Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Pop Art Summative Icon Person

Pop Art Image:


Original Image:

Blended Image:


Andy Warhol and Pop Art Questions:

Andy Warhol was a prominent American commercial and pop art artist from the 60’s to the late 80’s. Andy Warhol’s career started after he studied commercial art at the School of Fine Arts at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh. In the 1950’s, Warhol was becoming famous because of his unique drawings. The first set of drawings that started Warhol’s pop art career consisted of brand name shoes created by a blotted-ink method. These pictures started a revolution of art called the pop art movement.
The pop art movement was a revolution of art that focused on objects and icons portrayed in the media. These objects were usually commercial objects. They were related to the popular culture of the time. The pop art movement brought out a new form of art that consisted of common commercial objects and celebrities presented in an iconic fashion, usually created with a blotted-ink pattern medium. Pop art brought people’s attention to the way popular culture controls society. Common objects and celebrities focused in pop art usually had a significant meaning in the popular culture of society. The pictures of pop art present pictures in a surreal fashion. The objects portrayed in the pictures seem to be cartoonish or not real. This factor of pop art draws great attention to the pictures as things that are seen so much in the popular culture are presented in ways that are never fathomed by citizens of a society. Pop art became very famous because it was composed of objects and people that all classes of society were familiar with. Every person could relate to the popular culture depicted in pop art. The images shown in pop art were familiar to everyone, illustrated in a unique or ironic way. Ultimately, pop art caused people to think about the popular culture evident in their society. Pop art caused people to become aware of their culture and society. Awareness was raised from pop art about the popular culture of society, making people understand society better.
Andy Warhol was a well established pop artist in the 20th century. He was one of the leaders of the pop art movement in America. Warhol focused on making art related to images and people society saw in the media. He created picture of objects that were constantly seen and recognized because of mass advertising in a blotted-ink form, creating odd feelings. Warhol wanted to show that America recognized things in a few seconds from glances of a picture, TV, advertisement, and the media. Warhol’s pictures contained images that had been constantly repeated in the media and in advertisements. This art was affectless, but it still drew attention towards society because of the surreal feeling and ironic meaning behind it. Warhol’s art was like a series of advertisements; objects advertised were shown in his art in a regular form. Warhol’s art showed people that brand names and the media made a big difference in what products people bought. Many of Warhol’s works were famous because they were of products and people that society idolized and relied on. Warhol’s picture of the Campbell’s soup can was very famous as Campbell’s was the biggest canned soup company in the market. The company had a lot of advertising, being prevalent in the media. This picture of the soup can appealed to everyone because all types of people from different economic/social classes purchased Campbell’s soup. Everyone was familiar with Campbell’s. It was such a big icon that everyone recognized the logo at a glance. Warhol’s art was noticed by people because it contained things that people looked up to. Celebrities were looked up to by regular people of society. Products were also looked up to by people as people relied on these products and some were deemed exceptional because of advertising. The attention drawn by the art created by Warhol showed that advertisement and the media affected people’s lives greatly as they were familiar with all products and people idolized in the media. This showed that media played a big part in the role of societies, relating to economics and social beliefs/values.
Warhol’s art also reflects the early parts of his life. When Warhol was young, he used to have many pictures of celebrities in his room. He used to listen to the radio a lot as well. Warhol was well associated with the media; he knew what was famous. Media and advertisements played a big part in the early life of Warhol. It affected him with his creation of art. He knew how people were affected by advertised products and celebrities as he had experienced these feelings himself. Warhol expressed his feelings and beliefs through his pop art. Popular culture played a big part in society throughout his whole life. He was determined to show people what the popular culture was all about through his unique form of art.
In the 60’s, Warhol was influenced by the Campbell’s Soup Company, the Coca-Cola Company, mushroom clouds, electric chairs, dollar bills, and police dogs attacking civil rights protesters. Celebrities/important people that Warhol was influenced by in the 60’s included Marilyn Monroe, Troy Donahue, Elizabeth Taylor, Billy Apple, Marry Inman, Robert Watts, Edie Sedgwick, Viva, and Ultra Violet. These things were all very famous in America in the 60’s, making up the popular culture. Warhol focused on people, items, and events that were famous because of the media. His art displayed these things in different, unique ways. Warhol’s subtle art had many great meanings; people’s beliefs and values were affected by famous things presented in the media and in advertisements. Each picture that Warhol created was simple, but it represented how such a simple thing could affect an entire society (e.g. a Coca-Cola bottle). The people, objects, and events that were portrayed in Warhol’s pictures would not have been famous if it wasn’t for the media. This shows that media plays a great role in all aspects of a society, no matter what.
In our present day culture, there is a popular culture that consists of many events, people, and objects. This is similar to the 60’s. In every decade, there is a new popular culture with new people, objects, and events. The popular culture of a society is changed by the media constantly. This change affects our regular lives as the media focuses our attention on certain things. The iPod is a great example of an item in the popular culture of today. Such a simple thing dominates our whole culture. The media has idolized the iPod as the must have music/video player of society. Due to this popular culture, many people choose to purchase iPods even though there are many other music/video players. A simple pop art picture of an iPod represents the power of image through media and how it affects the minds of people. The advertisements for iPods caused people to change their beliefs/ways to accommodate the iPod. Pop art today will portray the many celebrities and items that influence our life today because of the media. As in previous years, the objects that change our lives from the media are simple, but powerful. Pop art today would enlighten people on what the media is actually saying in a deep way. Pop art also causes people to think as the images in pop art send different messages depending on the way a picture is looked at.
As in the past, popular culture today is determined by the media. Media plays a big role in the way society runs as well. Pop art is simple a reflection of all the subjects media focuses on, presenting a different perspective. Pop art reveals the power of media and the power of images. A simple image repeated over and over again can change the beliefs and values of people in a society. Pop art is the representation of this power in popular culture created by the media, presented in a unique, subtle, surreal, and simple art form.




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