Lichtenstein was a Pop Art painter who used a comic strip
style to parody American culture. His iconic paintings are so recognisable and
still used in popular culture today. They are perhaps so striking because of
the use of the primary colours with heavy black outlines. He began by using
techniques of abstract impressionism in the 1950s but added pop culture themes
such as paper money to his work. This developed further into the Pop Art style
in the 1960s by using comic strips, cartoons and advertising as inspiration,
often taking, for example, a comic strip and recomposing it the Pop Art style
with the primary colours. Even though he had a very distinctive style developed,
he still took influence from the works of artists such as Picasso, Mondrian and
even Monet. At the time, many critics questioned Lichtenstein’s artistic
ability with Life magazine asking, “Is he the worst artist in America?” This
has since been proven wrong by looking at the longevity of his work and its
great influence on popular culture. Even with some criticism at the time,
Lichtenstein was never fazed by opinions of his work, saying; “I don’t have big
anxieties. I wish I did. I’d be much more interesting”. I think that Lichtenstein’s
work was very effective in questioning the American culture at the time and his
ironic use of cartoons etc has had a timeless effect for Pop Art. Lichtenstein’s
paintings and prints link to my work because they explore human impact on
culture and surroundings and though there is not a theme of nature evident, his
development and influence on later art and culture is very influential to look
at and expand my view from.
