Welcome to Pop Art and its Legacy. This online exhibition features works by University of North Georgia students enrolled in ART 4590 Pop Art in summer 2022.
This exhibition is the culmination of intense academic work in a five-week long, student-centered course. In May and June, eighteen talented students engaged in art historical discussions about Pop art. Students analyzed and researched individual artworks, and they produced interpretative texts each week. They identified key features of American, British, and international Pop art, and studied the involvement of female artists, black artists, and Latino/a artists in the movement. They engaged with art, graphic design, and visual culture from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, as well as with contemporary expressions such as Neo-Pop and Post-Pop.
As they discussed their focused research with their peers, the students discovered how the individual artworks shared stylistic, conceptual, and contextual connections. By making these connections, students recognized and explored the persistent debates of the 1960s and 70s: the influence of mass media and celebrity culture, the rise of consumerism and technology, the sexual revolution and the feminist movement, the Civil Rights movement, hippie and psychedelic culture, the Vietnam war, and international conflicts in Latin America and Europe. They culminated the process with a final essay where they considered the artistic originality and historical importance of each Pop artwork studied.
To connect art historical learning with artistic practice, students created their own Pop artworks and produced interpretative texts about them. Their works focus on personal concepts and contexts while demonstrating their command of the Pop visual language. As the creator, designer, and instructor of the course, I am proud that these budding artists engaged profoundly with art historical debates and took up the challenge to create something new.
The works featured in this exhibition represent the legacy of Pop art. These emerging artists and designers embraced the preoccupations of earlier artists who, since the early 1950s, challenged conventions, expectations, and stereotypes. Pop artists brought dignity to the everyday language of mass media, consumerism, and celebrity culture, democratizing the art world and encouraging audiences to identify with the subjects of their works. Pop artists also used their visual language to criticize unjust political systems and structures, to speak for sexual liberation and empowerment with irreverence, and to erase the boundaries between fine art and commercial imagery without judgment.
As this exhibition demonstrates, these young artists follow on the footsteps of Pop artists, adopting new media to communicate contemporary concerns. They explore debates on abortion laws, gun control laws, mental health, discrimination and inclusion, racial affirmation, social and sexual expectations placed on women, body positivity, emotional self-fulfillment, the effects of social media, mass media, and technology on human communication, video game culture, science fiction culture, and celebrity worship. Their artworks speak loud and clear about the persistent need for art that communicates complex ideas and emotions in a complex world.
The symbol of this exhibition is a multimedia Pop artwork from 1963: Girl with Radish, by Marjorie Strider. Strider presents the viewer with a close-up face of a young woman who stares unabashedly at the viewer while getting ready to bite on a radish. Over the five weeks of the course, it became apparent that this cheerfully irreverent image struck a chord among the students. She has become our symbol for that very reason.
Ana Pozzi Harris, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer – Art History
Department of Visual Arts
University of North Georgia
Connect with Visual Arts - University of North Georgia