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Pop Art has a rich history in American culture, even though it did not start here in the States. Richard Smith is our Andy Warhol. He invented Pop Art in Britain in the late 1950's, along with Patrick Caulfield and Peter Blake (Burn). In Britain, they looked to the United States for inspiration. They found youth, political power and imagination in our new society. Yet, the British were more self-conscious than the Americans (Johnson). American Pop Art was dominated by consumer products whereas British Pop Art was a colorful representation (Glueck). A British poet and critic Edward Lucie-Smith once stated that pop art was, "an uninhibited romantic hymn to a civilization half-real and half-imagined, a wonderful land of pin-ups and pinball machines." The British found technology in America, the television was something unfamiliar but growing in their society. In 1960, there were 10.5 million sets in Britain compared to the 85 million sets located in the States. (Johnson). Pop Artists in Britain started the concept of Pop Art but many contend that American artists took it a step further.
American Pop art on the other hand, became popular because of the rebellion against European influence from the 50's. New York was the center of all cultural changes, and this art reflected it. There was a rise in new subject matter, that of progress, media industry and stars were rising in the minds of the public.
Pop Art in America occurred in several phases. First, there was pre-Pop, where the idea of Abstract Expressionism was abandoned. Then Pop Art emerged. These artists were interested in the ideas of commercial art, design, and poster painting. Then, the movement branched out from New York to other areas, such as the Midwest and California, specifically Los Angeles (Pioch).
It is not easy to characterize Pop Art into any one category; the implications of the movement are so diverse and yet so universal. The ideas behind Pop Art are very similar, but the methods to portray those very ideas are so widespread. |
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