Pop-Art: a Critique or a Celebration of Consumerist Culture - Essay Example

Name Tutor "Fine Art" To What Extent Was Pop Art A Critique Of Consumerist Culture or a Celebration of It Course Institution Date "Fine Art" To What Extent Was Pop Art A Critique Of Consumerist Culture or a Celebration of It Abstract Pop art is thought to have greatly emerged in the United Kingdom in the 1950’s and subsequently in the Unites States of America in the 1960’s. The advent of this art was greatly inspired by a number of great artists including Marcel Duchamp a renowned French artist and Kurt Schwitters of Germany. The term Pop art was first used by Lawrence Alloway an English art critic to describe the type of art made with the use of a number of objects. Such art is the kind that has been fostered in the industrial society. This culture has thus strongly been borrowed from various forms of advertisement, photography and mass media. This type of art is thought to stress on the frontal presentation of an item. It is majorly centered on the emerging trends of taste. This paper examines the extent to which pop art has been a critique of the consumerist culture or a celebration of the same. The emergence of Pop Art Pop art is thought to have broken the hegemony of the concept of expressionism in most of the UK and the US. This type of art was seen to have created edges between what is termed as high and low level form of art. Pop art was seen as a confrontation to the institutional form of art and rejected the concept of art as an aspect of expressing personality. The tradition of painting envisioned in art is thought to have greatly risen with the growing large populations during the reign of Queen Victoria. This period is commonly known as the Victorian age. Art rapidly oriented itself at the start of the twentieth century. This came with the drive to unify both craft and art related aspects which measured its general acceptance in to the society. This made it possible for both its form and function to be drawn out. Art took to a variety of discourses within this time. Pop Art is thought to have been the greatest innovation of the twentieth century.1 According to Alloway, Pop art is thought to have greatly displayed a mighty celebration of consumerism in the post war era. This emerged as a mighty challenge to the psychology of expressionism with more emphasis on seeking for materialism from God. On fully emerging in the United States of America in the 1960 after having developed in the UK, Pop culture was fully oriented towards the acquisition of lots of properties and enormous wealth. This was evident ages after the Second World War. The artists at this time were seen to have highly acknowledged the consumerist class in the nation. A similar movement within the United Kingdom was seen to be very undiplomatic and held a very sentimental value. Pop Art and the Consumerism culture The variation in the impact of the power of Pop culture seemed to differ in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In the United States of America, emerging artists were seen to have been greatly inspired by the consumerist culture while in the United Kingdom; artists were thought to have been fueling the views and perceptions of their American counterparts by afar. The development of Pop art was very contrary to the main concept of abstract expressionism in the culture of the society that lived at this time. This was also contrary to the very concentrated crème de la crème disposition of art. Pop culture was seen to have favored the adoption of images that would definitely highlight on the daily attributes of every culture. This type of art included the use of irony alongside other technical means to bring about the concept of human creativity. This type of culture to a very broad extent managed to reduce the implicated difference between what had been initially perceived as bad taste and good taste. This was done in line with reducing the difference between artistic techniques of both fine art and commercial art. Eduardo Paolazzi a renowned pop artist is thought to have initiated the mechanism behind the founding of a driving force in the Pop art movement that was termed as the Independent group. His contributions in art were seen to have been a great inspiration to a number of artists. With regard to consumerism, it emerges that the very first piece of pop art adopted by Richard Hamilton on what exactly makes a home appealing was laced with both consumerism and popular culture.2 Other major artists whose art greatly inspired many especially the youth included David Hockney and Allen Jones. Their art is thought to have perfectly blended with the emerging taste of pop music among the youth in both the 1960s and the 1950s. This was a time when fashion achieved its highest acceptance in both the Unites States of America and the United Kingdom. At this time, pop art was evidently a fad statement and at the same time an image of fashion that seemed to be swinging in most of London. The adoption of popular imagery was spearheaded by a number of great exponents of this type of culture within America. Such great exponents included Jasper Johns alongside Robert Rauschenberg. The popular imagery adopted by such exponents included the mighty American flag alongside several numbers of cans meant for beer packaging. The artistic works of an exponent like Robert Rauschenberg were majorly concerned with the emerging trends in a contemporary society. Yet another mighty exponent of pop culture in America; Andy Warhol is credited for his contribution in the recreation of a number of quasi images in photography depicting on the day to day activities that are common among human beings. Roy Lichtenstein is yet another iconic American pop artist that is credited for his contribution in the comic style. His form of art was seen to have greatly translated in to a very ideal aesthetic effect. Pop culture was thus proven to be a very powerful statement with regard to the value attached to the emerging trends in a consumer driven type of society. This trend in the society would have otherwise been left in the darkness had it not been for pop culture. Annette Labedzki is highly credited for having founded the online art gallery that depicts on all forms of emerging art in the world. She is said to have received her bachelor’s degree in fine art at a Vancouver based college called the Emily Carr College of both art and design. Her experience in art is thought to be of about twenty five years. Her online art collection is thought to be the best for purchasers to get all forms of original art. This site is also used by various artists to display their own works in art. This collection is a mighty driving force to consumerism. Pop art is thought to have powerfully evolved after the Sidney Janis Gallery of 1962 in New York. Since this event on wards, pop art was seen to have managed to express itself as a very significant and at the same time serious piece of art. This event was thus seen as the turning point for Pop art. A number of critics have indicated that pop art is the aspect that brought an end to the concept of modernism as it marked the onset of the postmodern era. The concept of Pop Art in Europe and America There are however a number of differences in the concept of pop art in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Within the former, pop art is thought to have emerged as a product of what was termed as the independent group. The members of this group are thought to have resisted the commitment of the institute towards modernist art and architecture. The members of this group seemed to have been greatly intrigued by the design of the Automobile in America. Majority of the artists in most of the United Kingdom had a very optimistic perception. Their works in art mainly focused on a direct assemblage of what was happening at the moment rather than what seemed to be the comics or even the events of the age after the death of Christ. Pop culture in the United Kingdom was thus majorly based on art related technology. In the United States of America artists were seen to have ventured in to the duplication and endless arrangement of a number of visual details that depicted on the American society. Andy Warhol, the greatest American artist emerged with a life time interest in the movie industry at around 1962. He attempted to focus his personal fascination on fame though his exemplary work in this field. In majority of his pieces of art, Andy preferred to leave the viewers with the liberty of interpreting them in various ways. His contribution to the American pop culture was furthered reinforced by his quotation where he indicated that ‘’in the near future, every individual stands to be famous for only fifteen minutes. This was in line with the perception that various forms of mass media and Holly wood are yielding new forms of art on daily basis. These according to Andy are only an enlargement of pop culture since everything in the world today is a mere image that stands to be readily consumed.3 The overall role of art within the public was greatly polarized by the rapid succession of a number of experimental schools of art. This was coupled with both surrealism and abstract expressionism. Art was no longer perceived as an all encompassing and harmonic aspect of every individual’s life. Intellectual rigor and dialogue was seen as an ideal appreciation of any form of art. The concept of consumerism in line with the emergence of pop art evidently rose with the generalized void that was centered on visual engagement. This was greatly associated with the acceleration of the general semiotic structure of pop art. This came with the development of a society that was so attached to the acquisition of commodities in excess. The introduction of such commodities came as both novelties with lots of variations. A very key aspect to the dominance of consumerist theories with the emergence of pop culture was the increase in the use of commercial designs and various forms of advertising . These two held a very significant inter-relationship with the development of pop culture. The development of pop culture was marred by very strong identities and slogans. With this type of support for the acceptance of pop culture, a number of artists took advantage to develop lots of images and iconography. Theories that emerged with the development of Pop art The various theories alongside artists that assembled the exploratory roots of the post modernist activities in scenes related to art were equally echoed in a contemporary social type of critique. The Marxist theory with reference to work was seen to have been both a critique of the emerging political economy and the emerging class related systems of power. This was also measured with the emerging trends in new forms of advertisement depicting the type of society that was perceived to be ideal as art gained more acceptance. The Marxist theory was later diffracted via a prism that was measured by a very pure economical survey. This implied that the theory was majorly interpreted as a form of an economic if not a political orthodox. This in the long run led to the emergence of various avenues of all forms of ideological systems including Leninism. This aspect saw the uprising of numerous forms of schools of thought. This was termed as the post Marxist current. This age tried to work in line with the recommendations of the Marxist perception of a commodity form of society. A number of cultural theorists of this time were to a large extent intrigued and at the same time enraged with the duping attributes of commodity related promises. This period was thus infused at length with a very radical thought alongside engagement in the culture industry.4 A very prominent school that emerged with these developments was the Frankfurt school. This school developed with the work of major theorists like Walter Benjamin alongside sixty semiologists including Roland Barthes. In a similar way the Orthodox Marxism premised upon a concept of malleable working that needed to be told out in order to foster production. Cultural Marxism severally came against the development of a pervasiveness of a certain consumer iconography. This was setting the Marxist theory against the implicated level of stupidity that was associated with consuming classes. A number of goods were associated with various experiences. Such experiences included the emerging statures in the society and the choice of lifestyles. This was fostered through the use of various signs with iconic figures opting to adopt their own way of life. A number of capitalist opponents were very annoyed with the concept that the process encouraged individuals to purchase numerous properties and services while holding on very empty promises. These capitalist opponents came up with theories that the needs of individuals had been molded or rather constructed but not necessarily innate. Iconic figures like Bauldrillard severally attempted to push such concepts to the very extreme end. The fair ground that offered contrast seemingly operates at a very socio-economic level. A quirk form of coincidence shortly engaged the art movement alongside the fairground form of art in to a very iconic space. The uprising of Andy Warhol is thought to have greatly assisted the flourishing of art. Though his effort may have been geared at maintaining a certain form of critique through constantly arguing that the use of numerous produced commodities in the visual range was very contiguous with the concept of art. The development of pop culture was in line to the reaction to the concept of abstract expressionism that was engineered as anti-elitist. This was later seen as a mechanical exploration of producing art. It was not long before pop art would be produced through various designs and commercial forms of art. Maintaining an artistic culture in the society became part and parcel of every individual’s life. Great works of art had such a great commercial impact. Such works included various images created by Warhol depicting on Marilyn Monroe alongside the Campbell cans for soup. Other great forms of art included a comic book created by Lichtenstein that was strongly backed up by works of other artists like Edwin Hall. The irony that was evidently closely linked to Pop art eventually formed the basis of modernism.5 Conclusion The extent to which a society stands to be shaped by the development of art can not be neglected. Art is thought to be the basis of the modern fashion. A number of activities in human life have been shaped by artistic images. The modern society is still being changed in various ways by the development of art. The concept of art in the ancient times was seen to have taken root in the 1960 and the 1950. This was a time when fashion seemed to be the order of every individual’s life. Every individual that lived in this age was greatly inspired to adopt the concept of art as implicated in the emerging trends in fashion. Pop culture in deed fostered consumption that one would say was unplanned for as people tried to purchase all that they could find new in fashion shops. Majority of pop artists made a very big fortune out of the implicated heavy consumption of their works which would definitely not be ignored. Pop art was thus to a broader extent a celebration of consumerism. Bibliography University Of Sheffield, Pop Culture and Consumerism Explosion, Retrieved on 18th Oct 2009 from file:///G:/society2.html. Erika, E., D., Twentieth-century American art (London: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 347. Mamiya, C., Pop art and consumer culture: American super market (Michigan: University of Texas Press, 1992), p.167. Jean-Christophe, A., A Companion to Post-1945 America. Washinton: Wiley-Blackwell, 2006), p. 123. Press, David, T. et al., A Companion to Post-1945 (America, Oxford University, 2006), p. 87. Read More