After the end of World War II, America’s economy was rebounding from the depression. As wages increased and a flux of jobs became available, the United States was more stable financially than it had been at the beginning of the war, just four years before. This bustling economic growth led to excess spending among the American people, which in turn birthed a consumerism culture with an increased need for goods and luxuries. In response to this culture, Pop Art arose from the art world, an art form whose content included popular culture such as advertising, goods, and news in order to glorify and critique consumerism.
Pioneering the shift from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art, Jasper Johns was the first artist to use popular culture as the content of his art (1). The idea behind Pop Art was to take everyday objects and recreate their meanings to people. This use of popular culture was radically different than Abstract Expressionism, which created its own subjects (2). Johns was especially famous for his paintings that employed the American Flag, including his creation, Flag, in 1955. His painting technique created an image that looks radically different when viewing it far away compared to up close. His purpose was to change his audience's view of the American Flag, and rethink the meaning of the object (1). Critics of Johns say that his piece is not enough of a deviation from the American flag, begging the question of whether it can be deemed as a radical art form.
Shortly after Johns' groundbreaking new form, Andy Warhol became one of the leading Pop Artists of his time, who focused his subjects highly on mass-marketed products. Warhol's works were created with a silk screen, which allowed the artwork themselves to be reprinted infinitely. This both referenced and critiqued the consumer culture that blossomed in America after the end of World War II (3). Warhol aimed to critique this culture because of the way it was transforming the public to idealize products and celebrities. The public was extremely drawn to Warhol and his unique style of art. Prior to Warhol, Johns, and the Pop Art movement, art had merely reflected the difficulties faced in society, instead of critiquing it. Both artists used innovative ways to explore and criticize the societies that they lived in. |
Sources:
1. Louis P. Masur, The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph that Shocked America (New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2008)
2. "Flag 1954-55 by Jasper Johns," Jasper Johns Paintings, Biography, Quotes. Accessed November 8, 2014, http://www.jasper-johns.org/flag.jsp
3. "Warhol's Gold Marilyn Monroe," Pop Art- Smarthistory, Accessed November 8, 2014, http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/pop-art.html
1. Louis P. Masur, The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph that Shocked America (New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2008)
2. "Flag 1954-55 by Jasper Johns," Jasper Johns Paintings, Biography, Quotes. Accessed November 8, 2014, http://www.jasper-johns.org/flag.jsp
3. "Warhol's Gold Marilyn Monroe," Pop Art- Smarthistory, Accessed November 8, 2014, http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/pop-art.html