 |
Roy Lichtenstein, Whaam!,1963, Tate. © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein/DACS 2012
|
On February 21 a retrospective exhibition opened at Tate Modern, of Roy Lichtenstein, one of the central figures of American Pop Art. It is the first large-scale retrospective exhibition of his work since Lichtenstein passed away in 1997 at the age of seventy-three. With the collection of one hundred and twenty-five works from his early days to his late years, it becomes possible to look back over Lichtenstein’s paintings and the borderline they balance between art and mass culture. Lichtenstein is known for his work in which he enlarges single panels from comics. His active years, the 1960s, are the period in which Andy Warhol and his factory first drew from mass media and surrounding urban settings, as well as mass media and the world of commercials, to start producing work.
In 1962, Lichtenstein displayed shocking work at Leo Castelli gallery in New York, that overthrew the noble image of art that people had. This work was a painting named “Look, Mickey”. It was the famous Disney characters Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, in a painting. The characteristics of comic books, such as the emphasized lines and simple coloring, had been reproduced in oil paints to paint these cartoon characters on an enormous canvas. Lichtenstein had transformed the mass-produced, widely circulated printed matter of the cartoon illustration, into a work of art.
Due to its motifs and his manner of painting, his work is often mistaken as simply the enlargement of a piece of printed matter. But is that really all?
For instance, let’s take a look at one of his most important pieces, “Whaam!” This painting is a panel from a comic about a fighter pilot, “Star Jocky”, published in 1962 in the compilation “All American Men of War”. If we compare it to the scene from the comic that inspired it: the background has been eliminated, the lines and coloring have been cleaned up, and the image has been reshaped into a composition with all the more impact. When viewed up close, the dot matrix used by printed matter is visible, but when studied more closely, we see that the precisely arranged dots have not been produced mechanically, but are entirely hand-painted. Although Lichtenstein’s motifs drew from mass-produced printed matter, because he allowed for alteration and hand-painted everything, his works became unique paintings.
The retrospective also features works that are not nearly so well-known, such as paintings of female nudes, and his landscapes in the Chinese style. His series of paintings, Art History, which recreates artworks in Lichtenstein’s own style, seems to hurtle a challenge at modern art’s views on originality. This retrospective exhibition provides us with a wonderful opportunity to know the many different sides to Roy Lichtenstein.
The exhibition Lichtenstein: A Retrospective will be open from 21 February to 27 May at Tate Modern (open all days).
| |
Due to its motifs and his manner of painting, his work is often mistaken as simply the enlargement of a piece of printed matter. But is that really all?
For instance, let’s take a look at one of his most important pieces, “Whaam!” This painting is a panel from a comic about a fighter pilot, “Star Jocky”, published in 1962 in the compilation “All American Men of War”. If we compare it to the scene from the comic that inspired it: the background has been eliminated, the lines and coloring have been cleaned up, and the image has been reshaped into a composition with all the more impact. When viewed up close, the dot matrix used by printed matter is visible, but when studied more closely, we see that the precisely arranged dots have not been produced mechanically, but are entirely hand-painted. Although Lichtenstein’s motifs drew from mass-produced printed matter, because he allowed for alteration and hand-painted everything, his works became unique paintings.
The retrospective also features works that are not nearly so well-known, such as paintings of female nudes, and his landscapes in the Chinese style. His series of paintings, Art History, which recreates artworks in Lichtenstein’s own style, seems to hurtle a challenge at modern art’s views on originality. This retrospective exhibition provides us with a wonderful opportunity to know the many different sides to Roy Lichtenstein.
The exhibition Lichtenstein: A Retrospective will be open from 21 February to 27 May at Tate Modern (open all days).
Tate Modern
Bankside London SE1 9TG United Kingdom http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern
Opening times:
Sun - Thurs 10:00 - 18:00, Fri & Sat 10:00 - 22:00