WRITTEN BY

Keli Sipperley
Art and Music
 Level: M Word Count: 298 Words
100th word: cans page 10

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 Written by
Keli Sipperley

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PHOTO CREDITS: Cover: © Christie’s Images, © LUKE MACGREGOR; page 4-5, 7, 12, 21: © Associated Press;
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Edited by Jill Sherman

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Library of Congress PCN Data

A Look at Pop Art / Keli Sipperley

(Art and Music)
ISBN 978-1-62169-875-3 (hard cover)
ISBN 978-1-62169-770-1 (soft cover)
ISBN 978-1-62169-975-0 (e-Book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013936784

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Rourke Educational Media
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North Mankato, Minnesota

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Table of Contents
Art is Everywhere. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Soups Stir Things Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Characteristics of Pop Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

End of an Era. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Pop Art Leaves Its Mark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Websites to Visit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

 Art is
Everywhere

Is your lunch a work of art? It could be.

4
French Fries and Ketchup
by Claes Oldenburg, 1963

5
6
 Still Life #25 by Tom Wesselmann, 1963

During the 1950s and 1960s, a new style

of art emerged that changed the way people
viewed fine art.
Artists in the United States and Great Britain
turned the ordinary into the extraordinary by
creating art based on American popular culture.

7
 Swingeing London
by Richard Hamilton, 1972

Richard Hamilton
(1922–2011)

Works based on images like these

would have been considered “low art”
prior to the pop art movements.

Images of celebrities and advertisements were not

considered worth displaying in a gallery or museum
until the pop art movement began.
8
 Pop artists created fun, artistic
images of everyday America.
“Pop art is for everyone,” artist
Andy Warhol said.

Superman by
Andy Warhol, 1960

Andy Warhol
(1928–1987) 9
 Soup Stirs
Things Up

In 1962, Andy Warhol’s 32 paintings of Campbell’s

Soup cans were displayed in a California art gallery.
10
 The paintings rested on a shelf as if they were
products on a grocery store shelf.

The soup can exhibit made Warhol famous and

marked the climax of the pop art movement in America.
11
 Characteristics
of Pop Art
Pop art paintings tend to have very bright
colors, usually red, yellow, and blue. The images
in pop art are flat like those in comic books.
Some artists also used Ben-Day dots, a
method borrowed from comic book printing.

Roy Lichtenstein is famous

for his paintings inspired
by comic books.

Roy Lichtenstein
(1923–1997)
12
Sweet Dreams Baby!
by Roy Lichtenstein, 1962

13
 Silk screens are also used in pop art. Andy
Warhol used this commercial printing technique to
reproduce an image multiple times.

14
Self portrait by Andy Warhol, 1966
15
 Some pop artists used found materials, such as
discarded television sets and telephones, to create
their work. Others used photographs to make collages.

16
Still Life #20 by Tom Wesselmann, 1962

17
 End of an Era

In 1965, Andy Warhol said the pop art

movement was over, but its impact remains
strong today.
Modern artists still use the techniques
made famous by Warhol and others to create
everything from portraits to websites and
greeting cards.

Pop art influences many artists today.

Urban artists like Shepard Fairey use the
silk screening techniques made popular
by Warhol to create iconic images.

18
Hope poster by Shepard Fairey, 2008

19
 Pop Art leaves
its mark

Art by Romero Britto on display in a gallery.

20
 Pop artists broke down the barriers between low
art and fine art with their work based on things
people see every day.

Romero Britto
(1963–)

21
 LOVE Sculpture by Robert Indiana, 1970

From soup cans to superheroes, the pop art

movement showed the world that art is everywhere.
22
Glossary
Ben-Day dots (ben-DAY dahts): dots used to add shading in
comic books, newspapers, and other printed works

celebrities (suh-LEB-ri-teez): famous people, such as movie

stars and singers

climax (KLYE-maks): the most important part

collages (kuh-LAHZHZ): pieces of art made by attaching

different items such as photographs and objects to a surface

discarded (dis-KAHRD-ed): thrown away

exhibit (ig-ZIB-it): a public show of art or other interesting

things

silk screens (silk skreenz): a method of printing that puts

color through special fabric that only lets the paint go through
certain areas

23
 Index
Ben-Day dots 12 sculpture 22
collages 16 silk screens 14
comic books 12
popular culture 7

Websites
www.moma.org/interactives/redstudio/popart
www.ducksters.com/history/art/pop_art.php
library.thinkquest.org/J001159/artstyle.htm

About the Author

Keli Sipperley is a multimedia journalist
and children’s book author living in
Tampa, Florida. She enjoys writing stories
about interesting moments, fun places,
and people who help others in their
communities. She has two sons and two
daughters who love reading and writing
as much as she does.

Meet The Author!

www.meetREMauthors.com

24
Comprehension and Extension Activities
After reading the book, work on the following questions with your child or students in
order to check their level of reading comprehension and content mastery.

1. When did pop art begin?

2. What inspired pop artists?

3. What types of colors are usually found in pop art?

4. Who was a famous pop artist?

5. How did pop artists use found materials?

Extension Activity
Gather some everyday objects. Now have fun and build a pop art sculpture.
 Art and Music
Pop art was the art of popular culture. It was the visual art movement that characterized
a sense of optimism during the postwar consumer boom of the 1950s and 1960s. Pop art
was brash, young, fun, and hostile to the artistic establishment. This title will allow students
to analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and
differences in the point of view they represent.

Books In This Series Include:

A Look at A Look at A Look at A Look at A Look at

Cubism Impressionist Art Pop Art Renaissance Art Urban Art

A Listen to A Listen to A Listen to A Listen to A Listen to

Classical Music Jazz Patriotic Music Rock ‘N’ Roll World Music

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