Pop Art Essay

The conceptual framework identifies the four interdependent and interrelated agencies of the artworld – the world, artist, audience and artwork. Here, the ‘artist’ may be thought of as an individual, school or movement and includes visual artists, craftspeople, designers and architects. The ‘world’ refers to how interests in the world may be represented in art and indicates both the world of the artist and the audience and refers to both the ‘art world’ and the greater world at large. Plate 1, The Volunteers (Die Freiwilligen) by Kathe Kollwitz is a German Expressionist artwork produced in 1923. German Expressionism marked a period of great change in which German Expressionist artists attempted to depict not objective reality but rather the

Plate 2, Lipstick Ascending on Caterpillar Tracks by Claes Oldenburg is a Pop Art sculpture produced in 1969. Pop Art was a reaction against the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940’s and 1950’s which reflected a sense of optimism during the post-war era of mass production and consumerism. Pop artists challenged traditional boundaries between media, combining mass-produced elements, printmaking, photography, images, objects and sometimes text in order to make new meanings. The developments in art production that aroused as a result of German expressionism and Pop Art impacted heavily on the world of art, and artists such as Kathe Kollwitz and Claes Oldenburg began to search for new means of expressionism, resulting in new media, techniques, subject matter and ideas, many of which can be seen in plates 1 and

Pop Art artists intended to challenge traditional boundaries between media, combining mass-produced elements, printmaking, photography, images, objects and sometimes text in order to make new meanings. In plate 2, Oldenburg demonstrates this intention by using mixed-media to create a sculpture that references female excitement and male incapability in order to bring attention to the irrationality of US military violence. Plate 2 depicts a tube of lipstick emerging from a military vehicle, positioned in a courtyard. The lipstick, a diminutive, everyday object, has been enlarged and placed in a landscape. The tube is painted metallic gold while the top is bright orange, both highly contrasting with the black tank base. This notion of enlargement and use of bold colour are ideas that is integral to Pop Art, as it is reflective of the post-war era of mass production and consumerism. Although Oldenburg used objects from the real world, he placed them out of their usual context. By taking mundane objects and presenting them out of context and in such colossal proportions, Oldenburg forced viewers to reassess their daily lives and values. Through his social commentary on American popular culture, and through his use of bold colours and enlargement, Oldenburg was able to achieve his aim: “My single-minded aim is to give existence to