Pop Art (Movements in Modern Art series) by David McCarthy (2002) Paperback

Movements in Modern Art

by David McCarthy

Mass culture, popular taste, and kitsch-previously considered outside the limits of fine art-were the inspiration for and provocative themes of Pop Art, a movement that enjoyed great prominence in the late 1950s and 1960s. Rejecting the idea that art and life should be separated, artists in both the United States and Britain-among them Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, and Richard Hamilton-used mass-produced objects and photographic images to make a blatant connection between art and the postwar world of consumerism. This study follows the development of Pop, from its roots in the irreverence of Dada and Surrealism, to its rise in popularity as an art form that celebrated the glamour and hedonism of the newly commercialized Western world, while acknowledging its superficiality and transience.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History

Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Kachayet · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting that the author tries to take a more nuanced approach to Pop Art, and he does an outstanding job at contextualizing and putting it in it's context in Art History... But the author's personal analysis feels unflattering and hypocritical.

At one point, the author condemns how male and straight dominated the movement was, then he says it was actually a very diverse movement, but then he'll be laser focusing on analysing just 2 artists out of this "diverse" movement to claim the movement was politically subversive.

But that part is rather short, and it's worth a read if you want to see Pop as a movement well versed in it's predecessors instead of a random sore thumb in art history.

[Max Oliveira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a really deep study on the movement, nonetheless a shallow argument. It manages to be very elucidative in a light read format. If you're thinking about reading it you should pretty well do it, it will be by no means a waste of time.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting and informative look at the Pop Art movement of the 60s, expounding not only on the famous artists and artworks of the genre, but also on the sociopolitic meaning of it. It is always fascinating to see how art represents life and vice versa, in this case particularly refelcting the culture of consumerism among other things. I was always a fan of pop art, but now I'm more of a well informed one. Recommended.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Pop Art of the 1960s is described in this book.

The majority of the issues and pictures contained within this book felt dated. Of the sixty images reproduced I found roughly ten still had the power to make me want to examine them.

[Nancy P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're somewhat familiar with Pop Art this is not going to seem revolutionary. However it is a nice, comprehensive, short guide to Pop Art.