Art Bubble Bursts with a Pop

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 “To be creative is to be accepting, but it's also to be harsh on one's self. You don't just paint colors for the silliness of it all” - James Rosenquist


The Pop Art Movement was born in the middle of the 20th Century. It was a direct reflection of the consumerist world that was growing from its previously seeded roots, and as media and product design is often a game of mirrors, so was the desire to show materialism for what it was. Perhaps ghastly, unnatural, and bland, perhaps perfectly aligned and exquisitely simple, what was given back to the world in the form of pop art was a mixture of everything, fused into one giant movement.


Rosenquist, who recently died on 31st March 2017, rose to artistic fame during the 1960s in which he produced two solo exhibitions for The Green Gallery, New York, and followed with a display of his popular F-111 in 1965 which projected the artist into international acclaim.


Other players in the scene were names such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, who have produced famous works of art involving celebrity, product merchandising, and comic book style. Throwing the rule book back at the designers through the minds of unaffected artists made a mark on the scene in the way that it put a bit of accountability into the hands of the consumer market. Being aware that artists will represent you perhaps is one method for keeping the moral implications of business in check.


Thankfully the Pop Art Movement is still alive and kicking, and although its pioneers are disappearing into the history books, the modern era has plenty to choose from in ways to represent society in all its outlandish ways. 

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