Pop Art & Performance Overview

Pop Art & Performance

• Pop Art emerged as a reaction against Abstract Expressionism, embracing everyday objects and mass media

• Key artists include Jasper Johns, Richard Hamilton, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol.

• Pop artists often used imagery from comic books, advertisements, and consumer products.

• Lichtenstein's work reflects the influence of print technology, while Warhol used silkscreen printing.

• Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans" and "Brillo Box" exemplify the use of readily available commercial imagery and materials.

• Claes Oldenburg created sculptures of commonplace objects, often exaggerating their scale.

• Warhol's "Marilyn Diptych" explored the theme of celebrity and the media's effect on image.

• The diptych showed the contrast between a brightly colored, seemingly idealized portrayal on one side and a muted, degraded one on the other, highlighting the transient nature of celebrity.

• Pop Art wasn't a solely American phenomenon, but had global elements

Postmodernism

• Postmodern art often commented on social and political issues.

• Key figures include Eva Hesse, Louise Bourgeois, Joseph Kosuth, and artists who used performance.

• Hesse and Bourgeois explored sculptural forms which expanded the spatial and physical nature of the artwork

• Kosuth used conceptual means to comment on art in a way that challenged traditional views of what constitutes art and how it can be experienced.

• Examples of Postmodernist land and environmental art are featured, such as Robert Smithson's "Spiral Jetty" and Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "Surrounded Islands".

• Performance artists like Yoko Ono and others used their bodies, or events, as mediums for communication.

• Works like David Hammons' door commented on social injustice and inequality of access.

• Women artists like Judy Chicago and Cindy Sherman addressed female representation in art and popular culture, pushing against stereotypes and reclaiming their own experiences (e.g., Sherman using herself in celebrity roles).

• Artists like Nam June Paik integrated new technologies (e.g., TV) into sculpture and performance.

• A variety of artistic mediums were used in postmodern art - not just painting.

Symbolism and Politics in Art

• Artists often used their work to reflect on political issues or social injustice
• Performance art, such as Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece, examined issues on group dynamics, trust, or vulnerability.
• Works by Faith Ringgold, Barbara Kruger, or Ana Mendieta featured important social and political commentary using their art.