The Crazy Kinds And Crazy World Of Lichtenstein Pop Art

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10 September 2010

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Many of us may be familiar with Lichtenstein pop art without really knowing that it is a work of art done by Roy Lichtenstein. Like Andy Warhol, Lichtenstein has carved a niche for himself in the world of visual arts, particularly in pop art.

Pop art is short for popular art. It is a branch of art dealing with images of celebrities, cartoon characters, and much from advertising. The popular artists strived to destroy the line between what is considered as high or fine arts, and low art. Lichtenstein pop art is an example of the blending of these two different arts, and a successful one at that.

Whereas Andy Warhol was inspired mostly by Hollywood, cartoons, and advertising, Roy Fox Lichtenstein looked towards advertising and comics for his art. He was also born in the center of the arts, New York City, to a family that was well-off. He eventually left New York to study and teach, but later on came back, and this was the start of his worldwide fame. He first experimented with abstract expressionism, but later on turned to pop art. Similar to Warhol, he enjoyed exciting, brash colours which made his art look rather captivating. He also developed pop art reproductions within the works of classical painters.

His works ended up needless to say designed in comics, but Lichtenstein tried to distinguish his art from comics art. He was known to comment openly about his own works of art. Many doubted the veracity of his work, but Lichtenstein continued creating his comic-like art. At the time of the late 1980′s, he sold a painting for greater than five million dollars, placing a record. Lichtenstein worked tirelessly to initiate his own brand of art, and this paid off. Lichtenstein was often referred to as the King of Pop Art Portraits, and he wanted people to stop referring to comics as lowbrow art. For him, interested in something as ‘low’ was a method of thinking, more than the standing of the art itself. People became familiar with Lichtenstein pop art because he always used Benday dots, thick borders, and wild colours in his works.

Along the lines of Warhol, Lichtenstein pop art proceeds to be seen today in numerous sites, and printed on various items; his brazen art has made a mark in the world, and the people persist to patronize his art works. He not only painted, he also sculpted and made prints for lithographs, etchings, and others. His works are definitely unique, and this is what helped usher Lichtenstein into fame and fortune. During the seventies, his works started turning into surrealism, and his works showed this new style.

Indeed, Lichtenstein pop art is still relevant today, as he continues to inspire other writers. Thanks to him, popular art has become more and more famous, and many will continue his legacy. He will always be known as someone who elevated comic art; transforming the way we think of and look at art. In a lot of ways, Lichtenstein pop art is not just a new form of art, but a new way of thinking.