The Pop Art Movement

!: The Pop Art Movement

Pop Art developed slightly differently in America and Britain but in quite a curious way - American Pop artists were inspired by the burgeoning consumerist, media driven, fame obsessed culture of America whereas in Britain they were inspired by the same - but different - they were looking in at it from the safe or annoying barrier of the Atlantic. Pop Art was an affirmation of this culture not a repudiation, there was a satirical quality to it but it was far from the Dadaist destruction of artefacts of mass culture. Pop artists were far from detached, they appeared completely swallowed by pop culture, indeed some became more pop than pop itself. Like the culture that they were interpreting, their work was easy to understand, it was far from elitist, the common Joe could easily identify the symbolism in their work.

But it wasn't all that simple, Pop art was terribly close to the reality that they represented but it was clear that they were re-creations of real things. This is where the talent lay, American advertising had become very sophisticated, utilising many elements of modern art, therefore Pop artists had to discover different methods to distance their work, to save it from being consumed. Britain and America differed in their approaches, the former had the luxury of being more sentimental and humorous but the latter, living in the eye of it had to be more bold and aggressive. Pop Art continues to be as important, running alongside the all-consuming, ruthless monsters of advertising, mass media and mass consumerism; it is more than ever necessary and we all the more dependant on any Pop artist who can slay the beasts now and again and keep us all a tad less insane.