Perhaps one of the earliest works on pop art collage, this was one of Richard Hamilton's most popular and much loved artwork. This collage was created in 1956, and other than being considered an early collage, was also noted to be one of the first works of actually produced pop art. In this post, we discuss some of the important elements of the portrait that made Richard Hamilton a pioneering pop artist, and made pop art a movement to reckon with.
Collage elements
The collage was created with multiple elements that depicted the true scene of consumerism in those years. Note the presence of the everyday objects like the Hoover's new staircase model, the Stromberg Carlson television set, the Boosey and Hawkes tape recorder and also the journal of commerce on the orange sofa. The photos were mainly taken from American magazines of those times. They were taken in a manner to depict a typical scene of a typical home in those years, and the image succeeded well in doing so.
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The expression
The image was a good depiction of those days, showing the time of the post-war economic boom. People had just come out from the throes of war and recession and their lives were on an improvement curve. Consumerism was thus highly fashionable and people indulged into it. A muscle man is depicted in the image holding a tootsie pop while a bare breast woman with a lampshade hat is shown surrounded by elements of affluence.
Medium
The usage of mixed media to create the collage is obvious. One can easily make out the multiple materials brought together by the artist for the singular purpose. The various pictures that form a part of the collage were mainly taken from different American magazines and brought together to narrate a common story. Other than these, the portrait also has a small speaker installed behind the portrait that plays when the art is viewed. The visual affects accompanied by the audio together create a much more realistic appearance for the viewer.
The artist
Richard Hamilton began as an English painter and collage artist. He was an important founding member of the British Independent Group, and is also associated with coining of the term ‘pop art'. His work brought him much international recognition and many exhibitions were held across the world. He died in September 2011. Today much of his work is displayed at the Tate Gallery and also at the Kunstmuseum Winterthur.
The beauty of pop art lies mainly in its reality. These artworks do not stray away from the contemporary on a cloud, but rather choose to accept and portray it. Art here is thus true to the heart and showcases the real face of society. The pieces are thus a slice of life, a phrase doubly true for Hamilton's work of ‘Just what is it'. This piece is today on display at the Kunsthalle Tubingen in Germany.
Ref: http://www.articlesbase.com/visual-art-articles/just-what-is-it-that-makes-todays-homes-so-different-so-appealing-5619097.html
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Paintings Online
