Roy Lichtenstein Research Paper

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Pages: 3

Roy Lichtenstein, a Pop artist considered to be one of its leading figures, used comic books to rise to the stardom he has achieved, but what made him a Pop artist? Why did he choose comic books as the main subject of his paintings?
First of all, to answer the question of what made him a Pop artist, we first have to understand what Pop art was, and what separated Pop artists from other artists. Pop art was an art movement, or period, that originated in 1952 in the city of London by a group of artists that called themselves the Independent Group. The term “Pop art” has several possible origins, but one claims that it was coined by the painting I Was a Rich Man’s Plaything. It was painted in 1947 by Eduardo Paolozzi, who was a member of the Independent
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Other members of the group included painter Richard Hamilton, architects Alison and Peter Smithson, and critics Lawrence Alloway and Reyner Banham. The Independent Group use to have regular meetings about how mass culture was incorporated in fine art, science, and technology. The mass culture they referred to included Western-themed movies, science fiction, comic books, billboards, car design, and music. Aside from only organizing meetings between themselves, they spread ideas to the general public about Pop art as we know it today by organizing lectures and participating in exhibitions which featured artwork and topics they had discussed in their meetings and by publishing articles in newspapers. One of the more impactful exhibitions the Independence Group participated in was This Is Tomorrow, which was an art exhibition that took place in August 1956 at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, UK. The exhibition featured 12 exhibits that included artists ranging from architects and