By Siddarth Puri
Daily Bruin Contributor
“Everything is beautiful. Pop is everything.” Andy
Warhol’s timeless quote comes to life in the new Norton Simon
Art Exhibit “Pop Culture!”
Opening today, the exhibit includes paintings, sculptures and
works on paper by some of the most famous American Pop artists,
including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Ed Ruscha
and Wayne Thiebaud.
Focusing primarily on the Los Angeles and New York pop artists
from 1960 to 1969, the show displays works by both the well-known
and the unknown.
“The exhibit displays great Pop pieces that haven’t
been on display in many museums. A lot of pieces from
Warhol’s “˜Brillo Boxes’ and Liechtenstein’s
“˜Big Modern Painting,’ which takes three display
panels, haven’t been displayed,” Deziel said.
Emerging in Great Britain during the 1950s, Pop art didn’t
reach its peak in the United States until the 1960s, when it
replaced Abstract Expressionism as the new artistic style. This new
generation of artists rejected the drip paintings of Pollock and de
Kooning and reintroduced recognizable subject matter into art.
Choosing from commonplace subjects pulled directly from
advertising, television, comic books, and movies, the Pop artists
used vivid colors and commercial techniques, as a way to
mass-produce identical impressions.
All the artworks in “Pop Culture!” are taken from
the Norton Simon permanent collection.
“We come up with our own themes,” said Michelle
Deziel, the curator for the exhibit. “We have a large
collection of American Pop Art and decided to use it.”
The exhibit, which displays 85 pieces of artwork, is a
collection from 14 American Pop artists. The group, most of whom
began working in commercial art, incorporated a broad range of
meaning in their pieces. Warhol, the quintessential Pop artist,
selected images for his artwork that represented both the glamour
and violence of America. Lichtenstein took his ideas and themes
from comic book figures and expanded them with direct references to
modern artistic masters such as Picasso and Mondrian. California
native Ruscha focused on his fascination of words and chose text as
his primary subject.
Some of the most notable pieces being displayed include
Warhol’s “Campbell Soup Cans,” which shows the
prevalence of advertising in Pop art, Ruscha’s “Annie,
Poured from Maple Syrup,” which shows his use of text in his
work, and the lesser-known “Still Life Number 2″ by Tom
Wesselmann.
Works like these blurred the line between popular culture and
high art, using the imagery and techniques of consumerism to
establish itself as a major force in contemporary art.
“Pop art is like one of those styles that keeps you on
your toes. You never know what to expect or how you’re going
to be able to relate to it,” said Keri Connor, a first-year
art student.
With the emphasis on popular culture, Pop Art is an accessible
form of art.
“Pop art is one art embraced by the masses because of its
use of recognizable figures and icons” Diezel said. “A
lot of people are aware of Pop art. It appeals to the masses more
than an abstract painting.”
“Pop Culture!” is at the Norton Simon Museum in
Pasadena through Feb. 11. The museum is open every day except
Tuesday from noon to 6 p.m. and from noon to 9 p.m. on Friday.
General admission is $6 and student admission is free. For more
information call (626) 449-6840 or visit www.nortonsimon.org.