What is Pop Art?Pop Art is an art movement that originated in the 1950's in England and the United States. This art movement flourished for the first time between 1958 and 1975, and has since experienced recurring popularity. The term Pop Art can be traced to Lawrence Alloway, a 1950's art critic who was defending the movement as a legitimate art form, and attempting to define what is Pop Art. He wrote an influential essay entitled "The Arts and Mass Media", using the phrase "popular mass culture" to explain what is Pop Art, and describe this exciting new genre. Many experts can explain what is Pop Art by tracing its roots. The history of what is Pop Art begins with a general frustration among artists with Abstract Expressionism.
Abstract Expressionism was a nontraditional art form popular in the early half of the twentieth century. It expressed ideas and emotions through abstract or nonrepresentational means. A backlash developed against this art form, first in Britain and then the United States. Many claimed that Abstract Expressionism was elitist and exclusionary, as this high art was only found in the galleries of renowned museums, or in the expensive homes of private collectors.
In contrast, Pop Art utilizes objects and images that are found in mass media and popular culture. To asnwer what is Pop Art, one must turn to advertising, film, television and even comic books. It is characterized by strong lines, and uses a mechanical means of reproduction to repeat images. This repetition often causes these images to lose all representational value, allowing the viewer to evaluate the piece out of context. Some detractors try to define what is Pop Art as "kitschy", or a cheap imitation of valuable art.
Each generation has answered the question what is Pop Art uniquely. Each artist has interpreted the influence of mass media on society differently. Today, artists such as Romero Britto, Carlos Navarro and Tim Rogerson are a part of the Neo-Pop Art Movement. This new definition of what is Pop Art utilizes vibrant colors and cartoon themes to convey often complex forms and ideas.