Culture | richard hamilton just what is it that makes todays
StateoftheArt | Arthistory[1][2]RichardHamiltonandtheworkthatcreatedPopArt(Imagecredit:Richard,Hamilton,Tate,London)ItisusuallythoughtofasaquintessentiallyAmericanartform–butthewaytoPopwaspavedinBritain,writesAlastairSooke.PPopArt,thesubjectofTateModern’sforthcomingblockbusterexhibitionTheWorldGoesPop,whichopensnextmonth,isoftenthoughtofasaquintessentiallyAmericanphenomenon–andwithgoodreason.Afterall,theimagerywemostreadilyassociatewithitevokesAmericancelebritiesandproducts:ElvisPresley,Mari...
State of the Art | Art history[1][2]Richard Hamilton and the work that created Pop Art
(Image credit: Richard, Hamilton, Tate, London)
It is usually thought of as a quintessentially American art form – but the way to Pop was paved in Britain, writes Alastair Sooke.
P
Pop Art, the subject of Tate Modern’s forthcoming blockbuster exhibition The World Goes Pop, which opens next month, is often thought of as a quintessentially American phenomenon – and with good reason.
After all, the imagery we most readily associate with it evokes American celebrities and products: Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and prominent members of the Kennedy political dynasty; hamburgers and hot dogs, cans of Campbell’s soup, Ford automobiles.
So for many people it will come as a surprise to learn that Pop Art was invented not in America but in Britain – that drizzle-drenched kingdom of politeness and understatement from the Old World, not the New.
This came about as a r...