1. POP Art Artists are interested in the images of mass media, advertising, comics and consumer products. The 1950s were a period of optimism following the end of war-time rationing, and a consumer boom took place. It was influenced by American artists such as Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, and British artists such as Richard Hamilton. These artists wanted a more popular, less academic art. Pop Art therefore coincided with the youth and pop music phenomenon of the 1950s and '60s, and became very much a part of the image of a fashionable, 'swinging' crowd.

2. POP Art After the popularity of abstract Expressionism this is a return to pictorial (recognizable) subjects. The paintings are slick; the mark of the maker (brushstrokes, etc.) are absent. The images are presented in a cool detached manner.

3. Richard Hamilton

4. Just What Is It That makes today's Homes So Different, So Appealing?1956

5. Richard Hamilton wrote down a prescription for Pop in 1957; he declared that Pop should be: Popular Transient (short term solution) Expendable (easily forgotten) Low-cost Mass-produced Young (aimed at youth) Witty Sexy Gimmicky Glamorous Big Business...

6. Part of pioneering exhibition "This is Tomorrow" by a group of Brits. Word Pop makes first appearance Chief images of later pop are compressed into the collage. Young Romance comic,& image borrowed from Art History (Lichtenstein) Package of ham (Oldenburg) Celebs. like Al Jolson (Warhol)

7. Andy Warhol

8. Worked as illustrator for shoes. As designer he understands how ads. create & satisfy consumer needs. Son of Czech immigrants in depression Yearned for American dream of fame & fortune Reflected in choice of subject matter (Glamour mags., Celebs. Commodities) Influenced by J.J & R.R. & appropriation of mass produced images. Zeros in on mass production & boring repetition. "I think everybody should be a machine."

9. Marilyn 1962

10. Photo silkscreen on canvas. Combines theme of Celebrity & Death. Marilyn image loaded with sexuality. She is an Object of desire, strengthened through repetition. Completed shortly after her death The doomed Beauty died at 36 of an overdose.

11. Saturday Disaster 1964

12. "When you see a gruesome scene over and over again it doesn't have an effect."

13. Tragedy is depersonalized through repetition.

14. Picks up on subject of the public’s morbid fascination with disaster & death. The media's obsession with this topic satisfies a need. They exploit it. Warhol too exploits, but also gives cause for reflection by removing it from its context, & making it art.

15. Roy Lichtenstein

16. Focus is print, specifically the comic books of the 40's & 50's Uses limited, flat colour, and hard edged drawing. Fond of subtle parody & irony He reproduces the Ben Day printing dots used in the commercial printing of comics He uses themes of violent action & sentimental romance.

17. Lichtenstein, Masterpiece, 1962

18. Meant to be humorous and self referential Parodies the romantic notion of an artist life Increased size of B.D. dots & outlines creates new formal concerns requiring transformations, and manipulations that separate this from the low art sources..

20. Amplifies the intrinsic artificiality Single frame unresolved

21. CoarseMediumFine The Benday Dot printing process combines two (or more) different small, coloured dots to create a third colour. The process was named after US illustrator and printer Benjamin Day.

22. Whaam! 1963

23. From comic American Armed Forces at War Uses clichés of comic: speech bubbles, emphatic lettering, stylized explosions, & bright colour.

25. He combines the Renaissance tradition of a diptych, with a comic. The 13' X 5' size amplifies the American obsession with violence’ war & killing. IIt is painted during the Vietnam & Cold war. He depicts a moment of crisis & tension with no indication of resolution.

26. Claus Oldenburg

27. Ice Bag 1966

28. The medium is vinyl that has been sewn together. This is a material that is more commonly used in the manufacturing of commercial products, than it is in art objects.

29. By greatly increasing the scale of the object, he changes the way we look at it; it somehow gains greater importance than it deserves. The soft sculpture inflates and deflates, making real movement a part of the experience of looking at it. The lifelike breathing effect is amusing, but disturbing at the same time.