Essay On Pop Art And Culture

Pop art: The exchange between consumerism and culture.

Madison Appelmam

Senior Division Historical Paper

Paper Length: (word count)

A growing economy, new technology, and a changing way of life. Something different was happening to the society, like nothing we've ever seen before. All of which was documented by artists that were creating a new style of art, pop art. The rise of pop art marked the start of a new era for the United States. It was the visual representation of the exchange between consumerism and culture.

The pop art movement began mid 1950s and 1960s, it first arose in Britain and later began in the United States. This modern style of art was based on popular culture, it frequently included imagery of advertisements and the news. Artist would use a very straightforward manner to depict everyday items and mass media. They always used

bold primary colors and often featured irony and wit in their art. Creating the artwork involved commercial- like methods such as silkscreening and multiples were produced.
Pop art marked the start of a new era that had emerged from the end of World War II, and the culture of the society was changing greatly. Popular culture was booming and mass media was starting to take over. Televisions began to replace radios as a media outlet and allowed for more visual advertisements, news, etc. Celebrities such as Elvis Presley, who led an emergence of rock and roll, and Marilyn Monroe, a famous film star, flooded the media. The civil rights movement was fighting for equal rights for African Americans and the women's liberation movement began to gain momentum.
In addition to the major turning of point of culture was the advent of consumerism. During the post-war era, discretionary income and luxury spending rose by over 50%. New technologies such as televisions, washing machines, and power lawn mowers hit the market. People had more money to spend and more items to spend it on. Televisions revolutionized advertising with commercials and product placements. It was conveyed that being a consumer would make you a patriotic citizen.
After World War II, the United States economy experienced a groundbreaking period of economic growth.

Income had spread around more evenly and the market received many new consumers, a culture of consumerism was created. Culture and consumerism were a constant exchange, each bouncing off of one another. A part of the culture was conspicuous consumption, people spending their money on items that would showcase their wealth and social class. Being a consumer also exposed you to the culture, buying a television meant seeing the pop culture that had taken over the mass media.

Pop artists depicted the world around them. It is for this reason that pop art included everyday items and news. The artists were simply displaying life in their era, but ended up creating a visual representation of the exchange between consumerism and culture that had take over society. Artwork displayed items that consumers frequently purchased in their culture, advertisements like ones seen on televisions, media stars, or really anything that was drawn from mass media and popular culture.

Famous artwork from the pop art

movement:

Campbell's Soup Cans
Artist: Andy Warhol
Dimensions: 1' 8" x 1' 4"
Location: Museum of Modern Art
Media: Synthetic polymer paint
Created: 1962
Period: Pop art

Whaam!
Artist: Roy Lichtenstein
Dimensions: 5' 7" x 13' 1"
Created: 1963
Location: Tate Modern, London
Period: Pop art
Media: Acrylic paint, Oil paint, Magna

The era occurring after World War II was filled with change. A growing economy, new technology, and a changing way of life. All of which was documented by artist that wanted to portray the world around them. The rise of pop art had marked the start of a new era In the United States. It was the visual representation of the exchange between consumerism and culture