11 - Pop Art

The pop art movement started during the mid 1950's in Britain, and spread over to the United States before 1960. The movement was very different compared to normal fine art as it introduced popular culture into the work, using extracts from advertising, news and other things at the time. The pieces created in during the movement did not generally refer to the art itself, more to the ideas that led to the creation.

Tea Painting in an
Illusionistic Style -
David Hockney - 1961

The image to the left shows Hockney's Tea Painting, using the the 'Typhoo' brand from popular culture. The painting looks rushed and somewhat out of proportion, which could be a representation of the product at the time. The title of the painting uses the phrase 'Illusionistic Style' which suggests a link to the ghost like figure that looks like it's sat down inside the box, however this is the style of an illusion, not an actual illusion. This links with the misspelling of the word Tea on the side of the box which shows the falseness of the painting and maybe the illusion.

Interior II - Richard Hamilton - 1964

This image also shows the use of skewed proportions. The piece is an idea of what Hamilton believed was a modern day interior. He used different geometric shames and shadows to create depth. The use of popular culture in this image includes a photograph of an not so famous actress named Patricia Knight, which was different to Hamilton's normal choices.

Big Campbells
Soup Can (19¢) -
Andy Warhol - 1962

Still Life #20 - Tom Wessellmann - 1962

Marylyn - Andy Warhol - 1967

Other examples of pop art pieces and links to popular culture include the three above, by Andy Warhol and Tom Wessellmann, using brands from popular culture such as Campbells soup, which is one of Warhol's most famous pieces along with his celebrity artwork such as his Marylyn Monroe piece. I particularly like Tom Wessellmann's piece above as it is similar to Hamilton's Interior II as it uses the idea of a modern room, however this piece uses a modern kitchen, showing popular culture brands including Coca Cola and Lite Diet Bread.

Images taken from Pop Art - Jamie James - Phaidon Press - First Published 1996