POP ART,

OP ART

AND COLOUR F

IELD

By: A

lison

Mat

kowsk

y

POP ART “Pop Art” was a term created by Lawrence Alloway to mean ‘popular’

art. Pop art celebrates ordinary objects and people. It celebrates life. Pop art is based around the imagery of consumerism and popular

culture.

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van

Bruggen.Dropped Cone. (2001) Steel,

plastic, wood, polyester gel coat.

Richard Hamilton. Just what is it that makes

today’s homes so different, so appealing?.

(1956) Collage.

Andy Warhol. Campbell’s Soup I. (1968) Synthetic polymer paint on

canvas.

Andy Warhol. Elvis I & II. (1963) Silkscreen ink and spray paint on linen.

ELVIS I & II BY ANDY WARHOL Method: took a blown up photograph, transferred it in glue onto silk,

and rolled ink across. The ink goes though the silk but not the glue. He wanted an assembly line effect with little variation.

“With his blue jeans, leather jacket, t-shirt, chewing gum, and slicked-back hair, Elvis represented a new kind of culture. Warhol knew this and featured Elvis repeatedly, using his popularity but at the same time contributing to it.” (Linda Bolton)

Roy Lichtenstein. Whamm! (1963) Oil on canvas.

WHAMM! BY ROY LICHTENSTEIN Based upon an image from ‘All American Men of War’ published by

DC comics in 1962. During the 1960s Lichtenstein frequently based his artwork off of

commercial art sources, such as comic images or advertisements.

“I want [colour] oversimplified—anything that could be vaguely red—becomes red.” (Roy Lichtenstein)

Claes Oldenburg. Shoestring Potatoes Spilling from a bag. (1966) Mixed Media.

SHOESTRING POTATOES SPILLING FROM A BAG BY CLAES

OLDENBURG Dimensions: 108 x 46 x 42 inches Materials: canvas, kapok, glue, acrylic

He uses as his subjects ordinary objects—toilets, telephones, lipsticks, hamburgers—and recreates them in a form that makes the startling and strange.

OPTICAL ART Op art exists to fool the eye. Creates a visual tension, in the

viewer’s mind, that gives the work the illusion of depth and movement.

Because of it geometrical-based nature, Op art is, almost without exception, non-representational.

Uses perspective and careful juxtaposition of colour. Positive and negative spaces are of equal importance.

Richard Allen. Untitled. (1966) Acrylic. Josef Albers. Homage to the Square: Soft Spoken. (1969) Oil

on Masonite.

Bridget Riley. Metamorphosis. (1964) Acrylic emulsion on

hardboard.

METAMORPHOSIS BY BRIDGET RILEY

Worked only with black and white, while using simple geometric shapes.

Her work was instinctive, not based on theory.

Uses shapes, lines, and colours to create a visual effect on the canvas.

She creates the illusion of depth.

COLOUR FIELD The purpose of colour field painting is to create tension by

overlapping and interacting areas of flat colour. Treats the surface of a canvas or paper as a “field” of vision, without

a central focus. Emphasizes the flatness of the surface. Do not refer to objects in the natural world. Reveals the artist’s emotional state of mind – his or her “expression”. These paintings are often on huge canvases.

Clyfford Still. 1957-D No. 1. (1957) Oil on canvas.

Mark Rothko. No. 3/No. 13. (1949) Oil on canvas.

Jack Bush. Zig-zag. (1967) Acrylic on

canvas.

ZIG-ZAG BY JACK BUSH

Canadian, born in Toronto. Began his career as a landscape artist who was influenced by the

Group of Seven. In 1933 he was invited to join the group and he accepted.

From 1953 – 1960 he was a member of the Painters Eleven group founded to promote abstract painting in Canada.

Frank Stella. Protractor Variation. (1969) Fluorescent

alkyd on canvas.

PROTRACTOR VARIATION BY FRANK STELLA

Focused mainly on the general principles of art. He was an early practitioner of nonrepresentational painting. His

work did not provide underlying meanings, emotions, or narratives. Use the elements of line, colour, shape and composition.

WHY WAS POP ART MORE POPULAR WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC OVER

ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM? Pop art was based around the use of everyday objects. People could easily see what the art was about and think about why

the artist may have depicted it. Works were easily recognizable.

Abstract expressionism pieces were made to convey a strong, emotional message.

Hans Hofmann. The Gate. (1959-1960)

Andy Warhol. “32 Campbell’s Soup Cans.” (1962) Synthetic

polymer paint on canvas.