Artists are subtle critiques, commenting on the evolution of culture and society and have been influencing the people in an effective manner. Pop art is a genre that used imagery from popular culture, consumerism, and mass media. It is heavily based on consumerism and it has criticized brands and their commercials on the impact they had on the common people. In this article, we will discuss the impact of consumerism in Pop Art and how artists used them to comment on the society.
Role of Consumerism in Pop Art
Pop Art began after the second world war during the economic flourish which led to the rise in consumerism. Societies witnessed an increase in disposable income and access to lot of consumer goods. Supermarkets were widespread which gave way to a lot of advertisements and affected the daily life of people. The common man was surrounded by a lot of commercials and advertisements for a bunch of products.
Artists began to witness this consumerism and they felt a strong need to reflect upon this craze using their artwork. Instead of moving away from the world of consumerism, they started to use elements of commercials in their imagery and commented on their impact in a deep manner. This was the birth of Pop art where consumerism became the central subject for artists.
How Consumer Imagery Became an Artistic Material?
Pop art relied on the imagery gained from mass media, advertisements, popular culture, and similar consumerism-based marketing. Artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Hamilton, and Claes Oldenburg used everyday objects and commercial products that were heavily circulated in mass media gaining the attention of people widely.
For instance, Warhol’s Campbell Soup Cans and Coca Cola bottles are an exemplary examples of how consumer products were used in Pop art. You can find pop art images were instantly capturing the attention of people which made it accessible and thought provoking.
How Artists Criticized Using the Familiarity?
The fundamental strength of Pop Art is its ability to criticize society using the familiarity of consumer products. This means the artists used the widespread consumer goods that was part of the common man’s life and criticized them with their own imagery. This was a powerful factor to draw attention towards the repetitive and superficial nature of consumerism and rejecting them subtly.
Conclusion
There wasn’t a better genre of Art in the early 50’s that commented on the path taken by society due to the widespread consumerism than Pop Art. Using this approach, artists were able to reveal how consumerism deeply affected the people and made its roots in the modern life.