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Essay / A Study of Roy Lichenstein's Methodology, Approach, and Patrons
Table of ContentsKairosAudienceArgumentConclusionRoy Lichtenstein, a pop artist of the 1960s, became famous for his use of comic books as high art. Using comic-book-inspired imagery, Lichtenstein created emotionally taxing scenes of damsels in distress. Sometimes Lichtenstein would use actual comic strips and crop them to depict just the struggling woman, recreate it as a painting, and call it his own work. Other times he created his own comic-book-like images. In his images, Lichtenstein did not paint the dots by hand. “Instead, he used different types of stencils with perforated dot patterns. He would run his paint across the top of the stencil and the colors would fall out like perfect circles. In doing so, he elevated the commercial images of comics and advertisements to the status of art” (Stamberg). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayBy creating these fake cartoon images, Lichtenstein challenged viewers to question the meaning and guidelines of the beautiful -arts and great art. This was generally the philosophy of pop artists of the time. Pop artists created subjects for their art from "common household items, consumer product advertisements, celebrity icons, fast food, cartoons, and mass media images from television , magazines and newspapers” (“Art in the 1960s”). Artists reproduced the image of one of these elements of popular culture, sometimes reproducing almost exactly the same image, as Lichtenstein did. This technique commented on consumerism and the development of modern times and ideals. American consumerism exploded in the 1950s and continued to grow exponentially in the 1960s. Art created by pop artists showed repetition in real life and attempted to make connections between real life and reality. great world of art by integrating everyday products and images into the visual arts. This requirement was not a hot topic that the speakers and audience wanted to discuss. The speakers – the artists – drew attention to the issue and got their audiences to respond and deliberate about the ideas they presented. Lichtenstein also addressed the concept of communication and relationships in his work. If we look above at the three paintings depicted, we can identify a common theme. Every woman in distress seems to have problems with a man. They all mention the name of a man or “he”. It's also a commentary on the culture of the 1960s, when women gained more sexual and mental freedom. Kairos Modernism, which began its development in 1900, is said to have been launched with Pablo Picasso's restructuring of traditional elements. Father of abstraction, Picasso inspired many later artists such as Jackson Pollock. Pollock, an abstract expressionist, was one of the most famous of his genre. Abstract Expressionism originated in the 1930s but became a major phenomenon in the art world in the 1950s. Abstract Expressionism changed the message of fine art; it has become unrepresentative. This kind of art focuses on the medium, the paint and the canvas, rather than a subject. After abstract expressionism was widely disapproved by critics, pop art began to develop. "At the same time that Lichtenstein was discovering that he could use popular culture to ask probing questions aboutconcept, form and technique, Andy Warhol also used, quite independently, the cartoon in his experimental work: neither artist knew it yet, but pop art was about to emerge fully formed from front of America” (Churchwell). Pop art focused on 1960s culture and channeled current events and inventions. Artists have always drawn inspiration from cultural events and issues to create message and meaning in their works, but at this time, they were only inspired by consumerism and everyday life. Citizens had never interacted with the market as they did before time and artists saw this intriguing development. Consumerism grew like an epidemic and artists saw the downfall it caused. As the American population struggled to buy the latest television or household appliance, pop artists commented on this evil and saw the deterioration that this endless race was producing on the population. Citizens had begun to dedicate their lives to working to obtain the newest product; Artists began to devote their work to depicting the ruin this behavior would bring. Audience As an artist, Roy Lichtenstein had both a direct and indirect audience. Its direct audience was the average citizen. Using “distressing settings, often featuring ladies in distress” (Stamberg), Lichtenstein appeals to the emotions of ordinary people. In Lichtenstein's "Drowning Girl," a woman sinks into a body of water exclaiming, "I don't care!" I'd rather sink - than call Brad for help! » The woman cries and feels a strange calm all over her face and body. Her hand remains limp, showing that she has given up. Stamberg says that "it is interesting that he [Lichtenstein] managed to evoke such strong emotions using such a cold and mechanical dot process." Commenting on the intensity of drama in our society, Lichtenstein emotionally captured the attention of ordinary people, but held their attention when they began to contemplate the true message of the work. Lichtenstein's indirect audience was the fine art world and critics. Lichtenstein's intentions were interpreted very differently than he had hoped. Critics rejected the idea that popular culture had a place in the art world and that it could be used to convey a message. Lichtenstein had assumed that communication was the basis of all visual art, while critics seemed to disagree. Even though Lichtenstein's work was figurative, critics always seemed to dismiss it for its abstract expressionism due to its similar values. Critics of the time were still rooted in more traditional beliefs regarding art, its definition and guidelines. Lichtenstein's work was considered mediocre at the time he practiced and only recently has pop art received great value and approval. "Lichtenstein's iconic, high-impact images have since become synonymous with pop art, and his method of image-making, which blended aspects of mechanical reproduction and hand-drawing, has become central to critics' understanding of the Importance of Movement" ("The Art Story").ArgumentLichtenstein's character as an artist does not seep into his art because of the subject matter, but his expertise is high. Lichtenstein's first encounter with formal art education came when he took summer classes at the Art Students League of New York and worked under Reginald Marsh, a painter especially..