Marshall 1
Leslie Marshall
English 250
Ms. Leasum
26 February 2009
Effects of the Pop Art Movement
Popular Art transpired during a time of social changes. It created a widespread “Western
cultural phenomenon,” that developed under capitalist, industrial surroundings in a modern
society (Osterwold 6). It is a style of art that explores the contemporary aspects of daily life
through forms Dadaism, a movement in the early twentieth century that exploited irony to
benefit cultural analysis. First emerging in England during the 1950s, it rapidly gained attention
in America during the 1960s with newfound success and awareness. Lifestyle and pop culture
were becoming increasingly intertwined at the time through, connections of everyday life and the
aesthetic tastes of commodities. Popular Art had the ability to reflect contemporary reality and
provoke cultural change by merging the gap between fine arts and media through advertising and
commercial arts, and is still doing so today.
The new epoch in art resulted in the change of consumer habits and mass producers’
retail tactics. “Producers could no longer successfully exploit the customer’s needs by superimposing some sales strategy of their own design” (Osterwold 7). Artists became enthused to
undertake the designing of the commonplace promotions. Creativity began to go beyond the
stereotypical norms that had a tendency to dictate the patterns of style and demand. “Advertising
and media provided a vast assortment of new subjects for artists to appropriate and formulate in
Marshall 2
their bold, splashy style” (Johnson 30). According to Roy McMullen, these artists differed from
the serious or elite artists; they represented the views
of the consumer, rather than their personal views
(Frith 13). Synchronization of form and content were
displaced leaving reminisce of the manipulative image
in the advertisement isolated. Many were able to
transform trite household accessories into essential
brand names that became a symbol for the new
emerging mass culture. Brands like Pepsi, Coca-Cola,
and Campbell’s Soup, and items like toothpaste,
cigarettes, and ice-cream all became the iconography
for Popular Art through ads created for the newly
Andy Warhol. 100 Coca Cola Bottles.
1962.
transformed middle class. Due to the post-war
prosperity, an improved standard of living with disposable income and leisure time led to a boost
in mass-produced media (Karizen 113). The demand for consumer goods and mass media
programming was revitalized and people began to develop a new type of relationship with
Kitsch. An art form that imitates the superficial side of creativity and is industrially produced
(Osterwold 7). Pretentious people can find it to be tasteless art. Coca- Cola is a prime example
of Kitsch. During the 1960s, it became a source of entertainment; logos appeared on glasses, tshirts, posters, etc. causing people to want to buy and collect. “This burst of exuberant
consumerism inaugurated a ‘drama of possessions’ in which the acquisition of commodities
became inseparable from the formation of personal identity” (Collins 5-6). Social barriers
between classes began to shift due to the shared common interest in the mass commoditization,
Marshall 3
making them more acceptable. “It was through all this process that the gradual convergence
between ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture took place” (Osterwold 7).
While the designs and images were important to the era, it was the artists leading the
Cultural Revolution, through Popular Art. Richard Hamilton, Andy Warhol, and Jasper Johns
were a few of the artists who produced some of the more notable pieces during that time. These
pioneers were able to integrate the superficial, mass media ideals with art’s styles and forms of
expression. In 1957, Richard Hamilton wrote a letter to fellow Independent Group members,
Peter and Alison Smithson and within that letter defined a term that came to acknowledge massproduced goods as a marketable, artistic phenomenon (Kaizen 113). Hamilton gave definition
Richard Hamilton. Swingeing London 67.
1967-1968.
to “Pop Art,” characterizing it as, “popular, transient,
expendable, low cost, mass-produced, young, witty,
sexy, glamorous, big business.” Hommage a Chrysler
Corp. was one of his first tabular works; clippings of car
parts fragmented and decomposed into a collage that
depicts the results of consumer culture (Kaizen 113).
Some of his other masterpieces include: Just What Is It
That Makes Today’s Homes Different, So Appealing, and
Swingeing London 67. With these images, Hamilton
reveals the emergence of horizontalization, a point when
biases appear as an interpretation of the media. Andy
Warhol pioneered the popular art movement through his assembly-line style, of creating largescale silkscreen paintings of popular consumer imagery (Siedell 39). His most recognizable
pieces of art that had the greatest impact are 32 Campbell’s Soup Cans, Brillo Boxes, and
Marshall 4
Flowers. These masterpieces were created to undermine the behavioral stereotypes associated
with previous products. Earlier advertisements and media messages were repetitive, often heard
by second or third hand, making it meaningless and uninspired art (Osterwold 25). He mimicked
the notions of repetition and defused the usual consumer value with imagery that reflected the
emotions of the time. “Today’s cult of the celebrity and love of the infamous can be directly
linked to the influence of Andy Warhol, too (Johnson 29). Paintings with the faces of Marilyn
Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Mick Jagger became iconic figures to the modern middle class,
who had a growing obsession with affluence. He
applied the same techniques to his famous portraits
of Marilyn, Jackie, and Elvis as he did to his prior
works. “Long before Warhol’s soup cans, Jasper
Johns revolutionized painting with works that were
right on target” (Plagens 56). In 1954, Johns
Jasper Johns. Ballantine Ale Cans. 1960.
painted Target with Plaster Casts, an abstract
expressionism piece that represented feelings of anarchy. While it is one of his more inept
designs, it was a radical addition to the rising counterculture. Flags and Ballantine Ale Cans are
two pieces that represent his combining high art with the trivial imagery of daily life (Plagens
57). Each had a refined quality, but concealed it with a thick layer of paint forming a façade to
generate appeal to the commonplace. Jasper Johns used his paintings to smudge the insignificant
images with tachist and impressionist features; in doing so he is able to take the figurative
elements and analytically revive them to compose abstract-like pieces (Osterwold 9).
By the end of the ‘60s decade, the Popular Art movement had dispersed and many of the
artists began reinventing their style, but the Pop Art legacy still lingers in today’s society due to
Marshall 5
its connections with culture. Hallmarks of Pop Art are often reflected in fashion, architecture,
museum exhibition, and media. The most recent derivative of popular art is the image-defining
Hope posters that were continually reproduced for President Barack Obama’s campaign.
Shephard Fairey created the mixed-media stenciled portrait of the new President, based on a
photograph taken by Associated Press photographer, Mannie Garcia (Walker). Just like Warhol,
Fairey drew inspiration from the shift in cultural change emphasizing political and celebrity
aspects. For the 1972 presidential elections, Warhol produced an image of Richard Nixon with
a caption underneath saying, “Vote George McGovern.” As said by Warhol, “the idea was you
could vote either way.” Keeping an imbalanced political identity was something he was
acknowledged for. The iconic illustration of President Obama is more of a direct representation
of Fairey’s political ideology. “Fairey made a brief statement when he unveiled the portrait
noting his ‘great conviction that Barack Obama should be the next president’” (Walker). The
image spread from posters to t-shirts and to the newest end of the ingenuity spectrum, the
internet. By appearing in various YouTube videos, celebrity music videos, and satirical websites
the highly visible image, expanded to reach larger mass audiences; becoming the unofficial
image of the campaign (Walker).
The Popular Art movement emerged through forms of Dadaism, creating a style
that discovered the irony of common objects in daily life through shifts in social change.
Popular Art had the ability to challenge the distinction between fine arts and industrial produced
commercial designs (Collins 10). The era of Popular Art centered on the idea of professionally
trained artists altering iconography into the highbrow realm of museum art (Collins 6). Artists
like Hamilton, Warhol, and Johns were leading the Cultural Revolution with their art, which
reflected the reality of the commonplace. The ideals and behavior of thought has since passed
Marshall 6
through the generations to today’s society. While styles have changed, the presence of the
popular art movement can still be felt.
Marshall 7
Works Cited
Collins, Jim. High-Pop. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers Inc., 2002.
Frith, Simon and Howard Horne. Art Into Pop. New York: Methuen and Co., 1987.
Johnson, Mark. “Prints by Andy Warhol.” Arts & Activities 120. 3 (1996): 29-33.
Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Iowa State University Library. 27 Feb. 2009
<http://web.ebscohost.com>.
Karizen, Willam R. “Richard Hamilton’s Tabular Image.” October 94 (Fall 2000): 113.
Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Iowa State University Library. 28 Feb. 2009 <http://
web.ebscohost.com>.
Osterwold, Tilmon. Pop Art. Hohenzollernring, DE: Taschen, 2003.
Plagens, Peter. “Pop Art’s Poppa.” Newsweek 149. 6 (2007): 56-57. Academic Search Elite.
EBSCO. Iowa State University Library. 01 Mar. 2009 <http:// web.ebscohost.com>.
Siedell, Daniel. “The Other Warhol.” Books & Culture 8. 6 (Nov.-Dec. 2002): 39. Academic
OneFile. Gale. Iowa State University Library. 01 Mar. 2009 <http://find.gale.group.
com>.
Walker, Rob. “Consumed: The Art of Politics.” NYTimes.Com 13 Apr. 2008. 02 Mar. 2009
<http:// www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/magazine/13wwlnconsumedt.html?scp=12&sq=
Marshall 8
popular%20art%20+%20barack%20obama%20poster&st=cse>.
Warhol, Andy, and Pat Hackett. POPism: The Warhol Sixties. Orlando: Harcourt Inc., 1980.