The Influence of Art History on Modern Pop Art – A Deep Dive

Today, we will cover one of the most “popular” art movements of the Modern Era: Modern Pop Art. This movement arose from a rebellion against Abstract Expressionists, whom the Pop Art artists considered pretentious and overly intense.

Gold Marilyn Monroe (1962) – Andy Warhol

Pop Art is thought to be an art style that returned to the material realities of everyday life, to popular culture (this is where the “pop” term comes from), which derives from most people’s visual pleasures—like television, magazines, or comics.

If you want to read more about the influence of art history on modern designs, check out our other posts about Gothic Style, Baroque Style, Art Nouveau and Cubism.

Drowning Girl (1963) – Roy Lichtenstein

When and Where Did The Pop Art Movement Appear?

The Pop Art movement appeared in Britain in the mid-1950s and in the United States in the late 1950s. Pop Art artists wanted to challenge tradition, assuming that an artist’s use of mass media and popular culture visual elements could be considered fine art.

Pop art is about removing the material from its context and isolating the object or combining it with other objects for contemplation. This concept refers to the attitudes that led to art.

Viki (1964) – Roy Lichtenstein

It’s widely known that Pop Art coincided with the pop music phenomenon of the 1950s and 1960s, and it was very much associated with the fashionable, swinging image of London. For example, Peter Blake designed covers for Elvis Presley and the Beatles.

Moreover, he starred actresses like Brigitte Bardot in his pictures. In the same way, artist Andy Warhol used the image of Marlyn Monroe in the United States.

British Pop Art vs. American Modern Pop Art

American Pop art was known to be anonymous, emblematic, and aggressive. On the other hand, English Pop art was more referential and subjective. English Pop artists primarily used popular culture and technology as themes or metaphors.

American Pop artists were more into these ideas. For example, Andy Warhol’s motto was “I think everybody should be a machine”, and they tried to make artwork that looked like they were made by a machine.

Jackie (1964) – Andy Warhol

In 1952, The Independent Group (IG) appeared in London, which was considered the precursor of the pop art movement. At the first meeting of the IG in 1952, the co-founding member, artist and sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi introduced a lecture using a series of collages called Bunk!

He created it during his time in Paris from 1947 to 1949. This series of collages was composed of “found” objects like comic book characters, advertising, magazine covers, and all sorts of mass-produced graphics that mainly represented American culture.

The first work of art that included the word “pop” was Paolozzi’s collage called I was a Rich Man’s Plaything (1947), where the pop appeared in a cloud of smoke from a revolver.

Bunk! Collage Series – I Was a Rich Man’s Plaything (1947) – Eduardo Paolozzi

The Melody Haunts My Reverie – Roy Lichtenstein

In the United States, pop artists reproduce, duplicate, overlay, combine, and arrange endless visual details representing American culture and society, introducing transformations and acting like commentaries.

The most famous American Pop Artist, Andy Warhol, had a very special interest in movie stars, and this passion of his was represented in his art in 1962 when he started creating portraits of Marilyn Monroe.

Warhol tried to keep his personal fascination with fame from showing too clearly in his artwork and preferred to let the meaning at the interpretation of viewers. Andy Warhol summarized the Pop movement and the role of the media in this famous quotation: In the future, everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes.

Magazines, television, newspapers, and Hollywood produce new images daily, constantly enlarging popular culture. Everything that surrounds us is just an image ready to be consumed.

What Are The Most Important Characteristics Of Modern Pop Art?

Pop Art is characterized by techniques and themes drawn from popular mass culture like comic books, advertising, and mundane cultural objects. This movement is widely interpreted as a reaction to the ideas of abstract expressionism.

Pop Art intended to employ images of popular in contrast to elitist culture in art, emphasizing the mundane elements of any given culture, usually through irony.

Figures in Landscape (1977) – Roy Lichtenstein

The colors used by Pop Art artists—the predominant colors being yellow, red, and blue—are vivid. In comparison to other movements, they do not depict the artist’s inner sensation of the world; rather, they refer to popular culture.

This was the same culture that inspired artist Andy Warhol to experiment with silkscreen printing, a popular technique for mass production.

Famous Pop Art artist Roy Lichtenstein developed a style based on the visual vernacular of mass communication: the comic strip. This style featured black outlines, bold colors, and tones rendered by Benday dots (a method of printing color tones in comic books from the 50s and 60s).

Pop art features clear lines, sharp paintwork, and clear representations of symbols, people, and objects found in popular culture.

Pop Art replaced the satirical, destructive and anarchic elements of the Dada movement (a cultural movement which appeared in Zurich during World War I and concentrated its anti-war politics through a rejection of the prevailing standards in art through anti-art cultural works) by having a reverence for mass culture and consumerism.

Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Home So Different, So Appealing? (1956) – Richard Hamilton

Pop Artists liked to satirize objects and sometimes enlarged them to seemingly unnatural proportions. Food was a common theme in the pop movement, but household objects such as chairs and toilets were also made out of squishy plastic rather than the materials normally used.

As an example, we have the Soft Toilet by Claes Oldenburg

The Birth Of Modern Pop Art

Cubism In Painting

Andy Warhol was the artist who personified Pop Art more than any other. His paintings of Marilyn Monroe are among the most famous icons of Pop Art.

Elvis I&II (1963-64) – Andy Warhol

Painter Andy Warhol had an obsession with Hollywood’s fame and glamour. He used the photographic silkscreen to create his famous portraits of Mick Jagger, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy. The process he used allowed him to create a large number of prints.

Warhol used a method of mass production to create his artwork because he thought celebrities themselves were mass-produced.

Mick Jagger Suite of 10 (1975) – Andy Warhol

Whaam! (1963) – Roy Lichtenstein

Modern Pop Art in Packaging Designs

Logos and product labelling often figure in pop artists’ imagery. For example, Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans labels.

Even more, the labelling on the shipping carton containing retail items was used as a subject of pop art. For example, we have Warhol’s Campbell’s Tomato Juice Box or his Brillo Soap Box sculptures.

Campbell’s Soup (1968) – Andy Warhol

Campbell’s Tomato Juice Box (1964) – Andy Warhol

Modern Pop Art In Sculpture

In Pop Art Sculpture, Claes Oldenburg was considered one of the most important representatives of the movement. He created many large-scale public works. His famous work, in collaboration with Coosje Van Bruggen, is the Spoonbridge and Cherry in Minneapolis.

Does Modern Pop Art Still Influence Contemporary Design Works?

Jeff Jaffe, the co-owner of Pop International Galleries in New York states that “Pop Art is stronger than ever”. Collectors, art dealers, publishers, and auction houses, of course, agree with him.

They all point to some of the greatest names in art today: Clemens Briels, James Rizzi, Romero Britto, and Steve Kaufman, among others. These artists work in a Pop style and have all found success in today’s art marketplace.

Needless to say, art has always been an expression of what happens in society. In the 1950s in England and in the 1960s in the United States, art was rather a chaos of consumption, advertising, television, comics, and fashion.

Art reinvented itself more than ever because of the pop art movement, which is still highly appreciated today.

Today, Pop Art is still very popular, whether we’re talking about old originals selling for thousands of pounds or copies of those selling in large numbers for a small price. It’s clear that pop art has become more than just a statement, and it’s impossible to ignore.

It’s absolutely everywhere you go, in everyday places, or used for advertising (that is what it was initially used for in the 1950s).

Pop Art can mean many things, but one of those things is clearly “popular.” All art appeals to people emotionally, but Pop Art is experienced on an experiential level. It comes from our daily lives, said Julie Maner, director of business affairs for Museum Editions in New Rochelle, N.Y. By this, she refers to Gloria Lee’s “Pop Dog” series.

This series features 25 different dog breeds in some electric Pop colors. Of course, dealers put this print, in particular, in shop windows because of the colorful and whimsical designs.

Pop Art is so popular today that it’s used to create awesome birthday cards, t-shirts, badges, calendars, posters, and canvases, so it’s hard to ignore.

The features of this art, like the bright colors and prints, haven’t yet faded, and I seriously doubt that they’ll ever will, as the popular movement continues to fascinate today.

Some people asked why Pop Art returned so strongly, even 47 years after it appeared. The answer given by some was that Pop gained many supporters over the years and proved to be a solid investment. 

Others said it’s just the time to swing back that way as fashion returns to some of the early years. Moreover, it’s thought that it came back as a need of Americans to be comforted by familiar things.

Art in the Pop genre is constantly changing. It’s a way of keeping up with the times, said Julie Maner. “What I think is great about Pop art is that it’s cross-cultural. It’s not making a political statement. It’s the best art form for anyone who might be intimidated by art.” states Ruth-Ann of Thorn of Crown Thorn Publishing.

Anti-war protests, war itself, threats of foreign attacks and fear of nuclear bombs are as real today as they were in the 50s’.

Modern Pop Art Influence On Contemporary Artworks

Artists still use most of the features of the pop art style today as inspiration for their artworks. Andy Warhol’s and Roy Lichtenstein’s works are often used as models for other contemporary works.

Today’s artists are creating cool illustrations, prints, and posters with details like dotted images, strong multiple colors, series of images on one print, famous people’s faces, and home utilities like TVs, radios, and cameras.

Modern Pop Art Influences Home Decorations, Accessories, Prints, & Fashion

Pop Art, because of its bundle of colors, represents a great inspiration for designers, whether we’re talking about product prints, posters, canvases, t-shirts or many other things.

Check out some everyday products with awesome pop art-inspired prints:

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in August 2010 and has since been completely revamped and checked to ensure complete accuracy of information. 

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