POP ART

POP ART

by Joan K. Yanni

The Gallery’s set of seven Pop Art sculptures, though not always on view, is always fun to see.  It was created by the Tanglewood Press—ours is #17 of seventy-five—and was given to MAG in 1975 by Gallery friend Charles Penney.  The group includes Rainbow Faucet (75.333.2) by Jim Dine; Side-view Mirror (75.333.1) by Allan D'Arcangelo; Baked Potato (75.333.4) by Claes Oldenberg; Kiss (75.333.6) by Andy Warhol; Female Nude Bust (75.333.7) by Tom Wesselman; Reclining Rooster (75.333.5) by George Segal; and Setting Sun (75.333.3) by Roy Lichtenstein.

Two Pop art paintings, also gifts of Penney, are often installed above the case: Eternal Hexagon (75.335.2) by Robert Indiana, and Untitled by Roy Lichtenstein. And two works by Andy Warhol, Jackie (65.7) and Jacqueline Kennedy, III (76.132), are now on view in the adjoining gallery.

Pop Art was a movement that took over the New York art scene roughly between 1956 and 1966.  Pop artists sought to erase the hand and mood of the artist as seen in Abstract Expressionism and to reintroduce recognizable subject matter to the public.  Their art is rooted in the urban environment, and it is based on commonplace subjects:  mass produced images from ads, comic books, and TV.

Andy Warhol (1930-1987) is the most familiar figure of Pop Art.  Born in Pittsburgh, he moved to NYC in 1952, where he became a successful commercial artist.  In the early 60s he began to base his art on familiar objects and famous people:  Campbell's soup, a dollar bill, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe.  His most characteristic element is repetition—endless rows of bottles, soup cans, faces. His use of silk-screen for printing further eliminates the signature and comment of the artist.  Despite his dispassionate presentation, Warhol's images remain extremely potent.

Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1998), born in New York City, worked at first in the Abstract Expressionist style, then, about 1960, began to draw themes from advertising and the comics.  He starts with a comic strip and recomposes it, retaining the bright, primary colors of the original and simulating the mechanical printing process with his meticulously painted Ben-Day dots.

Claes Oldenberg (1929-  ) combines fantasy, humor and irony in his work.  Born in Sweden, he grew up in Chicago then moved to New York City.  In 1963 he exhibited his first "soft sculptures": bathtubs, typewriters and other solid objects reproduced in vinyl.  This art had built-in mutations:  when touched, it would settle into a new position.  Oldenberg is also known for his giant sculptures:  a clothespin in Philadelphia, a baseball bat in Chicago, and lipstick in London.

Tom Wesselman (1931-2004) followed Andy Warhol in the early 1960s in the reproduction of supermarket products, then turned to collage paintings combining the nude and the still life.  During the later '60s he concentrated on the "Great American Nude," isolating realistic details such as an open mouth with a dangling cigarette.  His images are realistic, Playboy-like and sensual.

Allan D'Arcangelo (1930-  ) had his first exhibition in NYC in 1963 and at once established his particular imagery:  the American highway, with zooming perspective and road signs.  He paints in a tight, flat manner with precise geometric outlines.

Jim Dine (1935-  ), born in Cincinnati, moved to NYC in 1958.  His first one-man show consisted of pictures of neck-ties, hats and bandannas painted in varying styles, often with the actual article glued to the canvas.  A series of works from 1962 consisted of everyday objects placed in front of "paintings," such as a lawnmower placed in front of a canvas with daubs of green paint.  He has more recently turned to silk-screen prints of everyday objects:  pajamas, a heart, a robe.

George Segal (1926-2000), a native New Yorker, was a student of Hans Hofmann but painted Biblical and allegorical figures.  He made his first cast from a living body in 1960, and afterward continued to explore the combination of plaster figures and real props.  His sculptures are modern genre scenes, his white plaster figures often seeming more alive than their setting.

Robert Indiana (1928-  ) was born Robert Clark and took his pseudonym from his native state.  He used words and numbers as images, painting hard-edged road signs and billboards in bold, contrasting, frequently clashing colors.  One of his most familiar paintings simply proclaims, in flat, interlocking, complementary colors:  LOVE.

Source:  Mario Amaya, Pop Art and After, Viking Press, 1965; David Britt (ed.), Modern Art:  Impressionism to Post-Modern, Little, Brown and Co., 1974.