Note Set 6
Pop Art is art
based on
subjects found in
Popular Culture.
Lichtenstein was a member of the Pop Art movement.
Many of Lichtenstein’s images were based on comic books.
Lichtenstein is known for his large pieces imitating the
Benday Dot printing method.
The Benday Dot printing method was named
after a famous printer and illustrator named
Benjamin Day.
This is his father, Benjamin Day Sr. who
was a famous 19th century printer.
Benday dots were developed as a way to create different values in a black
and white image. Value is controlled by the size of the dots and how far
apart they are spaced.
This method was then used in the printing of comic books. Printers could save money by
using a limited number of colors of ink. By printing dots of the different colors, they could
create different colors and values by controlling what colors were printed next to each other
and how much of the white space was left to show through
Lichtenstein imitated this method to create his large works.
This is an example of a sheet prepared to create Benday Dots.
The sheet is put down on the painting surface and is painted over. The
sheet is then pealed away leaving a pattern of painted dots.
Another pop artist is
Andy Warhol
His studio was called the factory.
He was fascinated by fame and the fantasy world of celebrities. His studio
was a place where famous people from all areas would go.
He felt that stars began to be viewed more as a product than a person.
He believed that the more we see images the more we become desensitized to them.
Warhol was also fascinated by how culture was shifting to a mass produced
consumer society. He saw how commercialism was effecting peoples’ perception of
our culture. He began creating images of cultural icons. Cultural icons are images
that represent the perceived ideals or norms of a culture.
Warhol used the screen printing
process to create this mass
produced look.
Click here to watch how the
screen printing process works.
http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=wogKeYH2wEE&feature
=related
Another form of printing that is used by artists is 4 color process printing.
There are 4 colors used in the 4-color printing process- cyan, magenta, yellow,
black.This is called CMYK printing. To achieve various colors, different
combinations of these four colors are used.
The CMYK model works by partially or entirely masking colors on a lighter, usually white,
background. The ink reduces the light that would otherwise be reflected. Such a model is
called subtractive because inks “subtract” brightness from white.
Lichtenstein
in his studio.