Roy Lichtenstein: Pop Art

In the 1960s a new art movement was born. This new artistic style included artwork that looked juvenile but was balanced equally with fine art. This new movement was called Pop Art. Pop Art was influenced by modern pop culture and mass media. It usually is critical towards traditional art values. This style elevated the status of everyday objects through artistic expression mainly focusing on consumerism. The movement originated in New York and included renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, and Claes Oldenburg. The movement’s co-founder was also Roy Lichtenstein who, as society came to know him, was not the typical artist of his time.

Roy Lichtenstein was born in New York City on October 27, 1923. His parents were Milton and Beatrice Werner Lichtenstein. Growing up, Lichtenstein grew fond of comic books and science and developed musical

One of the major events during his early life was the Great Depression which he grew up during but was not affected by financially. As a child Lichtenstein experienced an easy lifestyle having a stable family and typical hobbies of a child his age. This can be echoed through the bright colors and generally good-natured qualities to his artwork. Additionally, Lichtenstein’s work resembles comic books in his style using bold lines, blocked-in color, speech bubbles, and basic panel-like subjects which all trace back to his fondness of comic books growing up. In addition to these similar comic book features, Lichtenstein uses Ben-Day dots to create dimension which was a common technique used by comic artists of his time. The subject matter of Lichtenstein’s work is typically female faces which could have been influenced by who he was surrounded by growing up. Lichtenstein recalls spending more time with his mother as a child and being in classes with mostly female teachers which could be a factor in what he chooses to represent in his