Serge Canu, WHAT..!!. Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 100 cm.
Brief introduction to Pop art
A movement that emerged in the mid-1950s in Britain and the late 1950s in America, Pop art reached its zenith during the 1960s, establishing itself as an artistic expression of "revolt," that is, struggling against the more "standardized" approaches and viewpoints of the art world. Indeed, young pop artists, feeling far removed from what was being popularized by art schools and museums, felt the strong impulse to have to capture the life of the time for what it really was, reflecting the prevailing trends and lifestyles imposed by the consumer society. In this sense, the latter, with its "star system," its advertisements, its product packaging, its pop music and its comic strips became the main muse of this movement.
Yuriy Kraft, ***MY NAME IS BREXIT***, 2021. Sculpture, metals on metal, 43 x 63 x 40 cm / 19.00 kg.
P.Salvan, A story of a bird, 2022. Sculpture, resin on object, 34 x 4 x 17 cm / 3.00 kg.
Why is Pop art to this day still so popular?
It has now been about seventy years since the advent of Pop art, a movement that unquestionably represented a seminal moment in art history, within which the mass product was innovatively viewed in its aesthetic essence. It is important to highlight how, from the 1950s to the present day, the popularity of the aforementioned movement has remained unchanged, so much so that it is one of the most popular contemporary art forms, within which a consumerist culture is expressed, one that has not yet completely exhausted itself. But what is the secret of this success? Pop art turns out to be an artistic expression on a "human scale," since, thanks to its peculiarities, it is recognized by the masses as a sincere spokesman for their everyday life, dreams and ambitions, which are communicated through an extremely familiar and immediate language.
Sinao, Playboy 21', 2021. Painting, spray / acrylic on Cardboard, 120 x 80 cm.
Natalia Kudryavtseva, Melody cat, 2021. Painting, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 80 cm.
Pop art's most famous animals
Despite the great popularity of Pop art, there are some themes addressed by this latter that, falling outside the standard topic, turn out to be less well-known, just like the works depicting animals, made by iconic artists of the pop world such as: Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Takashi Muracami, Jeff Koons, and Yayoi Kusama. Speaking of Andy Warhol, the American master is known for his countless interests, obsessions and muses, among which, pets were no exception, which he immortalized in multiple works. As for cats, Warhol's love for these felines began at an early age, nurtured by his mother Julia, with whom, in their Carnegie Hill home, he shared this great passion. Later, and more specifically in 1954, a series of ink portraits, published in the book 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy, paid homage to these animals. When it comes to dogs, however, the protagonist of multiple works by the American master is Archie, a short-haired dachshund who was given to Warhol by his boyfriend Jed Johnson in 1970. From then on, Andy and Archie became inseparable; in fact, the master always took his dog with him: to his studio, art openings, press conferences and restaurants. From this mad love arose multiple portraits, in which emerges the great sensitivity with which Warhol could capture the spirit of his animal, immortalizing it with an almost human expression. Although lacking such a personal story, another Pop work that tells us about the animal world is Panda, a sculpture by Takashi Muracami depicting the animal of the same name, aimed at exploring the boundaries between art, nature and luxury commercial product. Notably, this marriage of art and commercial culture finds its foundation in the successful 2002 collaboration between Murakami and Louis Vuitton when the brand's then creative director Marc Jacobs invited the artist to reinvigorate Vuitton's accessories line. That "ancient" collaboration is the centerpiece of the current work, where, the adorable cartoon-like panda stands atop a vintage Louis Vuitton monogrammed trunk.
Diederik Van Apple, Bomb, 2021. Sculpture-acrylic, 25 x 40 x 25 cm.
The Pop animals of Artmajeur's artists
The Pop art of Artmajeur artists has also immortalized the animal world, depicting domestic, as well as more wild specimens, just like Priscilla Vettese's sculpture depicting a dachshund, Jérôme Royer's work aimed at immortalizing a monkey, and Xavier Wttrwulghe's sculpture having a rhinoceros as its subject. In this context, it is worth noting that, the aforementioned animals are part of the most celebrated artistic tradition, as they have been the subject of masterpieces by the most popular Pop art masters. Nevertheless, the sculptures by Artmajeur artists depict such specimens in a totally unprecedented way, that is, through extremely innovative, original and highly ironic works.
Priscilla Vettese, Pop art dog sculpture, 2021. Sculpture, spray / acrylic / marker / stencil on other substrate, 16 x 21 x7 cm / 2000.00 g.
Priscilla Vettese: Pop art dog sculpture
The dachshund, already celebrated by Andy Warhol, was also the protagonist of the work of another great master of Pop art, such as David Hockney. In fact, in 1995, the latter mounted an exhibition at Yorkshire's Salts Mill that, titled Dog Days, included 45 paintings of his two dachshunds. The three-month in-depth study of these dogs required meticulous planning on the part of the artist, who set up easels around his home to capture the animals quickly and in various poses, as natural as possible. In sum, such work is a testament to how much Hockney loved his animals. The iconic dachshund returns in Pop art dog sculpture, an artwork perfectly in line with the stylistic features and subjects of Priscilla Vettese's artistic production, predominantly focused on the study of animals. These specimens are made with a very personal Pop technique, aimed at juxtaposing intense, and vivid colors with hexagonal decorations enriched by abstract details. In conclusion, the dachshund continues to be depicted in contemporary art, through points of view, which although new, belong to the same artistic movement.
Jérôme Royer, Graffiti artist mokey, 2019. Sculpture, 3D modeling / plastic on Plastic, 16 x 19 x 12 cm / 0.20 kg.
Jérôme Royer: Graffiti artist mokey
Graffiti artist mokey is a Pop sculpture immersed in an atmosphere with an urban flavor, intensely experienced by the work's protagonist: a monkey intent on proudly holding a spray can, just as if it were ready to daub some wall, in order to champion a great ideal. As far as art history is concerned, other Pop monkeys, "made of balloons," were made by Jeff Koons. In fact, the latter sculptures, titled Balloon Monkey and made of mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent paint, convey the illusory impression of being light and fragile like inflatables, when they are not at all. Moreover, the reflective surface gives the works a dancing mood, that is, as changeable as their surroundings. Finally, returning to the work of the artist from Artmajeur, it is now well known how it repurposes a tried-and-true Pop topical, but tackling it in a completely innovative way: more "realist" and urban.
Xavier Wttrwulghe, The ultra matte blue dancer rhino, 2021. Sculpture, resin on other substrate, 32 x 15 x 15 cm / 2.00 kg.
Xavier Wttrwulghe: The ultra matte blue dancer rhino
Xavier Wttrwulghe's Pop sculpture finds its place in a surreal context, that is, in a parallel reality, in which a heavy and clumsy rhinoceros becomes capable of acrobatics worthy of the most famous circus troupe. Indeed, this, certainly innovative and hilarious, artwork makes this heavy animal seem agile, light and strong, as it is capable of lifting all its physicality on a single leg. In addition, the elegance of such action, and at the same time of the pose, makes the animal look almost like a graceful acrobat-dancer. Speaking of art history, the rhinoceros has already been immortalized by Pop art, as exemplified by Andy Warhol's famous silkscreen print, which, titled Black Rhinoceros 301, is from the 1989 series Endangered Species. The latter, as its name suggests, features some endangered animals at the time of its creation, confirming once again the American artist's great love for animal world. Therefore, Xavier Wttrwulghe's Rhinoceros, fits perfectly within the Pop art tradition of combining the love of art with the love of animals.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
