Modern Art: From Neo-Pop to Happenings

Neo-Pop Art and its Influence

54 artists transitioned from Neo-Pop Art and Dadaism, influenced by figures like Duchamp and Robert Rauschenberg. Jasper Johns treated painting as an object, incorporating everyday elements and neutralizing paint over his increasingly pictorial speech. This converted the final result into a simple presentation of things, emphasizing the materialization of an idea over the action of painting.

Characteristics of Neo-Pop Art

• Rejection of abstract expressionism
• Use of realistic, figurative language
• Reflection of contemporary ideas and appearances
• Thematic focus on the urban environment, social and cultural aspects of comics, magazines, newspapers, and photos
• Absence of critical approaches
• Nontraditional pictorial treatment
• Fusion between painting and sculpture
• Breaking with the two-dimensional format

Key Artists

Prominent artists of this era include:

• Jasper Johns
• Robert Rauschenberg
• Robert Frank
• Jess
• Wally Hedrick
• Jay De Feo
• Bruce Conner
• Eduardo Paolozzi

The Rise of Happenings

Happenings emerged as events that incorporated artistic creation through improvised live performances. These events, or "tableaux vivants," did not seek to deceive but rather embraced the accomplice of pictorial illusion. Hamilton defined happenings as "popular, transient, expendable, cheap, young, sexy, fun, a cheat, glamorous, and good business."

Modernity and Modern Art

Modernity refers to the qualities of experience and culture that emerged in 19th-century France. It coincided with the transformation from pre-industrial to industrial society, the modern urban industrial revolution, and the triumph of capitalism.

Defining Modern Art

Modern Art, as a late tradition, offers a critical report closely related to artistic practice, as theorized by Greenberg. It encompasses a broad set of practices that are more informal and less discriminatory, based on a belief in the modern.

Greenberg's Influence

Greenberg's conceptualization of modernity and modern art is compatible with a trend represented by the work of Morris Noland in expansive painting and sculpture. According to Greenberg, the quality tests for art are:

• Modernity is a necessary condition for quality.
• This modernity is associated with abstract painting and sculpture.