‘Pop’ is a
photographic interpretation of the Pop Art movement which originated in the
1950s. It is sub-divided into several
series of photographs, each of which explores different dimensions of Pop
Art.
1. Flower Power.
Flower Power
was a slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of a
passive resistance and non-violence ideology.
It is rooted in the opposition to the Vietnam War. It was the posters by pop artist Peter Max, with their
vivid fluid designs painted in DayGlo colour, which
became visual icons of Flower Power.
This series attempts to capture the spirit of this enhanced colour
with real and artificial flowers and plants.
2. Mass Produced.
In an age of increasing prosperity for the proletariat, Pop Art developed a fascination
with mass culture and the mass produced.
The mass produced was mimicked.
This series follows this trend but selects mass produced objects which
are themselves pastiches of other objects or forms.
3. Parallel Lines.
‘Parallel Lines’ is an album by the group Blondie. The group was part of the New York cultural
explosion in the 1960s and 1970s that many pop artists and musicians were
drawn to. The lead singer of Blondie,
Deborah Harry, sat for Andy Warhol who produced one of his trademark silk-screen
portraits of her. This series reflects
the cover of the Parallel Lines album and highlights examples of parallel
lines and regular patterns found in real life.
4. Cosplayers and Weeaboos.
The use of
comic book imagery is a well known feature of Pop
Art. These days, this imagery has gone
one step further and has been incorporated into the lifestyle of
individuals. Cosplayers and weeaboos
like to dress up as their favourite comic characters or characters from video
games. The incorporation of Japanese genres of manga or anime are
particularly popular. Indeed the term,
‘weeaboo’ means someone who is obsessed with Japan, Japanese culture, anime,
etc. and attempts to act as if they were Japanese, even though they're far
from it.
5. Multiples.
The concept of the use of multiples by pop artists has been two-fold – the
use of multiple images on the same canvas or production of multiples of the
same image using reproductive methods, such as silk-screen printing. There has been an attempt to downplay the
artist’s hand to subvert the idea of originality. This series comprises a number of images
which are assemblages of photographs of street art, graffiti and advertising
posters. It could be argued that
street art is a natural successor of Pop Art, being an art form commenting
upon, and a barometer of,
current culture.
6. Pop Idols.
An idol is defined as an image or representation of a god used as an object
of worship. A ‘pop idol’ replaces a
god with someone or something well known from popular culture. Scarecrows, tailors’ dummies and retail
models decorated to mimic current celebrities and modern-day icons are
depicted in this series. ‘Pop Idol’
was of course a television show.
7. Consumers
As has already been stated, Pop Art was born at a time of increasing
prosperity. This, in turn, increases consumption and drives the need for a
greater variety of products and experiences.
This series of black and white photographs looks at the consumers
themselves. It shows how greater
freedoms, fuelled by a plethora of new opportunities, particularly in the
availability of leisure opportunities, defines the culture of the time..
Click here or on themes on
the left hand side of the screen to see the photographs