by Danielle B

Created on: May 09, 2008

Pop art was started in the United States around the early 1960s, but everyone knew it was coming since that latter fifties. It was an art movement which aimed to replace the abstract mode of expression with ideas that were simpler to understand and thus shows in the artwork.

Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns started this movement and it mainly caught on quickly in New York City. The initiators believed that abstract art was on it way out and was losing people because it was so hard to understand and not cool enough, so they then started the pop art movement to give people a new taste at what was out there. Pop art was simple and therefore used simple items, such as a vase with flowers or a flag to portray what the artist was trying to get across. They were easy to recognize items that many knew. Irony, sarcasm, and mockery were favorites to this movement. Pop art was a form of rebellion to show that even the simplest items could be the most beautiful. We need to be vibrant and not just stick with the old ways and views of older art, we need to break out of our shells and try something new.

Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein were some of the best pop artists. They were courageous in trying new things and showing the world how far they can go with art. Pop art was a completely different way of doing art and it went to the extremes and far away from what was considered the norm. It showed the abstract artist how you can take real objects and throw them so far and do so many crazy things with them. Pop art gained the appreciation and support of many art critic groups because so many people could understand it and relate. As pop art maintained its mocking, it did not reduce the popularity of abstract expressionism.

As abstract expressionism reigned supreme still, but pop art also continued to make its presence felt. Minimalist and color-fielding came from these two movements. Minimalist art uses the simplest items and ideas. It attains immediacy through abstract form, absence of decorative detail, and emphasis on geometry. Color-field artists moved toward a more impersonal and austerely intellectual way of creating beauty. They use pure elements and areas of color. Everything is done on a monumental diagram.

Pop art and abstract expressionism had a great rivalry in the sixties. They both wanted to gain the support of the publics eye. Abstract expressionism tried to stick with the old rules while pop art wanted out with the old and in with the new. Both are fantastic kinds of art and should be appreciated in their own retrospective.

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