Pop Art (c. 1950s CE - 1960s CE)

"Popular; Transient; Expendable; Low Cost; Mass Produced; Young; Witty; Sexy; Gimmicky; Glamorous; and Big Business," wrote artist Richard Hamilton in a letter dated January 26, 1957, outlining his definition of Pop Art. This quote from one of the movement's forerunners aptly describes Pop Art. Satirical observers of contemporary culture, Pop artists produced art that reflected mass media and consumerism. Although their individual styles and techniques varied, together their art revealed American values and obsessions during the 1960s.

The movement rose to popularity unlike any other movement. The trendy look and familiar subject matter made Pop Art easy to like. Artists used contemporary images, such as food product labels and celebrity photographs, and mass-production techniques to voice political and social commentary. They were interested in advertising, consumer products, television, magazines, and comics.

An apt example of Pop Art is Sweet Dreams, Baby! (Pow). This print by Roy Lichtenstein uses a comic strip as its source and inspiration. He isolates a particular comic frame and scales it up in size. The result is a bold, exciting graphic. By taking this scene out of its context in a comic book, enlarging it to heroic proportions, and placing it in a museum, this image becomes a work of art that asks the viewer to consider the subject matter of art.

Sweet Dreams, Baby! (Pow)
1965
Roy Lichtenstein, American
(1923-1997)
Screen print on white wove paper
37 5/8 inches H; 27 9/16 inches W
Purchase by Friends of the Museum
1970.002.000
World Events

1961 Russian Yuri Gagarin is first man to orbit earth; Berlin Wall is Built.

1962 First Pop Art exhibition.

1963 John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

1964 The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan Show.

1969 Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.

DARCY DISCUSSES: PRINTMAKING

The method of screen-printing used to make Sweet Dreams, Baby! (Pow) allows the artist to make multiple copies. How does this quality further link Lichtenstein's print to the Pop Art movement?

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