Pop Art

"pop" is a simplified colloquial word for "lollipop" (lollipop is tongue and pop is smearing), which can be traced back to18th century. The word "soda", which means Coca-Cola, was probably produced at that time (pop here may mean the sound of opening a bottle).

In short, we can see the transformation of relaxed pleasure and desire, such as the sexual suggestion of lollipops.

So, when did lollipop become a cultural symbol, and how did it convey sexual hints?

/kloc-in the 0 th and 7 th centuries, a kind of soft candy appeared on the streets of London. Sugar vendors put sticks into melted sugar water and made them into cheap "lollipops" for sale, which became a popular street snack at that time. In the United States before the outbreak of the Civil War, there was also a kind of hard candy fixed at the top of a pencil for children to eat when writing.

What really promotes the "lollipop" in the modern sense is a Spanish candy company, Chupa Chups.

"Chupa Chups" comes from the Spanish verb chupar, which means "lick" or "suck".

Thus, the brand Chupa Chups lollipop was officially born.

At first, the candy sold by this company was just ordinary hard candy. The first batch of orb lollipops were produced in 1958 after the transformation of its owner Enric Bohnacker. Round candy dragging a small stick has diverse tastes and cool colors. This new candy immediately became popular, and "Zhenbaozhu" became the exclusive brand of "lollipop".

In Enrique bernat's view, Zhenbaozhu brand should go out of Spain and go to the world. More importantly, it should not only enter the world of children, but also enter the world of adults. Thus, there is the famous advertising slogan-"lifeless seriousness" which means "free life". This kind of casual snack is designed to make people relax.

And to get out of Spain. 1970, Enrique bernat asked Dali, a Catalan fellow villager and master of surrealism, to design the brand LOGO for Zhenbaozhu, so there was the floret LOGO that is still in use today.

20 15 German photographer Julius Ise shot a series of print advertisements for Zhenbaozhu lollipops, highlighting the beauty of lollipops and the temptation of beautiful women in the name of "licking me" and attracting adult audiences with erotic hints.

Lollipop, a cheap but colorful consumer product, has become a symbol often used in pop art, representing the carnival of short-term consumption, humanity and desire; Connected.

The two characteristics of lollipop also make it a reasonable symbol of desire.

First of all, it is the dazzling shape of lollipops. Gorgeous colors and the use of a large number of patterns and color blocks are important symbols of pop art, just like andy warhol's Marilyn Monroe who used various colors to render the same portrait, lollipop, as a pop element, also has the characteristics of bold and gorgeous colors. Especially noteworthy is the spiral lollipop, in which coils of colored eddies seem to involve people and exude temptation.

Second, lick the lollipop with your tongue. The meaning of this action itself must be self-evident-sticking out your tongue openly when licking lollipops coincides with the unrestrained desire advocated by Pope. The act of sticking out your tongue gradually became an independent symbol. For example, the iconic pattern of the well-known "Rolling Stone" symbolizes freedom, temptation and fanaticism.

The term pop art first appeared in the period of 1952 ~ 1955. It was initiated by a group of young artists from London Institute of Contemporary Art at the seminar of independent societies and put forward by Laurence Alloway.

After World War II, the economy of capitalist countries slowly recovered and consumerism began to appear. They believe that the urban culture created by the masses is an excellent material for modern artistic creation. Facing the impact of commercial civilization in consumer society, artists should not only face up to it, but also become singers of popular culture.

The artist who strongly promoted the development of this trend of thought in practice is richard hamilton. In 1956, he exhibited "What makes today's family so different and attractive?" In the first solo exhibition "This is Tomorrow" (Whitcher Pyle Gallery). What makes today's home so different and attractive? )。 This work has become a banner of pop art.

American pop art appeared a little later than Britain, and inherited the spirit of Dadaism in artistic pursuit. In his works, a large number of wastes, movie advertisements and pictures of various newspapers and periodicals are used as patchwork, so he is named New Dadaism.

The content in the painting is cut and pasted from posters, advertisements and pictures of pictorial. The macho man on the left came from a magazine 1954. The pictures of stairs and TV came from two advertisements at that time, and the picture that looks like the ceiling is actually the bottom of the earth was actually cut from the September issue of Nature.

This painting fired the first shot of Pop in the form of banter and absurdity, and practiced the production strategy of Pop Art-directly borrowing cultural symbols produced by commercial society to copy, misappropriate and splice existing images, instead of pursuing exquisite creation like previous artists.

In 1957, Hamilton defined the word "popular", namely: popular (designed for the masses), fleeting (short-term scheme), expendable (forgetful), cheap, mass-produced, young (for young people), witty, sexy, spoof and charming. According to Hamilton's own definition of pop art, what pop artists try to dispel and resist is actually the so-called "authoritative culture" and "shelf art". The elements of their works are directly drawn from ordinary consumer goods, thus blurring the boundary between "art" and "daily necessities" and "inviting" art from the altar.

The giant lollipop held by the macho man in the work is particularly eye-catching, especially the word "pop" is written in bright colors-undoubtedly, lollipop, as a common cheap consumer product, has become an important symbol of pop and carries the core spirit of pop art.

So what is the core of pop art? Hamilton's works and definitions may give an answer. Pop has established a monument for popularity and cheapness, which is actually an artistic freedom and a deconstruction freedom.

In other words, Popper believes that all consumer goods can be art, and all art can be consumed cheaply. Freedom is accompanied by the expression of desire. The naked men and women in Hamilton's works also confirm this point. In the pop world, lust is released, cheapness is praised briefly, and consumption becomes carnival.