POPular Art

 Art during the 50’s became something more than just an expression of ones personality.  Pop art challenged the “norm” of the art world in the fact that they took objects out of their context and inserts them into another.  Usually these things would be popular licensed objects or topics.  The reason it is referred to as pop art is because of the opinions towards it and not just the visual aspect.

This movement of art can be argued as one of the biggest movements of art.  It started as abstract expressionism and soon became noticed that it could be a response to Dadaism.  Artists would abstractly place cultural objects in a painting to show the irony of the subject.  Also, they would exaggerate certain body parts or use different mediums for furniture to emphasize the irony.  These pieces are meant to be easily printed and re-copied for consumers to buy.  This type of art form can be considered the last movement of art in the postmodern art period.

 

Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg were the pioneers of this art movement. These two inspired each other and eventually were in a relationship with each other.  Jasper John was known for his classic iconography.  His focus was not on pop art most of the time though, because he is known more for his Neo-Dadaist work. A well-known piece he created is called Three Flags in 1958.   Rauschenberg is known for using materials, which were not normal for art.  Artwork created by Rauschenberg includes Bed in 1955, and Monogram between 1955-1959. 

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_art

http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/popart/

http://instruct.westvalley.edu/grisham/1d_popart.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rauschenberg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_Johns