Moxie University Shares: University Pop Artists Andy Warhol (1925 – 1987) is the standard bearer of Pop Art and now one of the most famous artists in the world. He was born to immigrant parents from Eastern Europe and was frail, solitary and unpopular as a child. He contracted scarlet fever and the subsequent complications kept him in bed for a lengthy time. While in bed he listened to the radio and collected pictures of movie stars. This experience would set his career-path. He would get a degree in commercial art and work in NY at commercial advertising agencies. His first “works” were whimsical illustrations of women’s fashion shoes, he seemed to give the shoes a unique personality of their own. In the early 60’s Warhol would start a revolution in art by depicting ordinary items of consumption as “Art.” This would become the catalyst for “pop” art. In general Warhol sought (By Jack Mitchell, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15047586) out the most ironic and cynical elements to satirize in American society. His works were his way of “thumbing his nose” at American Exceptionalism in an age when America was at its zenith in terms of global cultural power and influence. In the end he wanted to be a celebrity more than he wanted to be an artist, fame was its own-just- reward.

He is also responsible for creating an industrial method of producing works with his “factory” process. Warhol’s later life could be thought of as the first instance of a Reality-TV-Show, just the act of living was an “Art” on its own.

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) created arguably some of the most recognizable art forms ever. His meticulous reproductions of comic book single panels are instantly recognizable. The well-known pattern of dots that result from the printing of comic pages is called the Ben Day Process and the Dots are called Ben Day Dots. These dots Lichtenstein fastidiously replicated and gave his images their graphic weight. Even Lichtenstein “admitted” that his famous art was an act of copying, but that it ultimately “transformed” the image into one of social-criticism. This act of taking the material and banal object and, through the act of depiction, created a powerful statement. In that sense, the act is primary, and the art itself is secondary. This leads one to think that his (and most of the other Pop Artists) works are really Conceptual Art, disposable in nature and simply an experience. Roy Lichtenstein would get his start like many artists of his era, learning the craft in the military and his Art Education being funded by Credit: By Eric Koch / Anefo - File:Roy_ the US government with the GI Bill. Later he would create more diverse forms, large Lichtenstein_(1967).jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index. brushstroke sculptures, murals, and Odes to famous masters (Van Gogh, Picasso, and php?curid=40723533 Mondrian).

Unlike Warhol, Lichtenstein was a traditional artist who was only interested in creating art and not being a “Celebrity”. At the end of his career Warhol was more interested in Social Status and was primarily creating movies. Roy Lichtenstein never stopped creating artwork till the end. 10 Scanning this code will give you a short video to get you more familiar with Roy Lichtenstein and his work.

Roy Lichtenstein would sometimes recreate images from comic books and make small changes which would emphasize a different meaning. You can see an example by researching the DC comic book cover of “Run for Love!” and Lichtenstein’s painting, “Drowning Girl.” At first glance, they look very much alike but he changed the story by removing one line as well as exaggerating some elements and cropping out other sections.

Challenge Project

Create a Pop Art background with ink and your eraser as well as any other art supplies you may have.

Then, take an image of yourself. There are lots of free apps with pop art effects. Print your pop art selfie, cut it out, and glue it to your background. Add a speech bubble with a note or message. Cut it out and glue it for a third layer.

You can even just add an exclamation.

Just follow these steps for block letters: 1. Use your pencil to draw the letters with a little space in between. 2. Outline each letter. 3. Erase the original inside letters then, thicken the lines with your marker.

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