Art Essay Example: Is Lichtenstein a Modern Artist or a Copycat?

Is Lichtenstein a modern artist or a copycat? This question has been the debate amongst the critics of Roy Lichtenstein for an extended period now. For this whole time, this genre of art has been a target of widespread criticism. This has been so, especially when pop art first came into the scene in the early 1960s. Roy Lichtenstein was one of the renowned American Pop artists alongside the likes of Andy Warhol. He is viewed as a pioneer artist in Americas pop style. Lichtensteins engagement in this kind of artistry is widely associated with plagiarism rather than originality. However, to other analysts, he remains a prominent and legendary figure in a genre that is greatly inspired by comic strips. One such positive supporter of Lichtenstein is Alastair Sooke who rallies for the reassessment of the pop artist and labeled as the master of the modern pop art (Sooke, Alastair). The works of Lichtenstein clearly explain the relevance of contemporary pop art. To better understand his works, the pop artist was involved in editing cartoon images to a great extent. As established in this paper, it is the artists motive and rationale behind the edited cartoons and comic images that stand out and have put him into the limelight as a master class in modern pop art. The originality of the painter can be best established through a critical analysis of his paintings and how these works put him in the public frame during his time.

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Style and perspectives of art

Right, form the early years of his works Lichtenstein adopted a rather robust approach in his works of art that included the design of high impact hand drawn and mechanically designed images. His main sources of inspiration include but are not limited to comic art and painting and other master artists like Picasso and Monet. The comic inspired types of his early artworks were mostly composed of distressed ladies within varying designs of frames. The artist's approach has since then created a central topic of discussion for or against these artworks. This style of art that presented a more different style from the then conventional abstract expressionism drew much inspiration from the popular culture. Through these works the feelings of the artist could be sensed and read by many enthusiasts. The mechanical kind of production of the artist was presented by the use of Ben-Day dots (Manthorne, Katherine, 78-79).Using the mechanical dot processes; Lichtenstein was well able to evoke strong emotions on the viewers and enthusiasts of the work. In this regard, Lichtenstein proved yet another important aspect of popular art, which all forms of communication were products of language or codes. Using modern painting, the artist emphasized on the reliance on codes for the presentation of major forms of art, be it high art or popular culture. The exact method of design used by the artist was not based on the use of dots. He employed the perforated dot patterns in various stencils. After alignment of the stencils, the artist would pass a brush of paint on the stencil as the perfect colors passed through as perfected dots. This was his way as a young artist of making his marks known. Others like Andy Warhol used soup cans in the process. It can be said that he introduced pop art and comic frames, though in a not so perfect way. One of the curators at the National Gallery, Harry Cooper, is one of the enthusiasts of Lichtensteins works. According to Cooper, although Lichtenstein drew from the works of funny images and other forms of artworks, he did not exactly reproduce these art pieces. Cooper reiterates that; He's always making these alterations. Lichtenstein did it because he felt these things could be improved. Initially, they were not quite an art, but he could make them art. (Osterwold, Tilman, 184). The artist always reworked the initial images by editing most aspects. To achieve harmonious and unified compositions, Lichtenstein eliminated extraneous details, brightening colors, modifying the contrast, and editing the accompanying texts.

Dominance of the Artist

What made this artist stand out during his time despite the much criticism? The success of the painter during his era and what made him who he was during that period is essential to understand. A look into his perspective and style of art reveal much to this effect. The motivation of the painter towards the work of art is almost entirely distinct to that of others in a growing genre of pop art. Tilman Osterwold attributes this success to the engagement of the painter in some well-thought and systematic approach in leveling the content of his paint works. The kind of motive the painter had during the process of redesigning was very distinct as well. He knew of several ways he could remodel a popular art piece to suit the popular taste of his target audience. In his rebuilding processes of the paint works, he looked further and surpassed the barriers that come with the presentation of second-hand materials. Yes, the critics could rightly say he copied the material, yet they had no further grounds to criticize the remodeled paint works. Once remodeled, the paint works of Lichtenstein had a totally different outlook that was the source ad cause of his master position in the field of pop art during that particular time in history.

Having studied under Gestalt psychology enthusiasts like Hoyt L. Sherman, the artist had learned of various ways of putting at the center of his artwork, the universality of expression. Usually, in his works, he sought to redefine the traditional relationships among various contrasting aspects and bring them into harmony. These include emotion and intellect, reality and abstraction, and serious and playful characters. He had simple ways of putting stories rich in the American history, the Western culture, and other significant historical examples of his perception and language in art. An in-depth study of the works of some of the masters of popular also made him combine the best of classical, romantic and other ancient art cultures to bring out outstanding expertize through his paintings. In developing as an artist, Lichtenstein never gave up trying to find better ways of marrying the techniques used in painting and the subjects presented in the paint works. He had a way of making his ideas stand out against a well-designed background of the history of art (Osterwold, Tilman, 184).

Critical Analysis of Famous Art Works

Over his active period, Lichtenstein was engaged in the painting of several works of art meant for various impressions. The main aim of his work was to give a broader perspective to the societys view of art as explained earlier. This is why he did several alterations to the works and the use of a unique pop style. Some of the famous artworks include Masterpiece (1962), WHAAM (1963), Brushstrokes (1965), and Drowning Girl (1963) among others. Engagement with these paint works reveals much about the motive rather than the content quality. The painters perspective in the pop art is clearly visible when one views them. The perspective and approach by the painters is what stands up and makes the author become one of the pioneering masters of pop art in America and even the world beyond.

Masterpiece

This artwork originates from the year 1962 made up of an oil medium. The square piece of artwork measures 54 inches by 54 inches and is located in private collection storage. The subjects within the painting frame are a blonde who is looking away from artwork and her darling named Brad. In a tone that rather describes the outcome of her examination of the painting; she informs her boyfriend that, the work is a masterpiece that would soon attract the attention of everyone in New York and put them in the limelight. The evaluation of the blonde lady is revealed through a well-constructed text to accompany work of painting. It is worth noting that the painting was done when Lichtenstein himself needed to make a mark and the pop culture a fan favorite and the paint was presented on canvas at the New Yorks Leo Castelli Gallery. The perception of the modern artist is clearly revealed through the painting; that is, to make known his personal ambitions and wishes. The fact that the motive and perception rather than the content of the painting was important to the painter is emphasized by his choice of different media at different occasions to appeal to the audiences and circumstances.

Through this piece, the painter effortlessly shows the rest of the world how fantasies of success in ones mind can be brought to terms by something as simple as a piece of paintwork. This painting surprisingly did pay off for Lichtenstein as he experienced a similar transformation as the subject of Brad that he depicts in the painting work. Through the piece of artwork, the painter expresses that through the success of a masterpiece; the artist can master his work well and become the hero and creator who arranges his things according to the desires. The deservedness of a place in the limelight by works of art is put into test. The painter expresses that such works can see off an individual to transformational experience.

Several critics like Arthur Danto consider the Masterpiece as an ironically devised failed piece of artwork and does deserve anything even worth near a nomination. Most of the critics again, have a wrong perception of the painting, citing the use of a comic approach and style. However, the motive and perception of the painter have established through a clinical examination of the image apart from some other obvious reasons. The psychological complexity of this piece of art is not brought into thought by such critics. To further understand the perception emphasis by Lichtenstein, one needs to analyze the contextual aspect of the Masterpiece. The characters in the painting rather reflect a need of consolation amidst turbulent times in the painters life. For both the character in the paint works and the painter, the success of that paint and its popularity with the people of New York is considered as a shining ray of hope and relief to them. Through his different perception in life, the artist has used artwork to express future possibilities and the management of pertinent issues within the society.

Whaam

Whaam is an image painted using a medium of acrylic and oil on canvas. The image that has a frame dimension of 1727 by 4084 by 60 mm is based on an image from DC Comics All-American Men of War. To bring the image closer to the viewer, other initial background landscapes are eliminated by the artist. The image painting is stored by Tate since 1966. Often described as one of the most powerful works of pop art in the 1960s, the image remains the most popular work on display at Tate. The design of Whaam is based on Lichtensteins original works of the mixture of solid colors presented as Benday dots. The artwork was directly drawn onto canvas using a pencil and layers of oil and the acrylic brand Magna used to paint it. A metal screen that is hand-made and a hard brush were used to produce the Benday dots. In his words, the artist said; I am nominally copying, but I am restating the copied thing in other terms. In doing that, the original acquires a totally different texture. It is not thick or thin Brushstrokes, its dots and flat colors and unyielding lines.( Collins, Bradford, 79). The resulting piece was a carefully but thoroughly manipulated version of the original work that has appealed to various artists ever since. From the image, horizontal color lines are seen emanating from just below the right wing of the plane. These lines connect the exploding plane in the right panel with the yellow balloon and the onomatopoeic text Whaam! The clarity of the two planes; the attacking and the exploding planes is very distinct. The text Whaam is portrayed as an external voice. A preview of...