Self-study
P1
The painter Roy Lichtenstein helped to define pop art—the movement that incorporated commonplace objects and commercial-art techniques into paintings—by paraphrasing the style of comic books in his work. ███
Intro topic ·
Lichtenstein's pop art
Pop art = commonplace objects and commercial-art techniques in paintings. Lichtenstein brought style of comic books to this kind of art.
Impact of Lichtenstein's art ·
Poked fun at pretensions of art world, but transcended parody
Lichtenstein's pop art had seriousness of theme that made it more than just parody.
P2
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Lichtenstein's art as fine art ·
Was fine art, but didn't look like it because of their comic book elements
Historical context ·
Pop art was a reaction to second generation of abstract expressionists
The standard perpsective is that pop art was a reaction to the first generation of abstract expressionists. But it was actually a reaction to the second -- whose work involved high-minded, lyrical elements.
Lichtenstein's art ·
Part of rebellion against fading emotions of abstract expressionism
So, Lichtenstein's art had emotional power.
P3
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Lichtenstein's art more than parody ·
Impulse toward realism and depiction of contemporary life
Contrast with some pop art ·
Lichtenstein's art displayed deliberate naivete about consumer culture, rather than cynicism
His art was response to overly sophisticated art of the second generation of abstract expressionists and of some other pop artists.
Passage Style
Single position
Spotlight
11.
Based on the passage, which ███ ██ ███ █████████ █████ ██ ██ ███████ ██ ███ ███ ████ ██ ████ ██ ███████ ████ ███ ██████ ██ ██████████████ █████
a
a painting that ████ █████████ ██████████ ██ █████████ ███████ ██████ ███████ ████████ ██ █ █████
(A) is missing the seriousness of theme — where’s the message in the work? Also, it’s not clear that (A) is an example of pop art. Although (A) involves “realistic techniques,” that’s not the same as “commercial-art techniques.” (A) is more like a still-life painting (look it up if you don’t know what it is).
b
a painting that ████████ █████ ███████ ██ █████████ ████ ██ █████ ███████
(B) is missing the “more than just parody” aspect of Lichtenstein’s work.
c
a painting that ███████ ███ █████████ █████ ███████ ███████ ███ ███ ██ ████ █████ ███ ███████ ██████
There’s no suggestion that Lichtenstein was trying to convey any “inner turmoil.” Although Lichtenstein’s work had emotion, that doesn’t imply the creator experienced inner turmoil. Also, it’s not clear that (C) is pop art — where’s the commercial-art aspect of the painting?
d
a painting that ███████ █████ ██████ ███ ██████ ██ ████ █ █████████ █████ ████████ ███████
It’s not clear that (C) is pop art — where’s the commercial-art aspect of the painting? “Vague shapes and images” doesn’t suggest that there are commercial-art aspects to the painting.
e
a painting that ███████ ████████ ██ ████ ██████ ██ ████████ ██████████████ ██ ███████ ██ █████████ ██████
This is the best answer. It’s pop-art, because it involves commercial-art aspects (showing products as they appear in magazine advertisements, similar to how Lichtenstein paraphrased the style of comic books). In addition, (E) captures the seriousness of theme — the work has a message and is trying to say something about the world, just as Lichtenstein was. (He wanted to bring back realism, depictions of contemporary life, nostalgia). Sometimes people have a problem with “comment on society’s values” in (E). Although Lichtenstein wasn’t cynical about consumer culture, this doesn’t imply that he didn’t comment on society’s values.