WEEK 12 Explaining the ideology of Pop Art, is it defined as a movement or style? Shevonee Muthiah
Abstract: This argument covers the themes of pop artâs repercussions, the ideology of pop art, showing that movement and style disentangles the definition of pop art, and whether it is exemplified as a movement or style. Reminiscing back to the 60âs when pop art arose, we look back at America and Britain, their ideologies at the time, the movement they went through and how it influenced pop art. Through movement and style we look at mass production, change and technology in depth. These topics still exists through the production of design to this day, as we look deeper into pop art we will begin to understand if pop art should be defined as a style, movement, both or neither. We discover the inveigling of pop art, what it really means, how it has influenced our world and the relation to the role of a designer today.
Explaining the ideology of Pop Art, is it defined as a movement or style?
Pop art brings back the sentiment of the 60âs movement and style (Osterworld, 1991). It had been a turn to the century, but yet after 50 years Pop Art is still thriving and changing, this questions whether or not Pop art is a movement or style. Ideology has played a part to the birth of pop art and its expansion. It sparked popularity towards mass culture and the mode of production of pop art being heavily inveigled by the surroundings of society. New technology, dada, and change are all related to pop art and are still progressive themes working today. As we dig deeper into these topics they should give us the evidence to finding whether or not pop art is a movement or style, helps us begin to understand society and how pop art is still relatable to our world today.
America and Britain were two of the first places to develop pop art. The both dealt with ideas of change, media and consumerism. The ideologies at the time, and the age of the 1960âs are where the roots lie. It was post World War 2 and Americaâs ideology of liberty had given freedom for people to express them self (Grinde & Johansen, 1991), abstract expressionism was one way artists expressed themselves and stated their opinion. Abstract expressionism in America slowly became mundane after World War 2, the work became too abstract, depressing and overwhelming; people began to reciprocate against it. It was time for America to start a fresh; they began to look to propulsive art that was accessible, responsive, and fun. For Britain, they began to rebuild themselves after the war. Alcock, Daly, & Griggs (2013) suggested that rivalry between the political and social classes began to surface, different ideologies had begun to escalate around Britain; exposing a modernistic understandings of contemporary life through media, technology and social change. America and Britain both ripened pop art through the change of society and culture due to the influences of ideology. These designs of mass media, star culture, new technology and life were not only the main themes of art in the 60âs but were the beginning definitions of pop art.
The industrial revolution affected America and Britain, the increase of production and new technologies began to reimburse old processes and new ways of living. This change can be seen in this example, Green (2012) explained that the British textile industry first required energy to spin their weaving wheels to fabricate products, such as clothing, blankets etc. The wheels were once mechanised by energy made from water, once steam engines where discovered, they replaced the water engines, making the process of weaving faster, one example of replacement. Television also became popular with mass production, there were televisions to go around for each home. This affected theatres being less visited as people could enjoy entertainment from home, people relied on mass production. Another example of replacement can link with advertising and its rise. The fructification of packaging became a lot easier, machines that printed labels were fast working. This created a reliance on machinery to generate mass amounts of produce as well as reliance on designers and artist to create a design that would stand out amongst the other competitors. New art medians were introduced and some replaced, creating a new style we relate to pop art.
Dada also proved to be an influence to pop art. Dada was the movement where artists embraced media and machine culture; they challenged traditions (Dickerman, Doherty & Pompidou, 2005). Osterwold (1991) states that in 1915 âdada questioned traditional notions of artâ (p. 132), being a heritage to the pop art movement, pop art questioned the unwritten rules of art such as, Andy Warholâs soup cans in figure 1. People in the 60âs were all about change and consumerism they accepted this piece as art. Lichtenstein, in figure 2, had taken the frame out of it is comic and placed it under a spotlight. Pondering curiosity is left in the consumers mind, leading them to speculate what may have happened or it may leave them feeling lost or wanting more. These artists both took everyday things society consumes, and has changed the context of the everyday object. It made people rethink about the things they looked at frequently. The modern artist today has big control over advertising; it is up to them on how they sell a product and what context they are putting the advertisement in. Limits of art are still being tested today, if pop art is a movement about change and liberty, we are still in it. Shepherd Fairey is an artist today who has done many appropriations, one being Andy Warholâs Big Torn Campbellâs soup can, figure 4 and Faireyâs appropriation in figure 5. Fairey uses the idea of using well-known images to create his own art and more importantly to state his opinion through it. Fairey (2013) believes that using pre-existing material to create work has become an evolution of culture. He created this interpretation on Andy Warholâs Soup can to catch attention and state his opinion on propaganda. Both the works of Andy Warhol and Shephard Fairey intended on challenging societyâs views and questions through their work. The idea of challenging society and tradition is a part of the change in art and has derived from the dada period. The new changes were popular and given a name, pop art.
Richard Hamilton, figure 5. Just what is it that makes todayâs homes so different, so appealing? Is known as one of the first pop art pieces in 1956 and is an example of society at that time in Britain. The work itself is a collage and shows a facet of advertising. McCarthy (2000) notes that the work was initially done as a poster and catalogue illustration for the independent groupâs 1956 exhibition. Richard Hamilton asks a question with the title of this artwork, then answers the question through it for the viewer to work it out for themselves. The work suggests that todayâs home is so appealing because of technology, entertainment and a glamorous lifestyle. The piece is advertising society, McCarthy (2000) puts it in his own words, âa consumer fantasy world available for the right price promised escape from drudgery of post-war life in Great Britainâ (p. 6). This specific example shows us what society was like in the early 60âs. The style of pop art highlights the themes of consumerism and society, and the movement it was in when it was born.
Osterwold (1991) says, âThe Image of the mass media, of the newspaper, the radio and television, was itself a theme of Pop Artâ (p. 44), he also notes that art was transformed by mass media, influencing advertising and design. Stylistically, Osterwold carries on saying that pop art works with depersonalisation, creating art that is impersonal, portraying the âindividual in mass society and how they reflect both the human personality and its stereotypes in their workâ (p. 53). The visual style of pop art reflected the mechanical processes at the time. Reproduction and methods of manufactures were seen in artist works, such as Warhol, figures 1 and 3, and Lichtenstein figure 2. Bold, bright, print, in solid colour, and clichĂŠ sayings were popular as it was all new, society enjoyed it. Pop artâs style is moulded by society, consumerism, mass media, advertising, depersonalisation and technology (Stangos, 1994).
Looking deeper into the style of pop art, Warholâs Soup cans, figure 1. Zucker and Khan (2012) discuss Warhol looking at ârefocusing ideasâ. The cans reflect society in its machine like repeated print images showing mass production and the industrial world. The process of the image itself was done by silk screening and was a modernistic approach used as a commercial technique (Lippard, 1966). The soup cans displayed in a gallery changed the context of a soup can, its purpose was not to store soup, but to make the viewerâs think about society and life. This was attention grabbing and fashionable by society as art because of the industry focused culture theyâd become. Roy Lichtensteinâs art grew in popularity in result of Americaâs economic boom, urging mass mediaâs popularity, as well as star-culture being the finger to society. Roy Lichtenstein was very much industrialised, he used an overhead projector, a new invention at the time, to enlarge his images onto big canvases. He then used a large stencil to create Ben Day dots, parallel to the printing and halftones created by machines. The process of production reflected the mind set of society at the time, Conley (2012) recorded Liechtensteinâs widow saying, âRoy liked to invent these little systems that made things easier for him,â creating new systematisations sped up processes, resonating society at the time and showing the reliance they had towards technology. You could see technology and machinery slowly becoming the people of the time, Warhol states, âI want to be a machine,â (Stiles & Selz, 1995, p. 340). New machinery and technology allowed artist to create art in a new way and style.
Media and technology has surreptitiously worked its ways to control us and has ever been since advertising first came about. The idea of something ânewâ and wanting what we do not already have keeps recurring. Osterwold (1991), said from back in the 90âs, âthe traditional character of most mass media communication, their use of conventional means of representation and outmoded formulae to propagate the ânewâ (p. 44). Companies today will persuade you, for example, Apple will convince you into buying their products through advertising, then later upgrading the product/device. They will then deceive you into buying the new model because it is something you do not have and need. Pop art was very much about the ânewâ, art works and advertising showing off a world that is desirable and products that are necessary to own. Figure 5, Â Richard Hamiltonâs, just what makes it todayâs homes so different, so appealing? Is a memory of what the 60âs was all about. In figures 6, 7 and 8, we can see the progression of society as it changes. Homes have had box televisions to flat screens in under 10 years.
We can see an idea of progress in our world today that is rapidly changing, governed by mass media. With this progress of technology we have also been given this ability of free authorship. It relates to this ideology of liberty, internet has opened up the ability to share our thoughts, works and ideas to the world on the wide web. For example, photography is an art which has become very popular, today mostly everyone holds a camera in their pocket through a smartphone and is able to share those images instantly through the internet anytime and mostly anywhere. This new ideology of progress and liberty has made pop art a worldwide theme (Livingstone, 2000). Artists today do not necessarily have to be good at drawing or painting, but new skills using digital programs to create film, animation and design is art. More and more people are using technology for their learning, personal use, expression, connection and a way of living. In a sense pop art has been the influence to what our world is today, its changes and progress.
Our ideology today has become a progressive ideology. We look towards the progress of ideas, technology, change and society (Oshkosh, 2007). Pop art is still alive today; through these examples shown we can still see that our world is constantly changing. This does relate to todayâs movement and art works, they all reflect society and change. This implies that pop art is a movement, but in Collins school dictionary, a movement is defined as something done within a period (p. 550). Pop art is still developing and not within a set period, so we cannot be sure of defining pop art as a movement. A style is defined as a particular category, pop art as a style may seem to fit to a particular fashion, but the style varies within different medians and technologies used. Suggesting that pop art is not a style either.
Pop art is not a particular movement or style, but it follows the movement and style of the world. Today pop art can be viewed as advertising and reflects an ideology of progress and change. Osterwold (1991) says, âThe mass media are, in fact, progress-orientatedâ (p. 44). As communication designers today, they are the ones to communicate to society, pointing them in the direction of progress. Looking at the role of a designer from this perspective makes you realise the power a designer can have today. They have the power to tell the world âjust what is it that makes todayâs homes so different, so appealingâ (figure 5).