Discovering the Pop Art and Op Art Movement of the 1960’s

Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the 1950s and flourished in the 1960s in America and Britain, drawing inspiration from sources in popular and commercial culture. Different cultures and countries contributed to the movement during the 1960s and 70s

Emerging in the mid 1950s in Britain and late 1950s in America, pop art reached its peak in the 1960s. It began as a revolt against the dominant approaches to art and culture and traditional views on what art should be. Young artists felt that what they were taught at art school and what they saw in museums did not have anything to do with their lives or the things they saw around them every day. Instead they turned to sources such as Hollywood movies, advertising, product packaging, pop music and comic books for their imagery.

The Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein produces massive paintings that depict comic book art. In doing so he creates a form of pop art that reflects popular imagery that culture deems important related to entertainment.

In the 1960’s America found itself deep into a drug culture. Many artists chose to reflect the illusions of taking drugs into art through Op art. Op art works are abstract, with many better known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images, flashing and vibrating patterns, or of swelling or warping.

 The Vin Diagram Using Odd and Even Numbers to Create a Work of Op Art

Your Assignment:

In the Op art diagram sheet below drag the sheet onto your desktop, print it out, follow the instructions and complete. Send an image of your work using your cell phone to ihs.db@yahoo.com.

Students apply lines from odd numbers to the even numbers onto the opposite side of the vin diagram and then add shading to create their unique work of Pop Art.