Pop Art-A Critique Of The Consumerist Culture

Pop Art- a celebration or a critique of the consumerist culture?

In the years following the Second World War, there were two very different developments: one for the United Kingdom and the other for the United States of America. For the United Kingdom, the war had brought serious damage to social, economic and cultural scenes, barely leaving any concern for the arts. On the other hand, the United States of America were enjoying a period of great prosperity and rapid economic growth. Along with its wealth came a massive development of the American industry and popular culture, which led to a highly consumeristic culture. It was in this era that pop art was born. Pop artists began to look for inspiration in the world around them making art out of everyday items, consumer goods, and mass media. Modernist critics were horrified by the pop artists’ use

He represented the spirit of American popular culture and elevated Pop art to the status of museum art. He used second-hand images of celebrities and consumer products which he felt that had been stripped of their meaning and emotional presence through their mass-exposure. Warhol was fascinated by banality which he celebrated in a series of subjects ranging from celebrities to soup cans. He saw the aesthetic of mass-production as a reflection of the American culture: "What 's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca Cola, too. A coke is a coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know