising and design: photographic printing, the inclusion of real objects, the use of an overhead projector, contributed to the “depersonalization” of the artist’s personal creative style and the “revelation of the aesthetic value” of copies of mass production.

Pop art originated in England.

French and American artists achieved the greatest fame. In Germany, Italy and even in the USSR, which at that time was separated from the rest of the world by the “Iron Curtain,” similar trends appeared.

Pop art artists

The birth of pop art

Several artists, critics and architects at the Institute contemporary art in London in 1952 they formed the “Independent Group”, which studied urban folk culture and modern technology.

Artists Edward Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton began to study "images" mass art. The phenomenon of “mass culture” was used various ways research - from linguistic to psychological.

The research was conducted based on American culture. The group members felt mixed feelings of admiration and irony. Edward Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton created collage compositions based on popular themes in advertising and printing of the latest industrial products.

Critic Lawrence Alloway, a member of this group, coined the term "pop art" to express the new phenomenon of painting.

In London in 1956, the exhibition “This Is Tomorrow” was held, which featured photographs of Hollywood film stars and film stills that were enlarged to fit the size of a movie screen.

At the end of the exhibition, College graduates joined the group fine arts Stars: Ronald China, Peter Blake, David Hockney and others.

Artists consistently transformed from intellectual researchers into apologists of mass culture, preachers of a new aesthetics and a new way of life, which is based on the anarchic ideal of freedom, a new principle of morality and rock music: P. Blake designed the Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club, and the cover of the White Album (1968) was created by R. Hamilton.

Pop art in America

The ideology of equal opportunity and commodity fetishism in the United States led to the fact that in the late 1950s pop art was widely promoted in American art. Pop art's international fame came from artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Tom Wesselmann, James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg.

Andy Campbell's Soup Can, Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol

Pop art emerged to replace the serious abstract art of the twentieth century. This style is largely based on popular culture, so it has become a form of entertainment. The direction developed with the help of advertising, trends, and fashion. No philosophy, no spirituality. Pop art (portraits) - one of the sections avant-garde art.

When did the style originate?

Accessibility and simplicity are the qualities that made this style incredibly popular. The goal was originally wide audience, in this way it is possible to cover the most discussed images. That is why the pop art style has become one of the most influential artistic movements in painting of the 20th century and beyond.

Popularization of style

If we take a closer look, the style gained popularity in the 1960s, despite the fact that it was founded a little earlier, in the 1950s. The place of origin is considered to be Great Britain, and active growth occurred in the United States of America. Jasper Johns also became the founding fathers of the pop art cultural movement.

It all started with the initiative of the Independent Group, which was founded in London in 1952 among enterprising artists and architects. Urban folk culture supplemented modern technologies when painting canvases. Using the example of American culture, masters studied the influence of psychology on the mass audience, deep meaning and content of linguistics. I was mainly interested in industrial advertising, current advertising production technologies, and the distribution of collages.

"It's tomorrow"

1956 Opening of the pop art exhibition “This is Tomorrow”. Modern society Film footage of everyone's favorite films, Hollywood idols, and enlarged images were presented. Many were inspired by the new unusual style. After the exhibition, most graduates of art schools and others wanted to join the new movement.

Main motives

Pop art (portrait) has the main characteristics by which it is easy to understand that this is a certain style:

When drawings of popular art are used. Posters, graffiti, comics, vinyl records, graphics by Marilyn Monroe.
Screaming bright colors. Protest to ordinary monotonous interior styles. Only disco trash and youth funk.
The object-like “plasticity” of the paints favorably emphasizes the originality of youth stylistics.

The first motif is taken as the basis, but others perfectly complement the pop art image. In fact, this style is not independent, but only combines all kinds of details and creates a specific harmony.

Interior use

Details are those elements with the help of which all the versatility of pop art in the interior is manifested.

Freedom. Spacious areas, high ceilings, minimalism. It goes well in the design of living rooms and public cafes.
Light color. As a rule, a white background visually expands the space. Flashy, bright furniture always fits perfectly with neutral shades.
Creativity of forms. The ideological creators were actively interested in retro-futurism, in addition to other philistine stylistics. When you are in a pop art style interior, you are likely to remember a good science fiction that time.
Minimum amount of furniture. Still the same idea of simplicity and spaciousness. There will be no busy areas in the pop art room. Only the essentials for life. Multifunctional cabinets, cabinets, sofas.
Variety of accessories. It's easy to find a lot of little things: such as elements of mass culture, colorful details and bright accents. For example, pillows that are scattered around the perimeter, or catchy clothes hangers.
Unusual lighting solution. A lot depends on the light. Including the mood of the object. LED strips, liquid lamps, ceiling lighting. You notice such things especially when all your attention is focused on the light.

Style Features

The bright, original pop art style is not for everyone. It should be used primarily where the recreation area is located. Many note a clear similarity with kitsch. But in reality these are two different styles. A challenge to society, a protest against boredom, the acceptance of one’s own unique taste, the desire to stand out - all this reveals this style in a favorable light.

Portrait in pop art style

A bright surprise does not lose its relevance. Such a gift will come in handy for everyone who values expression, style, creativity and, as a rule, denies simplicity.

It's no secret that you need to give emotions. A pop art portrait will do the job perfectly. Bright, fashionable, catchy. He will immediately attract attention. Everything that is in style and presentation is reflected in the drawing. Artists always notice interesting details and facts.

We see a new surge in the popularity of pop art paintings; each of us has a chance to pamper our loved ones and friends with a unique stylish portrait. For many, this will serve as an example, and they themselves will begin to perform such pleasant and romantic actions.

At the beginning of its emergence, it was not for nothing that this product was noted by many rich and influential people of that time, because it completely changed its cultural significance. The concept of the movement changed the followers of the style. Pop art is recognized all over the world.

Lawrence Alloway released a resonant article about the challenge cultural society, where he described in detail the intentions of young talents. This happened in America, but interestingly, the critic was originally from Great Britain.

In most cases, the material for the work of pop artists is created from all kinds of information and uses technology in combination with even more interesting objects. like no one else, realized this at one time and used it.

The origin of pop art can be attributed to the period of pop music of those years; it was this fact that influenced the development of the movement in London. You don't have to look far for examples; Peter Blake created the cover for The group The Beatles and Elvis Presley, especially since main basis His works included a portrait of Brigitte Bardot, just as Andy Warhol in New York used a portrait of Marilyn Monroe.

Comparing the English approach and the American one, we can absolutely say that the second is much more aggressive and ironic in its message.

Although we should not forget the great motto of Andy Warhol, which has become a kind of symbol of American culture as a whole: “If everything in the world is done by machines, then I will think like a machine.”

Clear motives, symbolism, sharp lines. Anti-art in all its manifestations. Peculiar Dadaists who refused once and for all to standardize the world. It is generally accepted that the most popular theme in the works of pop art artists was food, but this is a misconception: they gave greater preference to objects simple life and toilet.

Warhol made sure that the products of popular manufacturers came out on new level, reproducing logos of top brands in works.

Conclusion

Thus, such unique and inimitable popular art really changed the idea of art. Made some kind of revolution in art world and not only. Until now, many artists, designers, decorators are inspired, live and create with the help of of this style, and also use pop art in the interior. A lifestyle called pop art. We think he is still long years will be as popular as it was in the mid-twentieth century.

We hope that the article was interesting for you and you were able to find answers to all your questions. Thank you for your attention, dear readers. Appreciate art.

(English popular art - popular art; or from pop - abrupt sound, cotton, popping of a cork, literally - art that produces an explosive, shocking effect) - a movement in art of the 1950–1960s, which is characterized by the use and processing of images of mass culture . It was a kind of reaction to abstract art, although he discovered his connection with Dada and surrealism. Pop art began in 1952, when the London Independent Group began studying images of mass art. But pop art gained popularity in its American version, in the activities of R. Rauschenberg, K. Oldenberg, D. Rosenquist, D. Jones, R. Lichtenstein. They declared their goals to be a return to reality, the revelation of the aesthetic value of mass products and means mass communication(advertising, photography, reproduction, comics), the entire artificial material environment surrounding a person. To achieve this, elements of mass culture were introduced into the paintings as a collage, direct quotation or photographic reproduction (paintings by Rauschenberg, Warhol, Hamilton). Rosenquist and Wesselman imitated the techniques and techniques of advertising billboards in their paintings. Lichtenstein enlarged the comic to the size of a large canvas. Oldenberg created replicas of display models large sizes from unusual materials. Thus, household items, packaging of goods, fragments of interiors, machine parts, and popular printed images entered art. famous personalities and events.

Pop art became the reaction of artists to the new urban environment created popular culture. Her images were placed in a different context, a different scale and material were used, production techniques and its defects were revealed. As a result, the original image was paradoxically changed, reinterpreted, and devalued. Pop art artists were among the initiators of such forms as the happening (an event not organized, but provoked by its authors, taking place directly in the city or in nature, an important part of it is the public and its reaction to this event; reflects the desire of the avant-garde artists to merge art with life), object installation (spatial composition created by the artist from various household items, industry, natural objects, text and visual information), environment (composition that embraces the viewer like a real environment, often imitation of interiors with human figures), assemblage ( extended type of collage), video art (experiments with video equipment, computer and television images). These techniques subsequently became widespread both in Europe and in other regions of the world.