Pop Art: Origins, Phases, and Consumer Culture Influence

Pop Art: Origins and Cultural Significance

The artistic movement soon jumped from London to New York, where it was quickly absorbed and energized, creating a unique style of folk art. Pop Art is the artistic expression of consumer culture, technology, democracy, and the welfare state, where the artwork is designed as a product that could be produced in series, like other consumer goods. Examples are found in the works of Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol.

Pop Art has its origins in Dadaism, which incorporated collage and photomontage, but it soon separated to form a distinct stream. In the U.S., it began as a rejection of Abstract Expressionism, which artists considered overly intellectual and detached from social reality. On the contrary, Pop Art was inspired by everyday urban life, and its sources of inspiration include:

• Comics
• Advertisements and posters
• Design elements of the consumer society, such as canned foods

Key Characteristics of the Movement

Some of the most important characteristics of this movement include:

• Pure, bright, and fluorescent colors.
• Provocation and constant humor.
• A combination of painting with real objects embedded in the composition (combining painting).
• The use of materials like foam.

The Four Phases of Pop Art Development

Pop Art is divided into four phases:

1. The First Phase (Pre-Pop)

   In this phase, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns (main exponents) separated themselves from Abstract Expressionism.

2. Phase of Height (The Core of Pop Art)

   Their work is based in the 1950s and draws from the experience of graphic design, commercial design, and poster painting.

3. The Third Phase (Expansion)

   In the mid-1960s, American Pop Art extended from New York to the West Coast and Canada. It later reached Europe.

4. The Last Phase (Radical Realism)

   One could say that the last phase is determined by the radical and biting realism mostly developed in the United States, whose gaze turns to the social conditions of the cities.

Major Pop Art Exponents

• Andy Warhol
• Roy Lichtenstein
• Claes Oldenburg
• James Rosenquist
• Tom Wesselman
• Robert Indiana

Cultural Impact and Aesthetic Design

The last phase coincided with the emergence of the Hippies: youth who objected to consumer society, used drugs, and proclaimed pacifism. Their motto was: "Make love, not war."

Pop Art involves us in a world of color in which the aesthetic is paramount. Forms and lively colors are mixed to achieve the utmost visual complacency. It is best to combine them freely, looking for psychedelia, but always avoiding harsh clashes.

Pop Art Influence on Furniture

Furniture featured clean lines and lightly varnished wood. The handles incorporated metals and plastics to produce an interesting contrast with natural materials like wood. Furniture and lighting designers, particularly those creating Scandinavian pieces, often approached this aesthetic, hence the design of creators from these countries often aligns with Pop and Retro styles. A clear example is the Danish designer Verner Panton.