Roy lichtenstein’s artistic journey through in the car

Подробности

После 1972 года женщины, основанные на комиксах Лихтенштейна, «выглядят жесткими, свежими, хрупкими и неизменно модными, как будто все они вышли из одного и того же горшка с косметикой». Этот конкретный пример — один из нескольких, которые подстрижены так близко, что волосы выходят за края холста. Как и в большинстве его ранних романтических комиксов, в нем рассказывается о мальчике и девочке. Он описывается как напряженное, мелодраматическое графическое покадровое изображение романтического диалога мужчины и женщины. Лихтенштейн использовал горизонтальные параллельные линии, чтобы передать ощущение движения. Ноябрь 1963 г. Журнал об искусстве В обзоре говорится, что это одна из «широких и сильных картин» выставки 1963 года в галерее Кастелли.

В начале 1960-х Лихтенштейн создал несколько картин «фантастических драматических», изображающих женщин, влюбленных в властных мужчин, заставляющих женщин быть несчастными, например Тонущая девушка, Безнадежный и В машине. Эти работы послужили прелюдией к картинам 1964 года, на которых изображены невинные «девушки по соседству» в различных тонких эмоциональных состояниях. «В машине вызывает настроение смирения, в котором, по-видимому, преобладает тишина, когда женщина каменно смотрит в окно «.

Подробности

Источник для Обручальное кольцо было 16 июля 1961 г. Винни Винкль к Мартин Браннер

Первоисточником был Мартин Браннер панно от 16 июля 1961 г. Винни Винкль опубликовано в Чикаго Трибьюн. Размеры 172,1 см × 201,9 см (67 3/4 дюйма × 79 1/2 дюйма), Обручальное кольцо’s «пятнистый» экран мелкой телесной окраски Бен-Дэй точки и рисунок «стаккато» считаются предварительными. Общая «грубость» работы связывает ее с работами Лихтенштейна 1950-х годов, в то время как «интегрированная формальность» связывает ее с его последующими работами. Лихтенштейн использовал только несколько основных цветов: один и тот же красный использовался для ногтей, губ, драпировки и стен, в то время как тот же желтый обеспечивал цвет волос и абажура. Хотя картина считается «полностью характерной картиной, концептуально и вручную», она не так сбалансирована по композиции, как его последующие работы. Стиль живописи описывается как «сухой» и с «компрессией цвета и линейным упрощением комиксов расширен до масштабов станковой живописи». Использование единственного кадра источника комиксов привлекает читателя, не обеспечивая завершение с ясным ожидаемым результатом и без объяснения обстоятельств.

Когда Лихтенштейн провел свою первую персональную выставку в галерее Лео Кастелли в феврале 1962 года, все билеты были распроданы до открытия. Обручальное кольцо была одной из работ на выставке (наряду с такими работами, как Посмотри, Микки,Blam и Холодильник) и продавался за 1200 долларов (10 143 доллара в долларах 2019 года).). Шоу проходило с 10 февраля по 3 марта. В 1962 году Лихтенштейн написал несколько картин о обручальные кольца и обручальные кольца.

42nd Street Station, Times Square Mural, NYC, 1994/2002

Conceptualized in 1994 and installed in 2002, the Times Square Mural is another public space installation by Roy Lichtenstein. The artwork, commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Arts for Transit program, measures 6 feet by 53 feet and is made with porcelain enamel on steel.

The mural specifically goes back to the history of the city’s transportation. The first panel indicates a section of an arch that suggests masonry and tile, two of the main materials used in the subway in the early 1900s. The next arch transforms into a steel girder, symbolizing the 1930’s Machine Age era when metal represented modernism. A winged spaceship can be seen zipping through the arches.

By also referencing his previous works, this piece presents a collection of ideas the artist had accumulated over years of research into semiotics of contemporary art and modern culture.

Like other murals in this article, the Times Square Mural also includes components from other artists’ work, such as Buck Rogers’ comic strips and drawings from the architectural plan of the subway. This mural is a fitting Lichtenstein’s homage to his home city and one of his last works before passing in 1997.

Roy Lichtenstein – Times Square Mural, 1990 (fabricated 1994; installed 2002), Porcelain enamel on steel, 16 panels, 1.85 x 16.26 m (overall), 73 x 640 1/2 inches, NYC Times Square, 42nd Street Station, New York City, photo: CC BY-ND 2.0 by John WisniewskiRoy Lichtenstein – Times Square Mural, 1990 (fabricated 1994; installed 2002), Porcelain enamel on steel, 16 panels, 1.85 x 16.26 m (overall), 73 x 640 1/2 inches, NYC Times Square, 42nd Street Station, New York City, photo: CC BY-SA 2.0 by nefasthRoy Lichtenstein – Times Square Mural, 1990 (fabricated 1994; installed 2002), Porcelain enamel on steel, 16 panels, 1.85 x 16.26 m (overall), 73 x 640 1/2 inches, NYC Times Square, 42nd Street Station, New York City, photo: CC BY 2.0 by edenpictures

CAA Mural – Creative Arts Agency Building, California, 1989

The Creative Arts Agency is the brainchild of five art agents from the William Morris Agency who decided to create their own organization in 1975. The five are Michael S. Rosenfeld, Ronald Meyer, Michael Ovitz, Rowland Perkins, and William Haber. Still, before they could even obtain funding for their proposed project, they were unceremoniously fired by William Morris.

The five incorporated the agency in Delaware, and within a short span, they were already enjoying success with their game show called Rhyme and Reason and the cartoon series The Jackson 5ive.

CAA continued to grow from strength to strength, and by the 1980s, it was financially able to commission architect I.M Pei to design its new headquarters in Beverly Hills.

Standing three floors high, the CAA headquarters resembles a classical structure amassed in three geometric volumes – a central circular patio with an arched wing on its two sides. One wing is covered in masonry, while the other is covered in expanses of travertine glasses. The patio is crowned with a low tapering glass mast that opens it up into a colossal, bright public space adorned with a massive Roy Lichtenstein mural.

When the CAA headquarters was completed, Roy Lichtenstein was approached to create a huge mural that would punctuate the patio topped by the low, tapering glass mast.

Measuring 27 feet tall, the mural was inspired by the painting Bauhaus Staircase (1932) by Oskar Schlemmer. This piece already had significant symbolic importance in contemporary art and that was based on the staircase of the Bauhaus building in Dessau, Germany.

A limited-edition copy of the painting was created to celebrate the work’s completion and was signed and given to every CAA agent.

Reproduction of Oskar Schlemmer’s Bauhaus Stairway, 1932, oil on canvas, 63 7/8 x 45″ (162.3 x 114.3 cm), installation view, Gagosian Gallery, New York, 2023, photo: Marco Pagani/Public Delivery

Фон

Источник для В машине был Романсы для девочек № 78 (сентябрь 1961 г.).

Картина основана на панно, иллюстрированном Тони Абруццо в комикс серии Романсы для девочек № 78, датированный сентябрем 1961 г. и опубликованный Signal Publishing Corp. (романтический комический отпечаток Комиксы DC ). Картина была частью второй персональной выставки Лихтенштейна в галерее Лео Кастелли с 28 сентября по 24 октября 1963 года, которая включала Тонущая девушка, Торпеда … Лось!, Бейсбольный менеджер, Беседа, и Ваам! Маркетинговые материалы для шоу включали литография произведение искусства Crak!

Greene Street Mural, 2015

In 2015, in collaboration with Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and Gagosian Gallery in New York, McKeever recreated the Greene Street Mural to present the work of Lichtenstein to younger generations.

But unlike the original version, which was produced by an array of artists including Lichtenstein, McKeever, Dorothy Lichtenstein (the artist’s wife), Leo Castelli, and two other studio artists using projection, the 2015 version was produced by commercial sign painters.

Speaking about the production, McKeever said,

McKeever played the role of supervisor in the project. He ensured that the painters got the colors right ad that “the mechanics are the same way Roy would want them to be done.”

He continues, “The stripes have to be the same way he did them, and the dots,” McKeever said. “When you are trying to imitate his work, that is the biggest factor.”

The team of painters used scaffolds and scissor lifts to produce the replica mural. Lichtenstein’s foundation also played a crucial role in realizing the project by providing drawings and collages for the painting, with the original one was destroyed.

“The main thing we had to decide on was how it was going to be painted,” McKeever said. “We didn’t have the original crew, and obviously, Roy wasn’t going to draw it out, so we had the idea to use commercial sign painters to duplicate it from photographs.”

The biggest challenge the team encountered was getting the colors right since the photographs from the archives had probably faded or ruined. “The photographs are not the easiest things to interpret,” McKeever pointed out. “Green has a tendency to go black in photographs and there is a whole green area that was black in the photograph, so we had to go back to the college to figure out where it was green.”

Roy Lichtenstein – Bauhaus Stairway Mural, 1989, oil and Magna on canvas, 26 feet 5 ¾ inches × 17 feet II ¾ inches (807.1 × 548 cm), installation view, Gagosian Gallery, New York, 2023, photo: Marco Pagani/Public Delivery

The resulting work had all the elements that become synonymous with Lichtenstein’s oeuvre – a little of Ben-Day dots, nods to Picasso and Brancusi, a drippy red brushstroke, piece of Swiss cheese, and a marbled composition book.

Combined with its imposing size, the mural offers a viewing experience that is revelatory, impactful.

“It’s such an important piece of Roy’s that wasn’t widely documented at the time,” explained Grzan from Gagosian Gallery. “People don’t really know the imagery well, so it was important to expose it to a new generation of viewers.”

Наследие

Наконец, непреходящая популярность «В машине» также может быть связана с общим художественным наследием Лихтенштейна. Вклад Роя Лихтенштейна в мир искусства укрепил его статус выдающейся фигуры в истории современного искусства. Его уникальный стиль и влияние его работ вдохновили бесчисленное количество художников и продолжают изучаться и прославляться.

«В машине» представляет собой характерные элементы стиля Лихтенштейна и служит напоминанием о его непреходящем влиянии. Он демонстрирует силу популярных образов и их способность преодолевать время и связываться с аудиторией разных поколений.

В заключение, «В машине» Роя Лихтенштейна известен по нескольким причинам. Его место в движении поп-арта, исследование гендерных ролей, образцовая техника, историческое и культурное значение, а также воплощение художественного наследия Лихтенштейна — все это факторы, которые способствовали его непреходящей славе.

Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany, 1970

The mural at the University of Dusseldorf in German was created in 1970 and features elements from the artist’s iconic Brushstroke series.

In this piece, the artist tries to question the esteemed status of the painterly mark as well as the central beliefs about the artistic process. Presented with drips and yet again set against a cluster of Ben-Day, the mural at the University of Düsseldorf signifies a gesture of control, which was revered during the time of Abstract Expressionism.

Roy Lichtenstein – Brushstroke Mural, 1970, installation view, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, 36.6 x 10.67 m (144 x 420 inches), 4 walls, magna on plaster, photo: Public DeliveryRoy Lichtenstein – Brushstroke Mural, 1970, installation view, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, 36.6 x 10.67 m (144 x 420 inches), 4 walls, magna on plaster, photo: Public DeliveryRoy Lichtenstein – Brushstroke Mural, 1970, installation view, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany, 36.6 x 10.67 m (144 x 420 inches), 4 walls, magna on plaster, photo: Public Delivery

More by Roy Lichtenstein

Explore nearby (42nd Street Station, New York)

• Antony Gormley’s Blind Light
  Sean Kelly Gallery, New YorkExhibition ended (dismantled in 2007)1 km away

• Fernand Léger’s The city painting
  MoMA, New York1 km away

• Joseph Beuys’ 7000 Oaks
  Manhattan, New York2 km away

• Snarkitecture’s Sway
  Intersect by Lexus, New YorkExhibition ended (dismantled in 2019)2 km away

• Sol LeWitt’s wall drawings
  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York3 km away

Отражение гендерных ролей

Еще одна причина, по которой фильм «В машине» снискал известность, — это отражение гендерных ролей и стереотипов, преобладавших в 1960-е годы. На картине изображена женщина, сидящая в машине, словно погруженная в свои мысли, а за рулем безликий мужчина. Эта композиция отражает динамику власти и контроля в отношениях, поднимая вопросы о гендерных и социальных ожиданиях.

То, как Лихтенштейн изображает женскую фигуру, подчеркивает объективацию женщины в массовой культуре. Огромные солнцезащитные очки женщины и преувеличенные красные губы — знаковые черты той эпохи, отражающие идеализированный образ женщины, увековеченный средствами массовой информации. Эта критика гендерных ролей добавляет картине глубины и актуальности, находя отклик у зрителей даже сегодня.

Примечания

1. Пьер, Хосе. . Эйр Метуэн. п.. ISBN  0-413-38370-9.
2. «Лихтенштейн Рой: В машине». Художественная книга. Phdon Press. 1994. стр. 274. ISBN  0-7148-2984-6.
3. ^
4. ^ Джадд, Дональд. «Обзоры 1962–64». В Бадере (ред.). С. 2–4. Ваам!, Торпеда … ЛОС!, Беседа, В машине и Мне все равно, я лучше утону, все широкие и мощные картины. (Кастелли, 28 сентября — 24 октября)
5. Лобель, Майкл (2009). «Предвиденная технология: монокулярность Лихтенштейна». В Бадере, Грэхеме (ред.). Рой Лихтенштейн. MIT Press. С. 118–20. ISBN  978-0-262-01258-4.
6. , п. 23: «Очень часто голова острижена до такой степени, что волосы выходят за границы формата …» Ошибка sfn: цель отсутствует: CITEREFCoplans1971 (помощь)
7. , п. 40: «Более ранние изображения, особенно Обручальное кольцо (1961), Поцелуй III, Эдди Диптих, Шедевр (все 1962 г.), В машине (1963), и Тенисон (1964) состоят из двух фигур, большинство из которых — мальчик и девочка, связанных романтическим диалогом и действием ».
8. Фостер, Хэл. «Поп-Пигмалион». В Бадере (ред.). п. 153. … например, параллельные линии могут означать «зеркало», если они диагональны, как в Зеркало нет. 1 (1971), и «движение» говорят, если они горизонтальны, как в В машине (1963).
9. , п. 113: «В других картинах Лихтенштейна женщины участвуют в серии фантастических драм. Безнадежный (рис.104), Тонущая девушка (рис.106), и В машине (рис.103) все с 1963 года и «Мы выросли медленно» (рис. 108), 1964 год, вращается вокруг любовных отношений, в которых мужчины явно контролируют ситуацию, а женщины обычно изображаются несчастными. Эти картины задают состояние для серии «девушек» в различных состояниях явной тревоги, нервозности или страха, большинство из которых изображаются как «девушка по соседству» или невинная соблазнительница, как в Блондинка ждет (рис.112), О, Джефф … Я тоже тебя люблю … Но … (рис.111), Доброе утро дорогая, и Соблазнительная девушка, все из 1964 года. Женщины-герои этих драм разыгрывают сцены, наполненные сфабрикованными эмоциями ».
10. , п. 113 Картина вызывает ощущение холодных эмоций между мужчиной и женщиной в машине.

Движение поп-арта

В 1960-е годы в мире искусства произошел сдвиг в сторону нового движения, известного как поп-арт, возглавляемого такими художниками, как Энди Уорхол и Рой Лихтенштейн. Эти художники черпали вдохновение из популярной культуры, рекламы и комиксов, бросая вызов традиционным границам искусства. «В машине» — яркий пример вклада Лихтенштейна в движение поп-арта.

Использование жирных линий, основных цветов и точек Бен-Дея — все это придает картине мультяшный характер. Способность Лихтенштейна возводить обыденное, например сцену в машине, на уровень высокого искусства – вот что делает «В машине» таким поразительным.

Formal Analysis: A Brief Compositional Overview

The formal analysis will discuss Roy Lichtenstein’s Whaam! painting in more detail, what the subject matter consists of, and how the main elements of art – these consist of color, value, texture, line, shape, form, and space – are utilized and occur throughout the composition.  

Whaam! (1963) by Roy Lichtenstein; GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Subject Matter: Visual Description

Whaam! by Roy Lichtenstein consists of two canvases, which is known as a diptych. Coming in strong from the left side of the left canvas is a silver fighter plane. The flyer in the cockpit is identified by a white helmet. There are black and white markings on the plane, notably a white star on its right side (facing us, the viewers) and black and white bands on its rudder.

These possibly suggest what the pilot might be saying, “I PRESSED THE FIRE CONTROL…AND AHEAD OF ME ROCKETS BLAZED THROUGH THE SKY…” A white strip of smoke is visible underneath the plane along with long yellow and red lines leading from the lower left corner of the left canvas and all the way into the right canvas where it has already met with another fighter plane in the right panel. 

Plane in Whaam! (1963) by Roy Lichtenstein; GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This line suggests the movement of a rocket that just blasted into the plane to the right, which is already in the process of blowing up and engulfed in large white, red, and yellow flames. The word “WHAAM!” in yellow and capital letters is visible in the left quadrant of the right panel, which describes the action taking place. This is also called an onomatopoeic device, which are words that describe a sound being made, and here it is the explosion.

Color and Value

The colors in Whaam! by Roy Lichtenstein are minimal and consist of the primary yellow, red, and blue, namely the yellow and reds suggest the fire, and the blue is a light value that depicts the sky as the background. The phrase box and “WHAAM!” are in yellow. Neutral colors, white, black, and gray are utilized on the planes and smoke, including the bold and thick lines.

Bright Color Use in Whaam! (1963) by Roy Lichtenstein; GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Texture

Roy Lichtenstein was known for his utilization of Ben-Day dots, which created a textured effect in his compositions. In the Whaam! painting these are visible in the background that composes the sky and the side of the plane.

Ben-Day Dots in Whaam! (1963) by Roy Lichtenstein; GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Line

Lines are an important aspect of the Whaam! painting and there are a variety of them, all ranging from different widths, lengths, and shapes. There are also thick black outlines, all of which create contrast and dynamism in the composition. Furthermore, the lines are directional and convey motion. For example, the long straight line underneath the plane indicates the rocket shot towards the other plane.

Use of Line in Whaam! (1963) by Roy Lichtenstein; GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Space

Roy Lichtenstein creates a close-up view and perspective of the action taking place in the Whaam! painting. There are no other objects visible but the incoming fighter plane to the left that just blasted the plane to the right. It is as if we, the viewers, have a front-row seat on the action taking place.

Use of Space in Whaam! (1963) by Roy Lichtenstein; GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Shape and Form

There are a variety of shapes that compose Whaam! by Roy Lichtenstein. These are all irregularly shaped with more two-dimensionality due to minimal shading and depth created. This provides a flat appearance but still retains the dynamism of the composition.

For example, the black and white bands of lines create rectangular shapes on the plane and the cross-hatched type lines on the plane’s right wing appear as small squares. The more geometric shape of the plane slightly contrasts with the more organic and curved forms of the smoke under the plane.

\Different Shapes in Whaam! (1963) by Roy Lichtenstein; GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Painted Whaam!?

The famous Pop artist, Roy Lichtenstein, painted Whaam! (1963). It is an acrylic and oil painting on canvas, which depicts a fighter pilot blowing up another fighter pilot ahead of him. It is depicted in the moment of dynamic action and resembles a comic book strip in style.

What Is the Whaam! Painting Based On?

Roy Lichtenstein based his Whaam! painting on the DC Comics’ issue number 89 of the All American Men of War (1962) series. It was about the part from the story titled Star Jockey by Irv Novick, who created the artwork.

Where Is Whaam! by Roy Lichtenstein?

The famous Whaam! painting that the Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, painted is at the Tate Modern in London, the United Kingdom. It was purchased in 1966 for £3,940 from Leo Castelli and Ileana Sonnabend. The latter was an art dealer and owned The Sonnabend Gallery in Paris.

Artist Abstract: Who Was Roy Fox Lichtenstein?

Roy Fox Lichtenstein was born in New York City on October 27, 1923, and died on September 29, 1997, also in New York City. He grew up around music and art from a young age, learning painting and drawing, among other art forms. He also played musical instruments like the clarinet and piano and he loved Jazz; he reportedly had a Jazz band in high school. He also served in the United States Army during World War II. His art style was Pop art, and he became well-known for his reproductions that parodied comic book strips. Some of his popular artworks include Drowning Girl (1963), In the Car (1963), and Girl in Mirror (1964).

Roy Lichtenstein (1966) by Erhard Wehrmann; Kunststiftung Poll, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons

Историческое и культурное значение

Картина «В машине», написанная в 1963 году, отражает социальный и культурный климат того времени. Он воплощает увлечение той эпохи потребительством, подъем автомобильной культуры и меняющуюся динамику отношений между мужчинами и женщинами. Картина выходит за рамки своей первоначальной визуальной привлекательности и служит историческим артефактом, предлагающим понимание проблем и ценностей того периода.

Изучая «В машине», зрители получают более глубокое понимание культурных сдвигов, происходящих в 1960-е годы. Работа Лихтенштейна становится началом разговора, позволяя нам задуматься о прогрессе и проблемах нашего общества по сравнению с проблемами прошлого.

1977 BMW 320i Group 5 Race Version

Car three by Roy Lichtenstein is one of the most popular of all the Art Cars; the BMW 320 Group 5. The artist had this to say on the fruit of his labors:

Undeniably! The result of these efforts is a harmonious combination of the aerodynamics in the bodywork with the aesthetics of his art; after all it is one of the fastest moving pieces of art the world has ever seen. Lichtenstein’s famous comic strip style is reflected in the paintwork.

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Roy Lichtenstein | USA

Born in New York in 1923, Roy Lichtenstein is generally regarded as the father of American pop art. In the years prior to 1938 he painted portraits of jazz musicians. After this, he attended courses held by the “Art Student League,” then went on to study art in Ohio.

His subsequent work straddled cubism and expressionism. In the late 1950s, Lichtenstein began dealing with trivial culture such as comics and advertisements. His first pop art pictures appeared in 1961, their monumentalization of the banal heralding a completely new style of art.

Following his caricatures of the “American Way of Life,” experiments with well-known works of art and various sculptures and films, the Museum of Modern Art in New York held a comprehensive retrospective of Lichtenstein’s work in 1987. He died in New York in 1997.

1977 BMW 320i Group 5 Race Version

• 4-cylinder inline engine
• Turbocharged
• 4 valves per cylinder
• Twin overhead camshafts
• Displacement: 2,000 cc
• Power output: 300 bhp
• Top speed: 257 km/h

Roy Lichtenstein and the BMW Art Car

Roy Lichtenstein can still remember vividly how he produced the design for his racing car – a BMW 320i – back in 1977:

Taking a closer look, the car’s design casts a picture of passing scenery in which both the car and its movement are one single entity. And although Lichtenstein’s comic art was already a thing of the past by then, his BMW Art Car is clearly influence by it: the long-drawn colored strips act as “speedlines” – a feature used in comics to suggest speed. Even the oversized dots used by Lichtenstein, the “Benday Dots,” are reminiscent of his famous comic book pictures.

The harmony achieved between predetermined aerodynamic features and free composition is pure Lichtenstein. It is an expression of his artistic credo: art must be an element of everyday life – its themes and inspiration must come from the lives of ordinary people.

After its completion, Roy Lichtenstein’s BMW Art Car celebrated not one, but two premieres: as a work of art at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and as a racing car in the Le Mans 24-Hour Race. It was driven by the Frenchmen Herve Poulain and Marcel Mignot. The car finished 9th overall and first in its class.

Greene Street Mural, 1983

Lichtenstein began to work with Rob McKeever, one of his assistants, in the early 1980s after he called the artist to offer himself up for the role. However, it was not easy, as McKeever recalls:

One of McKeever’s first roles was to help Lichtenstein create the historic Greene Street Mural in 1983.

The mural was produced at the Castelli Gallery at Greene Street in New York’s SoHo. But as per the artist’s wish, the piece was destroyed six weeks after the exhibition.

McKeever, who teamed up with the Lichtenstein Foundation and Gagosian Gallery in New York decades later, recalls working with the artist on this project in 1983.

McKeever says:

However, McKeever recalls painting the stripes as arduous, as well as the brushstroke, which Roy did from a scissor lift.

Going Out With a Bang

Roy Lichtenstein’s Whaam! painting has been lauded as one of his most famous artworks, which continued to influence and inspire other artists and make its mark on the art world and popular culture. Whaam! was exhibited in 1963 at the Leo Castelli Gallery located in New York City and it was purchased by the Tate Modern in London England in 1966 for £3,940, reportedly after some deliberation by several of the trustees who questioned the painting’s eligibility for the museum, but it eventually found its way into the museum and continued to make grand impression on its viewers.

Roy Lichtenstein exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum (1967) by Anefo; Eric Koch, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Weisman Art Museum, Minnesota, 1963

Created in 1963, the World’s Fair Mural is one of the most outstanding pieces by Lichtenstein. The work is currently housed at the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In fact, it is one of the centerpieces of the museum, thanks to its strategic location above the front desk of the gallery. It is what greets you when you step into the WAM. Even when the room is poorly lit, you will still be drawn by the girl’s radiant and glowing smile on the painting.

If you are not new to Roy Lichtenstein’s works, you must know that he liked appropriating comic book and newspaper imagery when creating his pieces. He would sequestrate frames of illustrations that appealed to him and feed them into a projector before projecting them onto a canvas.

Roy Lichtenstein – World’s Fair Mural, 1964, oil on plywood, 240 x 192 in, image: Courtesy of Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA

In this painting, Roy depicts a woman leaning out of the window. Still, it appears as if the image was appropriated from a frame of a colossal comic strip. The painting’s characteristics also point to the elements of mass-produced comics – the solid block primary colors, the Ben-Day dots for shading, and the bold black outline.

However, in this piece, Roy Lichtenstein exaggerates every element. For instance, the colors are much brighter than in the real comic. And that is not all. The Ben-Day dots are also many folds larger, the arrangement of forms much more energetic, and the lines much stronger than in the real comic. All this is so that the audience can be drawn into the formal elements of the visual artwork, which are pattern, color, line, and form, and make us explore the link between popular culture and art.

Through a simple, controlled composition, the artist shows that comics have the power to relay strong emotions.

AXA Equitable Center, NYC, 1984–86

When the Axa Equitable Center design was completed in 1984, Lichtenstein was asked to create a large-scale mural for the tower once its construction was finished. The artist began preparing his sketches the same year, but strategizing took a little longer. Lichtenstein ultimately finished the mural in 1986, a year after the building was completed and was a subject of the book Roy Lichtenstein: Mural With Blue Brushstroke.

Lichtenstein copied and altered his previous pieces of work and a few others from his peers to create this mural. Several objects in the mirror were appropriated from Look, Mickey, including the door, section of a mirror, as well as an entablature. Also, the beach ball, from Girl with Ball, is held by Leger-like forms instead of a girl.

The resulting work is a discordance of images. A light blue brushstroke depicts a waterfall.

The artist used at least 18 colors rather than five, which he usually uses, and as a result, the paint extended beyond the frame. This made the piece to be termed as the first imperfect painting.

The artist again used his typical large canvas easel, just like in his previous paintings. He “selected the motifs, he made a series of drawings and then collaged them together to make a Marquette, measuring 34.25 by 17.5 inches, which became the working plan for the actual mural.”

The slides of the collage were then projected onto the wall of the Axa Equitable Center, now known as AXA Center. Using the silhouette on the wall, the artist and his assistants Brian O’Leary, Arch O’Leary, Robert Mckeever, Fernando Pomalaza, and James di Pasquale, drew the mural, taking up to six weeks to complete.

Roy Lichtenstein – Mural with Blue Brushstroke, 1986, 2070 cm × 990 cm (810 in × 390 in), AXA Center, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York City, photo: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 by wallyg